# Do you leave your dogs home alone together?



## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

I read a thread a while back about dogs that were left alone in the yard together, and when the owner got back home one had killed the other. I leave my dogs together whenever I leave the house, other than on short errands, I am gone 6-7 hours a day, 3 days a week. I have never had an incident between my dogs.My sister has 2 Dobermans and she also leaves hers together while she is at work 5 days a week for 9 hour shifts. I am now wondering if anybody who leaves or has left their dogs alone has had any incidents of fighting while they have been gone?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

We leave Jax and Banshee out together. We never leave Jax and Sierra out alone for any extended period of time.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Depends on the dogs. 

Raven has been left loose with certain fosters, others I wouldn't trust them together. Kaiser is usually crated but he's been left loose with Raven occasionally. 

I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable leaving 3+ dogs loose together.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Why is the situation different when you have 3 dogs? I have heard this mentioned that they act like a pack when you add the 3rd, but I have never had 3 dogs before so I don't really understand how their behavior changes.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

My own dogs yes. Foster dogs never.


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

We will leave a male/female GSD pair in the yard. But we know which dogs we can leave together. I don't think we've ever left them there for more than an hour or so, if we are going to be away from the house for a longer period, we will just leave one dog out (usually Fritz who is fine by himself). 
I never leave a GSD out with the Lancashire Heeler for more than a few minutes. The little guys tend to be bossy little idiots sometimes, so why take the risk.

Annette


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Germanshepherdlova said:


> Why is the situation different when you have 3 dogs? I have heard this mentioned that they act like a pack when you add the 3rd, but I have never had 3 dogs before so I don't really understand how their behavior changes.


I can only speak for my dogs... but I know that Raven protects Kaiser even when he doesn't need it and that they back each other up so I wouldn't trust them alone with another dog. 

_Maybe_ if it were a permanent dog and after lots of time together (1 year or more) but I still think the potential is there for 2 on 1 which can be disasterous.

Most of my fostering was done before I adopted Kaiser but have had 4 fosters since and there is a definite change in behavior with 3 dogs than with 2. I have to stay on top of everyone much more.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

I have always had 3 dogs at a time, once the newbie is trustworthy about potty and non-destructive behaviours they are all left out free to roam the house.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Once they're trustworthy I leave everyone out together. They even have access to cat food (unless Cleo is blocked in my room). 

Right now I have two at most (Rafi and my partner's dog, Kailor) plus Cleo. But in the past I had three dogs and often a guest dog and they were all out together with no problems. 

With fosters I will crate them until I'm positive they are trustworthy (with other dogs, with Cleo, with my stuff, etc.) and then I will leave them loose but that is usually at least 4 weeks (for adults, much longer for puppies) before they are at that stage. If I have any doubt about their trustworthiness or there is even a _hint _of inter dog or cat issues I will crate someone in a different room.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Only for short periods of time - they are kept apart in different parts of the house if I'm gone all day. I have a male/female pairing, five years age difference, younger male defers to older alpha female - but still, everyday the young guy gets older. He is dominant around other dogs, so don't want to chance it.

Otherwise they get along famously, but I've read enough stories about on this board and other boards about dogs getting along fine for years, and one day the owner comes home to find that one of the dogs has been killed by the other. That is just scary.


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## Alexandria610 (Dec 2, 2010)

Not my current dogs, no. The Doberman only likes the Chihuahua, but the Dobe's clumsy so I don't trust her out with the Chihuahua for that fact. When it comes to Alex (my GSD) I don't trust her with my Chihuahua, either. She gets too rambunctious and too 'prey drive' going on sometimes with Isabel, and I would NEVER trust either dog alone with the other. 

I'm hoping that the bonding and similarities of having another GSD (a male, raised from 8 weeks with Alex), at some point, will allow Alex and that GSD to be together when I am not around. But I cannot say for sure, as I would have to judge that when I get to that point.

So to answer the question, never (currently) but possibly at some point. To me it just depends on the dogs in question.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

You hear about dogs killing each other when the owner is not home, but I think that is actually pretty rare. How many times in history have dogs been left out together and NOT killed each other? Naturally, if two dogs don't like each other, common sense dictates that you wouldn't let them run together unsupervised.

