THE CANINE BEHAVIOR SERIES By Kathy Diamond Davis Author and Trainer

Dog lovers tend to be animal lovers. This often leads to the necessity of introducing dogs to other dogs, cats, birds, and various other animals that share the home.

As much as we hope for home to be a peaceable kingdom, some animals will not be able to live together in peace. Before acquiring a new animal, consider the characteristics of the prospective new family member as well as the animals you already have. Doing this can spare the animals injury or even death, and the human family members can avoid injuries, expenses, and other often highly unpleasant consequences of putting incompatible animals together.

Adding a New Dog

When bringing two dogs together, the safest combination is usually one male and one female, of similar size, and spayed/neutered. If either of the dogs is intact, the humans in the situation will need to be skilled in dog management and have facilities available to separate the dogs whenever the female is in heat. Female dog heat cycles are not absolutely predictable, and people often miss the signs. Leaving a female dog in heat together with a male dog (whether he is intact or neutered) risks a tie that can injure either or both dogs. Breeding dogs requires the right facilities, hard work, and money set aside for expenses. Most people who breed a female dog one time decide not to do it again.

Before acquiring a dog of the same sex as a dog you already have, seek out knowledgeable help to find out whether the breed(s) involved are among those at high risk of fighting with other dogs of the same sex. In many breeds (and mixes of those breeds) keeping two dogs of the same sex together is a really bad idea. You would likely wind up having to keep the dogs permanently separated at your home, or finding a new home for one of them. It is not humane to keep two dogs together when they are injuring each other.

Even when the dogs do get along, dogs of the same sex kept together will have to determine a pack order. One will typically become a more dominant dog and the other a more submissive dog than either would have normally been. This is often detrimental to the dogs' personalities and their abilities to do other things you may want to do with your dogs.

On the other hand, when one dog is a male and the other is a female, he gets to be the top male and she gets to be the top female. They are usually able to live together without undue stress or injury, provided they are managed properly. Good management includes separating them for feeding so that neither becomes overly protective about food. Be cautious, too, about extreme size differences between the dogs. A very large dog can cause devastating injury or death to a very small dog, completely by accident.

People commonly believe dogs will always get along if they grow up together. When the two dogs are of the same sex and from a breed that doesn't get along well with other dogs of the same sex, this belief can be tragically wrong. As the dogs mature, their instincts will emerge. You can actually tell better whether two dogs are going to get along if they meet as adults, but that's no guarantee, either. Throughout their lives there will be changes in the social structure of the human and dog "pack" that can destabilize what has previously been a peaceful relationship between two dogs of the same sex. The addition of a new dog is a major risk, since it completely rearranges the pack. The risk of fighting between dogs of the same sex also increases when one or more of the dogs are not spayed or neutered.

When you get into numbers above two dogs, mathematics dictate that at least two of your dogs will be of the same sex. This works for many people, but it requires more skill in managing your dogs to keep the peace, and the chances of fighting increase with each additional dog. Four to five dogs is a lot to keep together, impossible in some breeds, and the fighting often starts at the point of reaching one of those numbers-if not before. Before acquiring a large number of dogs, be sure you are equipped to separate them as needed.

Think, too, about whether your current living situation allows that many dogs. Trying to hide a dog from a landlord, homeowner's association or zoning inspector creates an extremely insecure future for that dog. Besides legalities, consider whether you have the time and energy to give the individual attention that each dog requires.

Dog-to-Dog Introductions

When adding a new dog, do your best to let the two dogs first meet each other in a neutral place, not the home territory of either dog. It's best to have one person for each dog. If you have more than one dog, introduce the new dog to only one of your dogs at a time.

Holding the dogs on leashes that are pulled tight can increase the risk of fighting. On the other hand, just turning them loose together can lead to disaster. If possible, start with the two dogs at a distance from each other, each of them interacting with the person who is holding the leash. As they behave calmly, move them gradually closer, continuing to keep leashes from being pulled tight.

If you have the chance to bring the dogs together on multiple occasions before they move in together, this can ease the transition. Dogs don't behave the same way with playmate dogs as they do with housemate dogs, though, so their getting along well during these meetings, while encouraging, is not a guarantee of future peace between them.

When you first bring the new dog to your home, do not leave the dogs alone together. Even dogs who will become good companions later don't always start off peacefully. They badly need your intelligent supervision while they develop a relationship with each other.

In the event there is a declaration of all-out war by one or more of the dogs, crates can be helpful. The safest way to separate two dogs with crates is to use TWO crates. One dog can be out running around while the other is crated. Crate the loose dog in the second crate BEFORE you release the crated dog. When the dogs are both completely calm around each other with one of them crated, you may be ready to try a further introduction in an open area.

