Advice on having 2 dogs
 

Hi everyone ive been browsing the forum and im kind of freightened now. I just recently got a 8 month old american bully but i already have a 6 year old caucasin mountain dog. They seem to get along great ive even been feeding them seperately to make sure that they dont snap at each other over food. Ill get to the point, in order to prevent any fights in the future am i suppose to keep them seperate and only together when I am there to supervise?? thanks for the help ahead of time.

I know i just asked that one question but if you guys would be kind enough to give me any other tips or information i should know about that would be nice. Thanks alot!!

Yes. NEVER leave them alone unsupervised. Also, purchase a breakstick and learn how to use one. Many users here (including myself) manage multi dog households without an issue. My dogs had a scrap not too long ago. It happens. Some dogs "turn on" while others do not.

Also Boogieman, a super mod on this forum makes reliable breaksticks, as does stillwater kennel supply =)

so how would i go about doing this, have one in a kennel for part of the day and switch it off? how will they manage especially my older dog thats always just roamed around.

And to state the obvious since im going to have them in a smaller space being seperate and all i need to make sure i walk them every single day without failure right?

You don't have to walk them . You could do other exercises with them of course.
Also keep in mind you could always switch rooms, or one outside..one in.
Annnd you don't know if you need to crate and rotate yet so just be prepared =)

I have a 1 year old PB and a 3 year old Chow mix and a 5 year old wennie dog, all of mine get alone fine but the PB was raised from birth with them. Have not had any problems yet and there all left out together. I dont leave toys or anything out tho that might start a fight and all are fed in different rooms.

While the bully breeds are more likely to be some form of DA there is no need to panic. Watch them closely, NEVER leave them alone unsupervised together and get a few of those break sticks. If there is a problem and they don't get along then you can crate and rotate or do whatever works for you to keep them separated.

I have 4. 2 American Pit Bull Terriers, an Americna Bulldog and a Basset. I have been fortunate and don't have any problems with them getting along. But I don't take chances, either. I feed them in their crates to prevent any food aggression, I crate them separately when we are sleeping or have to leave and I watch them when they are playing with toys so that I can intervene if anyone looks to be getting snarky before it can turn into a squabble.

I have two dogs, and while I wouldn't chance leaving them unsupervised together, they get along great. Feeding separately like you're already doing is a great start. The fact that you're already aware of the potential for issue, and taking steps to prevent it, is great too!

Just because you will definitely need to keep an eye on your dogs together, doesn't automatically mean they're going to fight, they might be best friends! It's just not a great idea to leave any DA prone breed dogs with each other alone, just in case.

I second MJ's comment about toys as well, keep an eye on them playing with "shared" toys, that's the only time my two get a little snarky with each other sometimes is over toys, but as long as you're watching them, it's easy to intervene before anything gets too far. http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/smile.png

They should each get walked everyday regardless...

I have three dogs right now, ones a foster. None are bully breeds and all are very dog social, but I still never leave them loose unsupervised. The girls are GSD/Sibe mixes and Spaz is a mini Aussie... he's the foster dog, lol. Everyone is crated when unsupervised, even when I'm showering. Well Lily gets to chill on the bed while I shower, but the other two are crated. Scout knows how to open her crate, so I have to double lock it with a climbing carbiner.

Everybody eats in their crate too. They are all in their own before I hand anybody food and I shut the door's on Scout's and Spaz's. Lily helps me with cleanup when I portion up their food, so I usually don't shut her kennel door. She doesn't harrass the other dogs still eating eating in their closed kennels either, just sticks to me and lays down on the floor.

Nothing high value is thrown down ont he floor for dogs to fight over. Any special goodies are given in crates.

I do have two West Paw Bumi's and two WP Huck balls laying around, but the girls aren't very toy oriented and they know which color belongs to whom (hence the doubles of each). Spaz likes the toys a LOT more than the girls do. He used to try and get shitty with them when they wanted to play with him and the toys or join in on team tug when I tug with him on the bumi. Game over anytime he's a jerk, so he's pretty much gotten over himself. He still hoards the toys, but he will play very nicely with Scout now. Lily doesn't really give a crap about the toys, usually the other two play and Lily chills with me. The only reason it works is because my girls are so mellow and don't hold the toys as being high value, plus everyone has their own toys. I strongly suggest having doubles of all toys. http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/smile.png

For my new dog prep I have my pekingese's kennel, and I'm getting a puppy kennel for the new one. I will always have them BOTH in their kennels when they are not supervised by me. If they do not get along after socialization I will then use a rotation schedule. I free feed my pekingese and that will need to change, I will be feeding measured portions in separate rooms.

It seems like you've got the basics and lurking here can help with the rest.

If you are going to get a Pit or a Pit mix buy the 42" kennel with the divider. You can size it to fit a pup and resize it as the pup grows so you only need to buy a crate once.

Great advice, I was going to ask about this option! http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/smile.png

can we have a picture of the dogs please? http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/smile.png

I LOVE caucasian mountain dogs, but I don't think I could ever handle one.

This is a good link about multi dog homes with pit bulls:
http://www.pbrc.net/multidogs.html

Like others have said, never leave them alone together. It helps to have a plan if a fight ever did break out. Go through what you would do in your head over and over again: http://www.pbrc.net/breakfight.html

Wow, please don't give advice here. It's NOT okay to leave them alone together even if they've never had any problems in the past. You just said "yet" yourself. http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/no2.gif

Please read these stickies:

DON'T Leave your Dogs Unsupervised
Always Expect a Bulldog To Fight

And here are a couple of other members sharing their stories:

Well it happened and I'm heartbroken
My pit bull killed my son's pug last night

I know these 2 are related to small dog vs bulldog but imagine a fight between your Chow and your pit bull when you're not around. 2 severely injured dogs is what you would probably come home to..

hey havent had internet barly checking up on this. So the only way i can keep them seperate is by keeping them kenneled or putting a fence in the middle of my back yard, should i just put the fence?? and what are other ways of exercise? and ill put up a pic when i get a chance of both dogs. Caucasian mountain dogs are actual very very very easy to handle they are just huge and powerful but extremly loyal & a great guard dog. i have never had a problem with him in the 6 years.

No, you can set up chain spots, use baby gates, have one inside and one outside, have one in a room with a closed door and the other out. There's tons of ways to keep 2 dogs separate. Use whichever works best for you.

Personally, I do not like leaving dogs unrestrained in a fenced yard. Most athletic or larger dogs can easily scale a 4.5-6ft fence or get into a fight through the fence with a neighbors dog. I like outdoor dog kennels or chain spots best. And chain spots are pretty inexpensive to set up. It's just important to use good materials and check them regularly for wear and tear.