That said, I'm pretty paranoid, so I generally don't leave the girls out together all day if no one is home. I don't sweat it for short errands.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

Clover is never crated. All of them are uncrated when we are home including at night. We have left the two boys out for short periods when we are gone. If I only had one of the two males they would never be crated. I could leave one or the other out but I don't let either think they are superior cause one is in and one is out. Every time we start to think we could leave them out Max will do something to make me decide it's better safe than sorry.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Freestep said:


> *You hear about dogs killing each other when the owner is not home, but I think that is actually pretty rare*. How many times in history have dogs been left out together and NOT killed each other? Naturally, if two dogs don't like each other, common sense dictates that you wouldn't let them run together unsupervised.



That is what I have always thought, I am waiting to see if anyone has had this happen to them. I have not heard of anyone else that this happened to outside of the thread that I mentioned. If it is rare, then I won't worry about it but if many other people have had the terrible experience of something like this happening to them, then I'd like to know.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I wrote never, but only never for adult dogs. I definitely leave a dam with pups. And will leave puppies loose together up to a certain age, dependent on the dogs.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

I said never because Niko and Rosa will gang up on the cats. I trust them to be fine with each other (Niko and Rosa), but I don't know how the cats would fare if they were all left home alone together. I think there would be a lot of cat chasing, and that's not fair to my cats.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I dunno. If the dogs have collars on, they do not even have to be fighting to seriously injure or kill eachother. But my parents left Cujo and Pip together without issues. I used to leave Arwen and Dubya kenneled together and Babs and Jenna in the other. But with intact bitches, ya just never know if they will continue to be fine together. I would NOT leave Jenna and Odessa, or Tori and Odessa together, Heidi and Tori, or Heidi and Babs together, or Ninja together with anyone ever, but I probably would not leave any of them together if they are in heat or coming in or pregnant. Much easier to just separate them when I am not there than keeping track of who's mood might be where. 

Two's company, three's a pack. And the more in your pack, and the more mature/closer in age the members of the pack are, the higher the liklihood of issues.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

We leave both dogs, male & female, and two cats alone together in the house. 
Would never leave them outside if we weren't home. (just a fence, no kennels out there)


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## Davey Benson (Nov 10, 2010)

Mine all have access to each other all the time.


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

My parents never gave it a second thought. They always left the Border Collies and our GSD mix home alone...but never with the car keys.  The Border Collie male would probably have taken Paige in the car and run off.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

I said never because with Akela reaching teenager-hood, the pecking order is changing right now, with one day different than the other and Akela slowly becoming the alpha. He is more "noble" and less inclined to pick fights for small things than Diabla, so I think that once the order is already established I'll leave them together for short periods of time. Right now is just not the best moment.


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## Washu (Apr 20, 2007)

I said never, I don't know what will happen when I am not home watching them. Odin is a little guy and I worry he can get hurt trying to play with the big dogs. Ranger has some separation anxiety and he does better with work to eat toys in his crate. I can't leave him out, or Dooku might steal the toys or start a fight over them.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Never.

1. Zefra is crated and I think will always be when I am not home.

2. Male/female combo - both intact - no plans to breed or spay/neuter.

3. Half siblings.

4. Both are quite rough/dominant dogs. Totally fine with one another and other dogs but why chance it?


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

On good weather days, I'll leave my Golden and my GSD in the back yard alone. I do not leave my mini doxie alone with them. They tend to play too rough. She is kenneled in the house while I'm gone.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Diva (female GSD) and Wrangler (male cattle dog/Aussie mix) were left together if Wrangler wasn't with me. In the 11 years that I had them both, they NEVER had so much as a cross ways look, not one growl, NOTHING between them. Siren on the other hand wasn't left alone with them. She was just too obnoxious, and rough. And they were both older and didn't need to be made to put up with her BS.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Wanted to add that I didn't vote in the poll since none of the answers fit my previous situation. And now I am down to only one since loosing both my older dogs in the last year.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Yes, I leave 3 dogs inside the home, unsupervised when we leave. 2 spayed females, one intact male. I don't leave them outside together without supervision. Outside play and inside interaction is so different. 
When Kacie and Karlo play together, Onyx gets very jealous, so I know this is an issue. Though when I'm not home, the dogs just tend to chill. 
Onyx will put on a show if I'm around....otherwise she is more docile, even with the other family members around. 
I always expect to come home to a problem. Dogs are Dogs after all....and I am a worrier.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Davey, I love the picture of your dogs! You have never had an issue with leaving the 4 together? Are they left indoors or outdoors?

