# walking two dogs



## chaunieg (Mar 30, 2017)

I have two puppies - 8 months old and 3 months. The eldest puppy - Marco, walks well by himself, doesn't necessarily stay on the one side but walks pretty good.
Polo is only new to our house (2 weeks) and is walking ok on his lead but I tried to walk both at the same time...what a disaster! They spent half the time playing and the other half - one walking one sitting or going in opposite directions.
Would appreciate any advice on when to walk the dogs together and how to go about doing it.
I love them both dearly but all the wrestling is starting to get to me. Two puppies...what was I thinking!:wink2:


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

the walk should be enjjoyable for both dogs. If one is pulling the other all over the place, it is no fun . Train each one separately to walk nicely and don't couple them. Better if you have a second walker at this stage especiaally or walk separately. HOPE you are using harnesses.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

chaunieg said:


> I have two puppies - 8 months old and 3 months. The eldest puppy - Marco, walks well by himself, doesn't necessarily stay on the one side but walks pretty good.
> Polo is only new to our house (2 weeks) and is walking ok on his lead but I tried to walk both at the same time...what a disaster! They spent half the time playing and the other half - one walking one sitting or going in opposite directions.
> Would appreciate any advice on when to walk the dogs together and how to go about doing it.
> I love them both dearly but all the wrestling is starting to get to me. Two puppies...what was I thinking!:wink2:


Well, first of all, a 3 month old puppy is not mature enough to be asked to go on serious walks. Following him around the yard on leash, by himself is plenty.

Second, it is not possible to teach two dogs, let alone two puppies, to walk properly on leash at the same time. You need to teach each one separately, then put them together.

My oldest is 6 years older than the next one, and we didn't walk the two of them together to start with. If we went on "real" walks, the puppy went in a stroller, while Kodi walked on-leash beside me. If my husband was with me, Pixel was allowed to get out and walk on leash for VERY short stretches, with me handling her, and Dave taking the stroller and Kodi. (by short stretches, I mean no more than half a block or so, and it was mostly following her around) "Lessons" on loose leash walking were done by herself, on the driveway or even in the house, so I could keep my full attention on teaching her.

When Panda joined us, Pixel was only 11 months old. she walked PRETTY well by that point, and I could walk her and Kodi together by myself, with one in each hand. HOWEVER, Kodi is EXTREMELY well trained, so he was a good influence on the puppies, never an added problem. So at first, we did the same thing of having Panda in the stroller and walking Pixel and Kodi. Then, as Panda got older, (approaching a year) Dave would walk Pixel and Kodi together and I would "wrangle" Panda. FINALLY, on our family walk last Sunday, Panda (now 18 months) walked THE WHOLE WAY ON A LOOSE LEASH, with me handling both her and Kodi in the same hand!!! No pulling at all!!! :cheer2: If she continues that for a few more walks, I will CONSIDER taking all three by myself. Until they each walked well individually (and that means no pulling, no switching sides, no lagging behind, no changing directions...), I walked one of them at a time. It's the only way they can learn.

It may seem that this is a long, painstaking process, and a long time to wait. But for me, it is worth every bit of it. I want dogs that are a pleasure to have with me, mannerly, not pulling, not getting in other people's way, waiting quietly for me when I ask them to wait. I love taking my dogs places with me, and they are always welcome, because they are well behaved. It's FUN to take them on walks, because we can do it companionably. If I had to deal with pulling, lunging trip-hazard dogs, it wouldn't be fun for me at all. So I've been willing to put in the time necessary to make them good walkers, so we can enjoy the next 15 years of walking together!


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## chaunieg (Mar 30, 2017)

Thanks Karen...I thought I doing a really bad job but now I see I just was rushing far too much. Appreciate the feed back. Two puppies is a lot of work and I am trying to sort it all out - thank goodness I found this forum! I have a lot to learn with training both the dogs as Marco is nowhere near as obedient as I would like.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

chaunieg said:


> Thanks Karen...I thought I doing a really bad job but now I see I just was rushing far too much. Appreciate the feed back. Two puppies is a lot of work and I am trying to sort it all out - thank goodness I found this forum! I have a lot to learn with training both the dogs as Marco is nowhere near as obedient as I would like.


 Werll, at 8 months, you are just at the BEGINNING of adolescence... typically, puppies forget everything they have previously learned at this age!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

A related question . . . Shama walks pretty well on a loose leash during class, but not so well on walks near our house. Do you think it's because she's in a slip collar in class and a front-hooking harness near our house?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ShamaMama said:


> A related question . . . Shama walks pretty well on a loose leash during class, but not so well on walks near our house. Do you think it's because she's in a slip collar in class and a front-hooking harness near our house?


No, dog's don't generalize well, and they also tend to get more excited on real-life walks. Keep working on it, and she'll get better at it.

Kodi was competing, and winning in rally and obedience at 15 months, but he was past two before he was walking reliably on a lose lead in public... I think partly because he's a pretty driver Havanese, and partly because I didn't know as much and wasn't as consistent with him as a puppy as I am now. Pixel was the easiest... She walked reliably by about 1 year, and Panda is just getting there at 18 months.


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