Avoid Doggie Dependency: Crate Separately and Release Individually

One of the best days of a someone's life is the day they bring home a dog or puppy. The second best day is usually when they open their home and expand their pack to include a second doggie family member 😊

Something important to remember, especially with young dogs and puppies, is that while they love attention from you, most are going to gravitate socially to your other dog! The reason behind an interest and often infatuation with the other dogs in your house, is that these puppies (whether youngsters or adolescence) are looking for familiarity of their litter and pretty regularly have PLAY on the brain!

A common mistake families make when adding a second pup to their home is including that new dog, exclusively, in the routine of your first dog. Meaning, coming out of the crate at the same time, going in the yard at the same time, always taking walks as a pack, and always being together. While having goals of your pups being dog partners for life, it's important that, especially in the beginning of their journey in your family, that you have them spend plenty of time apart and - most importantly - working with you individually.

The double edged sword to having to young dogs who become best friends, is that you- as the owner - may not be as valuable to your new dog, because they are so "dog centric" - choosing their new pack member as priority for attention. This can make getting the dogs to listen to you when they are together quite challenging, but it can also make having the two out together a bit of a tornado in general!

Young dogs love to play, and if given the opportunity, will alternate between cuddly sleep and attempting tornado style play constantly with their new housemate! This may seem cute at first, but can develop into issues of trying to play on walks, getting into cahoots off leash and not listening in the back yard, as well as rough and rowdy play inside.

If we make the mistake of letting the new dog be included in everything our first dog is doing, we miss really important opportunities to bond with our new pup, personally. We miss moments on how to train them, show them a routine, and shape manners and taking guidance from us (instead of following our first dog's lead, constantly).

But, most importantly, is that our new pup misses an opportunity to develop some independence, and we often see younger dogs become very attached and dependent on the older dog in the house. The easiest example of this, is when you let your older dog out of their kennel or have them walking the house, and the newbie is having to stay in their crate or separated. A puppy who hasn't worked on "themselves" and built confidence away from your other dog, will display a lot of crying, anxiety, or hysterics from their crate when they can't go with. They may even display insecure behaviors and seem lost on days your older dog has to go the vet, or - worst of all - when your older dog is not around anymore.

It's important to help set your new dog (and really all your dogs), up for success and independence by practicing boundary setting behaviors and helping them get used to observing things without always having to be involved. Help them bond individually with you and the humans in the house, not just group love with the other pets always included.

One of the easiest ways to start this, is by making sure you take your puppy out to potty separately from your other dog pretty regularly. Not to say that they can't play together after, but taking a solo potty trip and then meeting your older dog after business is done allows them to focus on the potty routine you are trying to create- not on going outside and trying to play.

It's extremely important to practice staggering when you let the dogs out of their crates, and not creating an expectation that when one comes out, the other does too. In particular, if your puppy is young, they are going to need a lot more crate rest to help build a potty training routine, as well as more frequent bathroom breaks (especially in the middle of the night!) than your older dog. To help limit the fussy about being in the crate without their friend nearby, or to have a constant desire to play through the bars, having the crates near each other but visually blocked from view (whether with a blanket or divider of some sort). This way, when you go to let one dog out - without an obvious pass by in front of the other's door, it will be easy to release the dogs at separate times. This also means, each dog should have their own crate and their own "space" to sleep, eat, and rest- and if your puppy does need to see your older dog walk by without them, getting into the habit of covering their kennel may help with adjusting to this new routine.

These measures help us prevent doggie dependency, as well as creating valuable moments of patience for big rewards - when they do get to play together, walk together, and hang all over each other!

Teaching your puppy how to be great pals, but not extremely dependent on your other dog, is literally double the work initially. You'll be doing separate walks, separate training sessions, separate potty breaks, and even staggered trips to the back yard so they can meet up back there to play, instead of both coming out of the crate at the exact same time and rushing the door together. But, after you build a foundation of independence, spend time bonding with and training your puppy one on one for months, and allowing them to have plenty of time together and equal time apart, you'll be on your way to a great groove and healthy dynamic within your pack!