Typist: Bethany
Perhaps the most difficult part of life with three dogs is the constant competition for attention. Add an exceptionally needy cat and a cockatoo always craving all eyes on him, and my multiple pet household becomes a nonstop race to be noticed. When considering the addition of a third dog to the family a friend warned me that it didn't just mean dividing my time further but adding more time to pet related activities. That friend was right. My pet habit hobby is all consuming. Fortunately, my pets accompany me while enjoying my other hobbies, traveling and doing anything and everything outdoors. In fact, I consider road tripping and outside activities to be Wilhelm, Brychwyn. Huxley, Leo and Amelia's hobbies too. Not usually competitive hobbies, the pets still need to feel equal in the amount of love and attention they get while we pursue our interests together. Wherever we roam, there is no greater sight than an affectionate gaze from Wilhelm, Brychwyn rolling to his back for a belly rub, a wide-eyed over-the-shoulder smile from Huxley, Amelia closing in for a head-butt or Leo bowing down to be scratched. I just wish the five of them trusted me to manage my time well enough to not make me feel like I am always the prize in a contest. I love all five pets equally and I know that they care for one another despite what seems like a constant battle to crush each other for an extra pat or treat. Anything and everything that is possible to ensure each pet gets individual caring and group attention as well as security and confidence in their place in our home and the world, I do it and I won't stop. Yet the race for affection isn't likely going to end. So like all things about life with multiple pets, I will just learn to love it too. After all, some races are wildly fun and awfully darned adorable, even if nobody ever really wins.
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K9 Bytes: A Picky Shopper Finds Handcrafted Dog & Cat Item Bliss | #MultiPetMania Review & Giveaway6/2/2015
Typist: Bethany
After an advanced obedience class years ago, another student and I were discussing nervousness for our first ring competition that weekend. When I explained that one difficulty for me was going to be that the dogs cannot have tags attached to their collars, my classmate was shocked that I only had one collar for each dog. My belief that I wasn't a collar collector because I have boy dogs was fallible since the classmate I was talking to was also competing with a male. So I had to confess, I truly wish I had a few cute collars for my dogs. An even deeper secret wish has been to have the dogs and cat wear matching collars. But my next confession is that I am incredibly picky about collar style and quality. In the end, it wasn't fluffy boy dogs keeping me from having cute sets of collars for my dogs but just that I hadn't found the right collars. Fortunately, I discovered K9 Bytes and my (albeit silly) dream of Wilhelm, Brychwyn, Huxley and Amelia wearing matching collars has finally come true. Best of all, K9 Bytes collars are stylish, sturdy and made right here in Cascadia.
K9 Bytes provided collars and toys for review in this post and paid a fee to be a Multiple Pet Mania Month sponsor. Cascadian Nomads only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers and all opinions are always our own. K9 Bytes, Inc is not responsible for the content of this article.
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Typist: Bethany
It never fails. Every time the pets and I are out and about, someone asks me how I manage three dogs, a cat and a cockatoo. At a neighborhood street fair on Friday, a woman came near to say hello to the pets and queried "I could never take my pets out like this. How do you do it?" Ensuring the dogs were focused on their greeting a stranger skills and that Leo and Amelia felt safe, I replied "Well, it takes a lot of training." The woman seemed stunned, "You train all of them?" If only she knew how many times (and in how many locations) I have had this same conversation. Sadly, a busy street fair is not the place to explain my passion for and all the benefits of positive reinforcement pet training. Later, I wondered if I could have done better to inspire her to train her pets than my quick "yes, of course" answer. Maybe it wasn't so much that I felt gypped in not being able to thoroughly address my sadness in imagining that this woman's pets never get to experience the joys of training and socialization but my disappointment was in that she asked the wrong question. What I would have responded had she asked, "How do you train all of them?"
1. Individual Time
Training time is individual time and separate time for each pet is one of the most important part of life in a multiple pet family. In parrot training, time set aside just for the bird is called "focused attention." Leo is particularly fond of time when I focus on him and only him. Actually, in Leo's perfect world, he would have all eyes on him all the time. But all of the pets love some time in a room, in the yard or in a class when it is just me and them. In fact, every living creature ever loves on-on-one time with someone they love. Training is a perfect way to make special separate time happen on a regular basis.
3. Get Organized
I finally started a training journal! Now I will be able to keep track of what each dog has been working on as well as steps in cat and cockatoo training. Not only do the pets each need individual time but they are also individuals. They don't all like to learn the same things nor do they all have perfect training sessions each and every day. My training journal is going to be my guide to where each pet has been in their training and what we should work on next.
4. Handle With Care
Obviously positive reinforcement training is about taking exceptional care of a pets physical, mental and emotional well being. But don't forget that the trainer needs just as much positivity as the trainee. I am taking care of myself every time I take my pets out for a walk. I am taking care of myself when taking pride in seeing any of my pets succeed. I don't see training time as a chore but I that hasn't always been true. There are plenty of ways out of feeling negative about training time and when the positivity is kept in training, for trainer and trainee, everyone wins.
5. Ask The Pros
The best way out of a training rut is to seek professional help. This can be as complex and pricey as attending positive reinforcement training workshops or classes or as simple and free-from-the-library as checking out a new training book or DVD. There are dozens of pet sports to try and new pet activities pop up constantly. Enlisting the help of a professional positive reinforcement trainer can also help you with managing multiple pet training time.
6. Tick Tock
Time spent training means less time spent doing other multiple pet managing. As I continue teaching the dogs to behave less rowdily when any one nears our house, I recently realized that despite how slowly this training process is, I have spent a lot less time wrangling crazed lunatic dogs than I used to. Even if they never sit perfectly on their beds in silence the moment they hear the sound of a neighboring dog several blocks away, the time I have spent training them is already making my life easier.
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