I have 2 dogs, a boxer and a shar pei and time for one long walk a day, which I generally enjoy. I always keep my shar pei on a halti harness and flexi lead so he can have a run. He's not keen on other dogs and broke free from a dogmatic the other day to confront a rottie - hence the harness!:rolleyes:

My boxer is good off lead and I trusted her recall until yesterday when she met 3 Yorkshire terriers who she just would not leave alone and completely ignored me to come back! She's not aggressive but obviously the other dog owners don't know that and she's a big dog! I was very embarrassed and could not get near enough to grab her because I had to keep my shar pei away from them. To make matters worse he then pulled me over and I could've cried!

I really thought I'd cracked the recall with her but now realise if she ignores me my other dog stops me from correcting her.

Should I keep her on a flexi lead as well, or will I get into a right old muddle!? How do you cope with walking two dogs? Or should I give up and walk them separately? It's just so horrible feeling like you're not in complete control of them!

To be honest I'd walk seperately until you have full control of the recall with
the Boxer....I have one that I can't trust 100% with her recall she's fine in training etc.
But with distractions etc on a walk forget it!

I have 3 Boxers, If I'm road walking I take two of the girls out together, but if they are being 'monkeys'
then they get taken out on their own. But free running they are taken out seperately.

Thanks Boxacrazy. As you know, boxers need lots of exercise and I'd rather not keep her on a lead all the time. I love walking the dogs together ( when they're behaving!) but the incident yesterday has really dented my confidence and I suppose with two strong dogs you're far more in control just walking the one at a time.

Our neighbours probably think we're mad because we still walk our 2 labs separately - but we've now got so used to it we all ( 2 dogs, 2 people!) enjoy the one to one. My one attempt to walk them together ended up with me face down on the ground hanging on to the two leads for dear life. That was about 18 months ago and I've never attempted it since - since their combined weight is more than mine, if they do decide to pull together I have no chance, and I'd rather stay safe!

I walk mine seperatly as I have a 13 month Rottie x GSD and a 16 month Jack Russell who go into competition to see who can go the fastest on the lead.  Also I let my big girl off over the field to chase her frisbee and as the JRT can't go off, he has selective deafness when his nose picks up a scent, its not fair he can see her chasing but can't join in.
My big girl also has an issue with traffic so walking on the lead along paths I need my full concentration on her.
I don't have a partner to help me walk so I take them out early morning and late morning (means I do 4 walks) and then Thur evening the JRT does agility and Sun eve the big girl does it.   Other evenings I play ball in the garden with them.
Its hard work but it gives them and me that one to one special time with each of them.
Hopefully when they are older things will improve and they can go together.

i walk 3 dogs out together. a 11 month boxer, a 11 month EBT x and a 10 month old lab x collie. the lb x has perfect recall, the EBT is 9 times out of 10, and the boxer is hit and miss.
i dont blame him for this becasue i am his 5th home and he is getting a lot better. when i first got him his recall was so bad. however keeping him on the lead all the time he got so frustrated becasue he wanted to play with my other dogs, and he wasn't really getting the exercise to burn off his energy. so i bougth a horse lunge line with a leather attachement that will breal under extreme pressure. and i let him outt with the lead trailin gon the floor , it is 30ft long. i also took very tasty treats with me. and i recall, my 2 other dogs are here like a shot, the boxer is a bit slower on intake, however if he refuses to come i stand on his line and then recall and i found he soon got the idea and he calmed down a lot more as well.

now i can walk all 3 off lead and recall when i see another dog no problems and they will all wait and sit while the other dog passes by. it does take planning. in fact i find having a tasty yreat and more than one dog makes them come for the treat faster becasue i operate a first coem first serve basis, so they all want to be the first dog. i make it a game where i will call them and you can see them waiting for me to call them. i also have my little girl with me. people who first see me think im mad intill they see how i cope and then they cant belive ussually how well beahned my dogs are considering. hopwever my dont give my dogs a choice, they either behave or they dont go out and they know i mean that. i ahve to say from years of having problem horses i find the dogs strength no problem. and i am built like an out shoue and have a booming voice that helps.

I walk both mine together on static 1.5 m leads (I have an akita and a lab), but I would never say it is too relaxing unless we go on  a two hour + walk as the lab likes to lead and always wants to be 2 inches ahead of where the lead reaches!

I only ever let them off the leads when I can be sure there will be no other dogs around as the akita has terrible recall if she is more interested in some smell in the grass.

I only manage to do this as I weigh in at 15stone 6 foot height so am strong enough to hold them both if they ever decide to go for the neighbours cat!  But my wife will never walk them together as she is a lot lighter than me (and shorter).

As I am by no means a brilliant dog owner (from a training point of view) cannot give any advice, except to say that if you need to control a dog that is stronger than you then a head harness of some description is most probably a good bet

I have four dogs but never walk more than three together. 

