Personal pandemonium – guest blog by southdowner

 

So if one dog can cause chaos, nine together must equal pandemonium… ! OK, let me introduce you to my personal pandemonium :)

How does living with multiple hounds work?  – isn't it chaos? After a couple of decades of living with and enjoying the company of many varied canine characters I have found that life in a canine-human group* can work well and that it is (mainly) peaceful. Mind you, most people who expect chaos have contacted me with problems in their own canine-human relationships.**

So this is a picture blog post to show that it really IS mostly peaceful here in multi-dog-ville and to illuminate some of the relationships between the group which make multiple dog owning such a rich source of education (mine)  and entertainment (for all of us, both species).

2 seconds later Nemo DID fall off!

Here are some pictures I took recently. I have few photos of all the dogs together so how to keep them all in frame? Ask them all to sit together on the sofa while I took their pawtraits; as you can see, it was crowded.

missing Nemo

My vet nurse friend looked at this yesterday and asked how I kept them all there; she said that her two (also terriers) would be straight off again. Thinking about this, I don't actually spend hours training in formal sessions – these are bullies, they have a short attention span ! – but I do expect them to be nice to each other and listen to me mostly, especially if I use my "this is it folks!" voice. With multiple dogs, what is fun for two quickly degenerates into  a riot with many.

In the picture above, no one is yawning or panting (signs of stress and discomfort), but they are all being polite – no eyeballing, much looking away from each other. It's a bit like the London underground in rush hour :)

eye contact

Here (above) only one dog has made eye contact – Noodles with the bling collar. This is typical of Noodles! Every other bullie is being extremely polite and looking away. If you look at Noodles' ears they are half folded back, indicating friendship rather than a forceful glare, but Maisy is sensitive and Noodles is exuberant; with their personalities and relationship this is sufficient eye contact for Maisy to start panting.

Although the Grey Dogs (Xanthe and Maisy) are more aware of the other dogs' proximity and have a definite defined personal space, the bullies don't appear to mind closeness to the same extent***, and in most cases choose to lie in heaps of terriers.

Hazel lurking

Hazel (small brown and white dog, 2nd from left in pic above) appears particularly comfortable with dogs (our dogs) on all sides, being invisible in several photos once she curled up under the other dogs. On the other hand Friesia (out of this pic) rarely cuddles up tightly with the other bulls but will happily snuggle with Rosie. Again, the bulls here are being quiet and tactful except for Noodles (pic above) who is ferreting about for some reason…

Friesia's space

It's deliberate that everyone has made space around Friesia****(2nd dog from left, above)  – squashing is not her scene and without any staring, noise or faces, space has been made for her to be comfortable next to Rosie.***** (If  you look very closely you might see a small part of Hazel's neck, between the Greys and behind Nemo)

Meanwhile Rosie is distancing herself from the rabble. Some of the other dogs will curl up on or next to Rosie, especially Xanthe, Parker, Hazel and Friesia, but the only dog Rosie chose to go and curl up with was her daughter Flora. Sadly we lost Flora very suddenly this year aged only 8, and I'm sure that Rosie misses her daughter.

Parker and Hazel

Parker is a rescue labrador who had been badly abused before I adopted  him. He was terrified of people, dogs and new situations; he would stand in a doorway trembling and unable to walk through the entrance. If anyone leaned over him he would cower and urinate, and he took time to learn that walks were fun. With dogs he trusts he has become playful, and given the choice he enjoys sharing a dog bed to sleep in, rather than spreading out on his own.

In the picture above he is starting to lick his lips – this is a calming signal, an instinctive way of helping him cope with the camera pointed at him. ******

Friesia and Rosie

Friesia prefers Rosie as her most frequent companion for snuggling (above);  she also has clear patterns in whom she is unlikely to settle next to, and Noodles is her least likely choice of all the other dogs; both can be restless and easily disturbed and it seems a mutual decision that they play together but settle apart. Of course there's an exception to every rule!

ankle as pillow

Here's the exception captured (above), when they managed to sneak on the sofa next to me :)                                                              (Friesia on left, Noodles upside down on right)

* * *

*I chose "group" rather than pack deliberately – our group is very different from a pack in some ways – different rules and possibly stricter limits^, and the introduction of human communication and values definitely moves the concept of multiple characters away from that of a purely canine pack organisation.              

^maybe not necessary with some other breeds but essential with bullie personalities.

**That's my term of reference, a two-way relationship with responsibility on both sides. Usually it is not even distantly related to the way in which these owners view things.

***personal space for dogs is changeable and dependent on stress levels, situation, characters involved etc

****aka Moo!

***** I encouraged them all onto the sofa and then let them choose their places – maybe not military precision, but very interesting from a dog watching perspective.

****** Turid Rugaas, international dog trainer who first recognised and catalogued calming signals – a remarkable woman.