Multiple dogs watched at one time?

Was excited to see this thread as it's something I wrestle with. I've been sitting for 10+ years, but only recently began to broaden my client base. With it came more requests for overlapping bookings. I have done several double bookings recently but each time I do it, I'm reminded why I don't particularly care for it.

Most of the dogs I board are very people oriented, and they tend to get very attached to me. Even if the dogs get along with each other, there are times I need to separate them, and then our house is filled with complaints (i.e. barking, whining, howling) from the other. This is the greatest negative for me.

I haven't found food aggression to be a problem, but I don't really give it room to happen. The food goes down at mealtimes and they eat until it's gone OR until time is up. After that, the food goes away. I'm more concerned that the dogs eat their own food and not each other's, than I am about food aggression. Toys and bones a bit more difficult to manage, so while I hate for them to loose the stimulation, I generally put those items away when the dogs are together.

Walks are also hugely impacted by double booking. Walks are extremely important to me, but it can be a pain walking multiple dogs. Several weeks ago, I had a 65+lb Black Mouth Cur, a 80lb Golden Retriever, and a 100+lb Anatolian. While their leash manners were generally good enough that I could have walked them all together, I wasn't comfortable walking 250lbs of dog past squirrels and other dogs, so I had to take two separate walks each day. Even dogs that are generally good on leash can get jumpy when you add a dog.

The long and short? Double booking is a bit like musical chairs and generally pretty chaotic. Those who do it more often probably find it easier, though. Unfortunately, double booking is the only thing that will really drive your revenue up...

I only take small dogs, so I have had up to five dogs (including mine) at a time with no problems. I do introductions very slowly with high supervision and direction, encouraging them to play nicely, and it usually works out great. Only once did it not work out, but then I just used baby gates to keep two groups separated from each other and managed that carefully. We have a separate fenced front yard and back yard, so we have a pretty good set up for separating dogs if we need to. I never leave dogs alone together, period. If I have to shower or leave the house for any time, I crate everybody. Also, since they are small, I can walk them all at once, or in two groups if they aren't friendly. It really depends on the situation. I actually don't introduce my dog to the visitors at the meet and greet, because I know that she will act badly at first, but she always comes around and accepts the dogs with a bit of time. When a new Rover guest comes to the house, I crate my dog and all other visitors for at least the first hour, then slowly start trying introductions. If it doesn't work at first, I try again in a few hours, or even the next day. It seems to always work out if I am careful and patient, and give the dogs direction, praise, and treats for being nice to each other. I do have to be right there though, no walking away to do other things, a fight can break out very quickly if you stop paying attention to their body language, so it's more work with more dogs (of course). Be right there if you start hearing any snarling, give everybody a break, try again later. Anyway, that's what works for me, and it's been great so far.

Hi, we have had up to 9 dogs at once. We have 3 and over Christmas we had a house full. I have never had any problems, knock on wood. How we introduce them is first I separate the dogs and let the newest arrival get calm first. I put our three in the bedroom, some in the garage, some in another room, etc. I let our dogs out first and let them get use to the new dogs. Once everyone is calm, I let the next set out. I am not going to say its easy! Sometimes it is and some times it takes some time. Depends on the dogs and how much they have been around other dogs. Trust me, during that first couple of hours I am doing a lot of snapping, clapping and anything else to snap them out of the attitudes some dogs have. I will say this, up until 2 months ago I would take almost any dog. I had a great dog but he was not neutered. The meet and greet went great all was good and I had a last min booking with 2 dogs. This male started getting very aggressive, he changed quickly. I ended up having to separate him from the pack for the rest of his stay. I will say this and my only advice start slowly, add dogs and you will know what you can handle. Oh and feeding. Well I have a dog food line. I make all the food bowls. I feed my 3 in our room, some outside, some in the garage and some in the main house. With that many dogs I have wet food to get them to eat faster and I never, never free feed them when that many dogs are in the house. I tell the owners that up front. Its to hard to free feed in my opinion. That's our story and if you look at our profile pics you will see all the dogs laying in the sun on the back deck or all in the living room. Its a handful and you really earn your money that is for sure. I don't leave the house unless someone else is home to watch them all. Cheers, Ambrele