On the topic of cats, I don't leave my cats with the dogs-I am not that trusting. I have a tall gate on my lower level where the family room is located, and I close the gate when I leave so that the cats won't be disturbed by the dogs. Also the litter box is located in the laundry room that is also in the lower level, the laundry room door is ALWAYS closed so that the dogs don't get into the litter box-and we installed a cat door on the laundry room door so that the cats can get in and out at will.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

My two adults are together all day, every day. No issues whatsoever. It took us awhile to get to that trust-point, though.

The older one caved to the younger one within a few months or so. I have to be very careful about anything left out -- a prized chew, etc... A high value chew is the only thing that will rile the older girl up. As long as those items are not around, there aren't any problems. I'm very, very careful about this. I know what each dog "treasures." Those two eat and drink out of the same dishes, so no problem there, either. The only thing that'll get them to go against each other are high-value chews. Those items are awarded seperately.


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

Yes, short errands all three of them together, over night all three together but if I am gone for too long and hubby isn't home and Indra is with me, then Judge goes into the crate and Yukon stays out.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

All 3 of mine together.....2 males and 1 female (also, one cat and one male terrier) inside...running free.

Sometimes for fun, I turn my web cam on to see what they are doing when I'm gone. hahaha. Mostly, the 3 GSD are sleeping on the couch together...the terrier and cat are asleep on my daughter's bed together. My female will occasionally pass the trash can and give it a big huge sniff. Then she looks around before thinking about it...then goes lays back down. My oldest male will get up sometimes and look out the window. My youngest male will sometimes whine...and my female gets up to give him a lick on the face. Then they play musical chairs.....they move and shift and change sleeping spots.


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

jetscarbie said:


> All 3 of mine together.....2 males and 1 female (also, one cat and one male terrier) inside...running free.
> 
> Sometimes for fun, I turn my web cam on to see what they are doing when I'm gone. hahaha. Mostly, the 3 GSD are sleeping on the couch together...the terrier and cat are asleep on my daughter's bed together. My female will occasionally pass the trash can and give it a big huge sniff. Then she looks around before thinking about it...then goes lays back down. My oldest male will get up sometimes and look out the window. My youngest male will sometimes whine...and my female gets up to give him a lick on the face. Then they play musical chairs.....they move and shift and change sleeping spots.


I've always wanted to be a "fly on the wall" to see what Scarlett does when we are gone. I'm SURE she sniffs the garbage cans...and worse. It must be so cute to see them taking care of eachother.


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## wolfspirit (Dec 10, 2009)

I leave my 2 males (age 2 and 3) together loose in the house.They are fine together.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Yes Daisy has always been w/ other dogs since she was no longer crated. Becuse I am apt to come home at weird times and so is my husbandwe are in and out alot. Daisy is usually getting up from her nest in the corner and Lucky is on his bed in LR or looking out the patio window.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

For those of you who leave your dogs alone together, is anyone leaving 2 dogs of the same sex that are not neutered/spayed together?

One of my dogs is neutered and one is not, so far they have not had any trouble together. I have been leaving them for about a year and a half now. Up until six months ago neither were neutered.


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## Dlilly (May 24, 2011)

I keep the foster Beagle in her crate. Shiloh and Delilah are allowed to roam free together in the house.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

We can't ever have Sania or Gracie together, but Gracie, Shelbye, and Aiden (pit bull, mini schnauzer/pit mix, and Frenchie) all stay together when everyone's gone. I put Ozzy in his kennel when I leave, simply because he's so small and if they're all playing rough, he could get hurt. I'm sure he'd be fine, but I don't want to take that chance. (Gracie likes to throw herself on the ground when they're playing, and if she lands on him, that could hurt him).


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

For all day events :

Sasha will always be crated since she is a major counter surfer.

Given a choice, Mauser prefers to be in his crate.

Tazer and Spike get one large xpen and Feugo gets a smaller one.

Winnie and Kaynya can be loose.

For shorter durations (like a couple hours or less), Tazer can join the 2 girls and have access to most of the house.


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