multiple dog bonding

[Orrymain]

I'm just curious how you feel about your dogs bonding. There really are good and bad elements to it, but such a huge believer in having dogs in pairs or even threes. My current two dogs were acquired a few months apart. The oldest had just turned 1 and the baby was a baby, just 3 months old. They really bonded, and I was so happy when I realized they had become true sisters. How do you feel about your dogs bonding so much?

[Bill]

Of course they should bond. Don't know how you could prevent it. Don't know why you would want to.

[kernow]

I am a one dog person, but she has close bonds with other dogs within the family and I make sure she sees them often. She also has a close friendship with our cats, it is not unusual to find them curled up next to each other.

[JennTroynLuca]

Dog bonding is a wonderful thing. The pack instinct is strong in a dogs DNA so having 2 dogs that are bonded with each other is fulfilling that need. For people who own single dogs the pack instinct will be fulfilled by the bond with the family or other animals within the family. It is important to have a well balanced happy pack but they will need boundaries and exercise to keep them well balanced. The one problem with having a pack (2 or more dogs) is the feed off of each others moods and when one develops a problem then there is the potential that they will all start acting up. So if you have a "pack" its very important to keep them all balanced with plenty of exercise and boundaries.

[Justontime]

It can be a problem, my mum had two little dogs (sisters but from different litters) they became so close that they depended on each other. There were other dogs in the household but when one of the pair died (of old age) the other lost the will to live and died very soon afterwards.

[Orrymain]

Actually, that is the danger, but it's a hard one to fight. I had 3 dogs for a long time and all 3 died within a year of one another. When the first of the 3 died, her "puppy" (not really but in love) had a traumatic reaction and went blind and deaf. She hung on for a few months, but then she died. It was just a few months after that when the 3rd one passed. As hard as that is, I have seen the difference in happiness levels for a dog when they have a dog companion and I'm a believer in having 2 or 3 dogs at a time.

[Stephanie]

My lot are all rescues that came to us a good year or 2 apart, they were older dogs when we got them too - Jakey 4 years, Ruby 3 years, Roddy 5 years. We have had all of them over a year now. They all get on with each other, the boxers love to play with each other but as for bonding, they are more bonded to myself and my other half than to each other, we do a lot with them individually so I guess it figures. I do find it a little odd though sometimes, if my partner takes one dog out for a walk, no one misses that dog or looks for it. If I go 'missing' - aka shopping - then the boxers will look around the house for me, and Ruby, my heart dog, will lie down by the front door and wait for me to come back. They bond for certain things - scaring squirrels and cats out of the garden, attacking the letter box if the anything comes through it, shouting at the doorbell.......

[tom_cairns]

This is my first time with 2 dogs and it is a bit strange because the 9 week old pup wants to spend his time playing with my other dog (18 months) rather than me! We are a family of 5 and Dexter is very strongly bonded to me so it will be interesting to see how it all works out.
Tom