Hi David -

I take in two guest dogs at a time and have two of my own, so I'll have up to a group of four here. Currently the two dogs I'm watching are from different households. I'm actually watching them all wrestle in the next room and I couldn't have hoped for a more compatible group. Group dynamics get weird when you start increasing the number of dogs, and there's always the possibility of the group targeting one dog. In my case, I'll require all the dogs to meet before agreeing to sit them at the same time. First I'll introduce my own dogs to the guests, then allow them to mingle as a group. Most minor problems will sort themselves out quickly, with a little direction from the humans around, such as enforcing a rest period when someone gets a little bratty or overwhelmed. Even with the best socialized dogs, there are always going to be some individuals that just don't get along well, so I'd be hesitant to house multiple dogs without having them meet first (the exception being if I knew one or both dogs well enough to predict their reactions).

Instead of just asking a blanket "is your dog good with other dogs?" you may get better results asking more specific questions, like "what is your dog's favorite/least favorite way to play?" and "what kind of behaviors does your dog find annoying from other dogs?" People are less willing to say anything negative about their dog's habits, but they'll be happy to point out what other dogs do that is less than ideal, and if the dogs you're going to house can't all meet beforehand, this will give you a better idea which ones will enjoy each other's company.

If I had to "occasionally" head to the vet, I would have to rethink sitting. I just find that comment very scary, and the "no dog has ever gotten REALLY hurt" . 5 dogs may be a bit to much to handle. I'm sorry, but i'm just thinking about the wounded animals in those situations.

I have 2 of my own and will take up to three guests at a time. i feed them alone until I get to know them. It is not worth the aggravation of feeding them all together. You will get to know the problems. Try to keep the dogs from packing up in narrow halls. They get bunched up and one is bound to get nervous. It is impossible to dog sit without an occasional trip to the vet, but the meet and greet is so important. I have had a few minor nips and small fights, but no dog has ever gotten really hurt.

I will take in two dogs, in addition to my own, but have accepted a third for short periods of overlapping time. I do have to know all the dogs before I will accept a third in order to make an assessment about their ability to all get along. I've only had one instance in which one dog didn't get along with the other two and I had to keep them separated, which is fairly easy as I can divide up the space with baby gates. Most of the time I will separate all the food bowls into different rooms and will monitor the situation, especially when I know a dog is the type to go for another's food. In that latter situation, I will never leave food out for grazing purposes.

I'm not sure about other pet owners here, but I would want to know what other dogs were going to be around my dog and see how they interact before I booked. Such as the sitter's pets but I would not be comfortable if there were going to be other customer's dogs interacting with my dog that I did not get to do a meet and greet with. I have a lot of time, love, and training in my dog and would be devastated if she were hurt by another customers dog. My dog is not dog aggressive and I am new to this site and maybe it's normal for people to have more than one dog stay at a time but I would want to know if there were going to be strange dogs before I booked.

I prefer to keep only 2 dogs (or households) at a time, purely for my own sanity and the pets safety. I have had up to three families stay at once, 5 dogs including mine, and I've never really had any aggression between dogs. As a rule, all dogs are introduced through a baby gate, if that goes well, we move to the back yard and do an on leash intro, this system works welk fir me and always works...at least for me. Everyone is fed seperately (in crates or playpens if needed) personal toys are never allowed out with the group, as mine doesn't share well. I have a ton of community toys and have only had to pick them up once due to toy aggression. Overall I have been lucky and have not had to keep guests sesperate unless not being directly supervised, then I just close the baby gates/crates/playpens. As your client base grows and you have repeat bookings you will get to know the dogs personalities, like "booboo hates having his butt sniffed" etc and most problems can be nipped in the bud before they become a big deal. Its mainly just staying calm and learning to read the dogs body language, most issues can be spotted before any accidents happen.