Excitable male dogs and pregnancy - 2009-04-24

Question

We have 2 male dogs, mastiff x ridgeback.. The older one is 4 and the younger one only 15 months old. We have no problems with their attitudes with each other; they get along great and miss each other when separated. We have moved house in the last 3 weeks and they are both uncontrollably upset when I get home from work, they cry and run around and bark and it takes me 20 mins to settle them before I can even walk into my house, what can I do about this? I am 31 weeks pregnant and don't want them to accidently knock me over because they are over excited to see me? Also the younger dog is proving to be very difficult to train; he does what he wants when he wants, even though he seems to know what we want him to do. The older dog is great and very well behaved. I love them both, but can't risk having the younger one be so disobedient when we are about to have a baby. I don't want to have to give him up. What can I do?

Answer

This is not something that can be addressed via a Q&A. Having two of the same sex dogs, may potentially be a time bomb with the younger one fighting his way to the leadership. Please ensure that at least one, ideally both are desexed to minimise this risk. Moving house is stressful for you but one of the most stressful things there are for a dog, if not handled properly. Whilst I understand your time pressure, you need to give the dogs some time to settle into their new environment. Give leadership instead of attention – only interact with them when they behave. Whatever you do you should NEVER leave any dog with a child or baby, let alone two of them. I would urge you to start a new family member introduction program – see some of our articles on this site that may help you – and I would recommend that you seek professional advice asap to have the dogs trained and minimise the risk to yourself and the family.