Cat Versus Dog

Cats and dogs can be peaceful companions in some cases, but not all. The path to peace is quite long for some dog/cat combinations.

One issue is that dogs and cats do not use the same body language. It helps if they have had experience with each other's species during the early, "language formation" parts of their lives.

Dogs and cats don't have the same social structure, either. Dogs form packs to live, raise their young, and hunt cooperatively. Cats are solitary hunters. While some dogs and cats do play together, don't be surprised if yours never do.

As when considering whether a particular dog will fit with another dog you already have, it's crucial to determine whether the new dog has a reasonable chance of being safe around cats. Certain breeds present a high risk of predatory behavior toward cats. Also, the larger the group of dogs you keep together, the higher the risk they will switch into a pack mentality at some time of excitement, resulting in a mutilated or dead cat. Be sure to get expert advice about the particular breed of dog you are considering before you bring in a new dog to keep with your cat.

You will need to separate the dog and cat at first whenever you are not directly supervising them, even if they seem to get alone fine from the first minute. A new dog generally needs to stay in a confinement area when unsupervised in your home anyway. Provided this confinement area is a crate, the cat may be able to continue being free in the house. If you're using a room or other area that the cat could get into with you not watching, you'll need to confine the cat so that this doesn't happen.

The cat's litter box and any food that is kept out for free-feeding will have to be relocated to where the dog absolutely cannot get into them. Rarely can a dog be reliably trained to stay out of a litter box or cat food. Eating this stuff is detrimental to the dog's health, and upsetting to the cat. One result of upsetting a cat about the litter box can be a lapse in the cat's housetraining, and cat urine odor is difficult to remove from home furnishings.

Some dogs become overexcited by the presence of a cat, and will need training help to acclimate and learn to leave the cat alone. Bear in mind that the cat is not the only one at risk of injury, since a dog can lose an eye to a cat's claws. Letting the animals fight it out is dangerous and inhumane. If the cat behaves aggressively toward the dog for any reason, the dog's instincts are likely to be triggered to chase, and possibly eventually to kill.

Reward the dog and the cat for behaving calmly in each other's presence. Keep the dog on a leash if necessary to prevent the dog from chasing the cat. Do not punish the dog for trying to chase the cat-that won't teach the dog anything. Simply don't let the chasing happen, and keep rewarding the dog whenever the dog is calm around the cat. It can take a considerable time to work through this, but for a lot of dogs the work will pay off in the end.

There is the risk that your new dog will never be able to be safely left alone with the cat, resulting in the necessity of curtailing the freedom either of them could have otherwise had in your home. Certain breeds of dogs increase this risk, and it's also greatly increased with each additional dog you add.

Horses, Cattle, Sheep

If you live around horses, cattle or sheep, it might seem that getting a herding dog would be the natural way to be sure the dog would not bother the livestock. This notion overlooks the fact that herding dogs have to be trained to do their jobs, and must be supervised when they are in contact with these very exciting larger animals.

Livestock owners commonly have the legal right to shoot a dog caught harassing their livestock. Chasing livestock is a natural, instinctive behavior for dogs. Even though the animals are larger than the dog, they are often harmed. They can also hurt the dog. Be sure never to put your dog in the position of being able to do this, except in the process of training the dog to safely help you tend to your livestock.

Birds, Ferrets, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits and Other Companion Animals

Some dogs are gentle with other species and can-after careful introductions-be allowed to interact with birds, ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits and other animals that might live with you-provided you always supervise these interactions. Set up your home for the animals to be separated whenever you are not directly supervising them.

We tend to think of the act of one animal killing another as murder, but that's not what it is. Animals are not capable of the intention that goes along with murder. They simply act on their instincts, instincts that can be triggered by many things.

For example, when your dog hears you outside on your way in, the dog will be excited, perhaps wildly so. This is a critical time for multiple dogs to get into a fight, to turn and attack a cat, and to kill other small animals in the home.

A noise or the sight of something through a window can also provide the trigger. So can something happening when the animals are outdoors in a fenced yard. Dogs are much more the victims of their own instincts than humans are, and many of the other animals we keep as family companions (such as cats) are even more highly motivated by instinct than dogs.

Your home can be a peaceable kingdom that you share with more than one animal, if you have the resources to care for all the animals humanely and give them good lives. Be sure to ask the right questions of the people who really know the type of animal you are considering adding to your family. With good choices and intelligent management, everyone in your little kingdom can live happily ever after.

Date Published: 2/17/2003 12:50:00 PM

    

Kathy Diamond Davis is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others. Should the training articles available here or elsewhere not be effective, contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in behavior can eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no medical cause is found, your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who specializes in behavior or a local behaviorist.