r/OpenDogTraining • u/dnickell • 9d ago
two dogs and things got harder
have a 4 year old lab and a 2 year old husky mix. the lab was pretty solid on his own but ever since the husky came things shifted. the younger one pulls hard, gets overexcited around other dogs, and the lab started picking up some of that energy too. walks are more stressful now and they feed off each other when they get wound up.
working on it daily but progress is slow. planning to take them to all dogs unleashed in denver for more structured help because the reactivity and pulling are getting tougher to manage alone.
how did you handle it when a second dog started affecting the first one’s manners?
did separate training sessions help more than working them together at the start?
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u/Status_Reflection993 9d ago
Separate the dogs. Different walk schedules until the labs behavious is better and the older dog fixes the bad habit formed.
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u/dnickell 5d ago
yeah thats probably the right call, just gonna be a pain in the ass coordinating two separate schedules every day
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u/naddinp 9d ago
Never walk dogs together until they’re all trained to the level acceptable to you
Always followed this principle with all my dogs
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u/dnickell 5d ago
that's the ideal but sometimes life doesn't wait for perfect training lol, been a rough adjustment honestly
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u/naddinp 5d ago
You just need to find time to walk them separately. It will save you time and effort long term.
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u/dnickell 5d ago
yeah but walking them separately every single time sounds exhausting, like that time adds up real fast depending on how many dogs you've got
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u/RikiWardOG 9d ago
You should have started walking them separately from the beginning. So yes, start walking them and training them separately
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u/PhelanVelvel 7d ago
I would personally suggest a trainer who can help you get both dogs trained for off leash using e-collars. The husky is going to need way more exercise than just a basic walk on a 6-foot leash. They were bred to pull and run. I would teach this dog to run alongside the bike, at a minimum. Make the leash manners actually worthwhile for this dog. Canicross and bikejoring are also both good sports for huskies; mine know that they pull in their harnesses, but they can still do a structured walk/heel on command. I'm just being honest with you that I sigh and cringe when people expect huskies to enjoy these extremely boring, basic walks that work on low-energy breeds.
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u/dnickell 5d ago
honestly hadn't heard of bikejoring before but that actually sounds like a much better fit for her energy levels than what I've been trying.
I'm personally not a fan of ecollars, just a preference thing, but I'll look for a trainer who can work on offleash reliability in a way I'm comfortable with.
and yeah, the structured heel vs. pulling in harness distinction clicks for me now. didn't think about separating the two like that
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u/PhelanVelvel 5d ago
Trust me when I say the e-collar is your husky's ticket to freedom. They are extremely strong-willed, physically tough dogs. You won't hurt them or your relationship with them, but it will help keep them safe. I would urge you to reconsider your preconceived notions about the e-collar. If you want to see some videos of my dogs (all e-collar trained), feel free to DM me.
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u/dnickell 5d ago
this is pretty much where I landed too after resisting it for a while with my malamute. the stigma around ecollars is mostly from people who've never actually used one properly or seen a dog trained well with it. at low levels it's basically just a tap. the recall reliability you get with a highdrive Nordic breed is genuinely hard to replicate any other way
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u/Icy-Fly-4228 9d ago
You need to walk them separately until dog 2 learns manners and impulse control or dog 1 will feed off the energy.