Dog to dog time

[Salty the bordercollie]

Does anyone feel that having another slightly older border collie for my girl Salty who is 1.5 years old now to hang out with and play with will be of benefit? I’ve been minding a friends bc who’s also a girl 3 years old while she’s away and they have been playing and playing and I’ve noticed Salty looks to her when on walks for direction at times. I feel like this has huge benefits for some of her behaviour issues which are mostly impulse control related. I wasn’t sure if bc often model behaviour from others? 

Claire and Salty  

[D'Elle]

Without knowing more about your situation and your dog than what you have briefly posted it is impossible to advise on this. But be aware that just because your dog likes to play with one dog doesn't mean that a) she will like playing with any other specific dog, and b) she would want to share her home with another dog.

I fostered border collies for 8 years and had a lot of dogs come and go from my house. Some, my dog(s) liked and played with, others my dog hated, some my dog ignored. Dogs are just like people. They like some and not others. 

If you are concerned about impulse control in your dog, this is a training issue. You can train impulse control into your dog. Having another dog will not be likely help with this.

[GentleLake]

2 hours ago, D'Elle said:

Having another dog will not be likely help with this.

It could actually end up transferring to the other dog too and then you'd end up w/ 2 with impulse control issues. Best to deal with this individually rather than expecting another dog to take care of the problem for you.

Otherwise, yes, what D'Elle said.

[Michael Parkey]

Previous replies are correct, if one's dog has a behavior problem it is your responsibility to solve it with training.  But dogs do model behavior from other dogs, and this can be an advantage in certain circumstances.

If a young dog accepts the leadership (or dominance) of an older dog, and the older dog is well trained and well behaved, then the young dog will imitate the behavior of the older dog.  Of course this must be reinforced with appropriate training.  I've often seen my own young dogs (both border collies and related breeds) observe the way a trusted senior acts, then do the same.  What is even more interesting, vicarious learning in dogs (also called modeling or imitation) was recently demonstrated experimentally.  Now I wish I'd saved that reference.

Of course this works for bad behavior too, so you don't want your young dog hanging around with the wrong crowd.

[GentleLake]

I actually had one young dog who learned all his general in home manners -- sit, stay, come, etc. -- by imitating the other dogs when they did it.

Of course I've also had (actually now have) one whose impulse control is so challenged that not only do I have to be firm and on top of things all the time with her but my other dog will get sloppy sometimes if I I let her slack off.

The point here is that IMO it's never a good idea to get another dog with the belief that it'll help with whatever issues you're having with dog number one. It may, or it may backfire spectacularly. LOL

[Michael Parkey]

Agreed, never assume that adding a second dog will solve problems with the first one!  But I don't think this is what the original poster meant.  I interpreted her post as asking if letting her impulsive young dog interact with an older, better controlled dog could be beneficial. 

[GentleLake]

Perhaps, but if my sample of one's any indication (and yes, I know it's just one dog and so doesn't mean squat) it didn't make a bit of a difference. She's impulsive by nature and being around the stable one hasn't made a jot of difference.

Of course, the situation's also reversed and the older, stable dog was here first. But I still wouldn't count on it.

So, if the OP really wants another dog and is prepared for it either to make no difference for the first dog or for the possibility that it could contribute to the deterioration of the second dog's stability, then sure, go for it. And you might get lucky and find out that it helps.

 

[terrecar]

In terms of impulse control, training and desensitization is what has worked for my dog, Hannah. Training puts her away from the trigger via voice cue, giving her time to dial it down. Desensitization reduces the number and intensity of triggers. 

Having said that, Jan, who came here when Hannah was six, has been somewhat of a stabilizing influence on Hannah. This is limited, and would not be worth the gamble of getting a second dog based on some misplaced notion that it would help solve the first dog’s issues. It could just as well have no effect, or worse, multiply the issues. 

However, I inadvertently lucked out and brought home a dog that has been a good influence on Hannah. Jan’s tendency to take to people readily has resulted in Hannah being quicker to warm up to them.

Then again, Hannah likes people okay, she is just more aloof with people whose body language is confusing. So yeah, limited.

I didn’t read the OP’s question as asking if they should run out and get another dog either. I read it as asking if interaction with an older dog could be beneficial. I guess my answer would be, it could go either way, and if it’s beneficial it would likely be very limited.

[Salty the bordercollie]

Haha yes I agree! We are not getting another dog (yet). But I’ve been looking after a friends bc while she has been away and noticed Salty imitating her good and bad behaviours! But this has been especially helpful on lead walks as Salty is very interested in cars and Sunday (friends bc) isn’t. I’ve been watching her look at the cars then at Sunday and Sunday hasn’t taken any notice then Salty loses interest. Interesting to observe 

6 hours ago, GentleLake said:

The point here is that IMO it's never a good idea to get another dog with the belief that it'll help with whatever issues you're having with dog number one. It may, or it may backfire spectacularly. LOL

 

[Salty the bordercollie]

5 hours ago, Michael Parkey said:

Agreed, never assume that adding a second dog will solve problems with the first one!  But I don't think this is what the original poster meant.  I interpreted her post as asking if letting her impulsive young dog interact with an older, better controlled dog could be beneficial. 

Yes this is what I meant! Thank you for clarifying!! I’m just looking after a friends older and not so reactive bc while she is away. Salty still is attending dog school once a week to reinforce training. I was trying to find some articles and came across some stuff around  allelomimetic behaviours but thought it was worth asking some other bc/dog people about this! Thanks for the helpful response 

[Salty the bordercollie]

4 hours ago, terrecar said:

Having said that, Jan, who came here when Hannah was six, has been somewhat of a stabilizing influence on Hannah. This is limited, and would not be worth the gamble of getting a second dog based on some misplaced notion that it would help solve the first dog’s 

I didn’t read the OP’s question as asking if they should run out and get another dog either. I read it as asking if interaction with an older dog could be beneficial. I guess my answer would be, it could go either way, and if it’s beneficial it would likely be very limited.

Yes I wasn’t saying we were getting another dog hoping to fix any problems with Salty. One is enough for now!! She’s just starting to chill out a little now and has come a long way from when she was around 5months and super reactive. I can see how modelling behaviour from other dogs could work either way, Thank you for the helpful response  

[Salty the bordercollie]

On 1/12/2019 at 2:37 AM, D'Elle said:

Without knowing more about your situation and your dog than what you have briefly posted it is impossible to advise on this. 

If you are concerned about impulse control in your dog, this is a training issue. You can train impulse control into your dog. Having another dog will not be likely help with this.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear , I was hoping to hear from others if their bc had modeled behaviours from older dogs, as I’ve noticed Salty doing it a lot with my friends dog that I’m looking after while she is away. We are not getting another dog! Just my observations from salty spending time with this other bc name is Sunday who is a year older than our girl Salty. I feel that her spending time with other dogs in a backyard playing is teaching her a lot more than quick interactions with other dogs down the street or at the beach and also building her confidence. I have also noticed when out on lead walks Salty doesn’t pay as much attention to cars going past as Sunday doesn’t react at all. Salty has started to model this when on lead. But I agree with everyone it’s not always good behaviours that she will copy for example Sunday likes the bite the hose!

We are keeping on with all the training and practicing the three P’s for the impulse control and reactive behaviours. She’s definitely come a long way in the last 6 months.