They have all been trained extensively on their own as well as together in groups of two or three.  I would say that the biggest problem trying to correct a wayward dog when you are waking more than one at a time, is that the others cant help but think they are being corrected as well and very soon they all begin to loose the plot not fully knowing what is the right behaviour.  The other major stumbling block is having different breeds that react differently to every day situations.  For instance an approaching puppy off lead would not get a reaction out of my older Beardies other than a quick look.  My Tibetan would be a little wary and dance away behind me and my Beardie baby would want to play.  This instantly pulls me in at least three different directions if I have them all together.

My advice to you would be make at least two of your walks for each dog individually, no matter how short, and one walk for them both together.  Good luck with them (it is a fact that dog walkers arms are longer than the average human

Under 3's, (obviously your Boxer) I have always walked the same as if I were to have an aggressive dog, due to the fact that they are adolescents, which makes them more boistorous and more likely to listen to their own instincts and will than yours. It's not something you can stop, but only something you can control and prevent.

Your Boxer will be intrigued by all dogs want to play and bounce all over them and recall when her urge to investigate is not that strong.  When you meet dogs that you know well who are of similar size or capable of outrunning and playing well with your Boxer then by all means leave her off lead to socialise and play, she needs her exercise and to learn her socilalising skills, but be very vigilant and a dog that is of wrong size or unknown recall straight back onto lead. Continue practise with recall everyday.

Your Sharpei, you obviously have sorted, well done for being responsible. Being such a strong dog, I personally would find it a task to control just the Sharpei when in awkward situations.

Taking out the two dogs together will mean that one or both will not be getting trained well, will not be getting your full attention and you may miss vital opportunities when you can correct bad behaviour.

When your dogs are well trained and over 3 then hopefully walking them together will be a pleasure, but this will very much depend on all your hard work over the next few months/years, to get them to this stage.

If you are short on exercise time due to having to walk seperately, you can always add to that time by playing ball/frizbee games in your garden, teaching to retrieve and to recall, and playing walk to heal games.

That is why I always have about 3 years between each dog.  I won't get another until the youngest is dead sensible and reliable walking nicely.

I can walk up to six sensible older dogs of my breed, but no way would I choose to walk more than one young one, on it's own or with the others.

Hi Rubygems,
I don't have any advice about walking 2 dogs together, but I'm sure in your situation 1 at a time would be best! but what I will say is if you are using a head collar always have it attatched (or a double ended lead) to a collar or check chain that way you will still have control on the dog if he manages to break free from the head collar. I always walk my dobe on a head collar with a check  chain too but the check doesn't actually get used, and is there incase of an emergency and he decides he no longer wants to walk on the head collar.
Hope you get your confidence back again, I know it is horrible when you get shown up like that and you know the dog can behave.
Good luck

I have four dogs which I walk together. However they were all trained to walk individually, then with one other dog, then with another as well and so on. In your situation, where you need to keep one away from others,  I would walk the dogs separately.

There are occasions when I have to walk my two separately...but for slightly less usual reasons.  My older dog goes through obsessive mounting phases and it's very embarrassing walking the streets with a six legged furball at the end of the lead :rolleyes:

I bet that brings a few stares your way.

Well we often get stopped several times on walks.  The trick is to keep moving briskly :D

Thank you all so much for your fantastic advice and stories. I felt such a failure the other day but I now realise I've been attempting too much too soon.

It's interesting that some of you wouldn't walk two young dogs together, I'd never really thought of it like that. I've taken them out separately since I got shown up and pulled over and felt much more in control. It's so noticeable how competitive the dogs become when walked together and how much more focused they are on each other and their environment than on me!! :rolleyes:

I'll keep working on their recall, although I don't think I'd ever let my shar pei off lead - he's too aloof and unpredictable (but also an absolute sweetheart). I've bought a double ended lead on your advice and will try attaching it to both his harness and his collar or his dogmatic. I do not want to be pulled onto my bum ever again, 4 times is enough!

At least with walking them separately they're getting some individual attention and I'll get more exercise! I envy those with lovely well behaved dogs but appreciate how much hard work you've put in. Perhaps I didn't choose the most obedient of breeds!

Just give it time RubyGems, you too will have lovely well behaved dogs, but it does take adolescence to be done and dusted with first. Rescues are full of dogs whom owners have cast aside because they don't behave, if only breeders had drilled into them that it takes time and effort and a good 3 years, it would either put people off altogether and save the poor pup heartache, or make owners more patient and happily go through puppyhood and adolescent problems with a 'I know it will be over soon' feeling.

Most breeds are calm and happy to plod along with their owner once matured, and have little interest in what is going on elsewhere. Like our children they just need to grow up and like our children you get good and naughty, as with any parent you just need to learn which strings to pull.

Keep up the good work. :-)

takes time and effort and a good 3 years, it would either put people off altogether and save the poor pup heartache, or make owners more patient and happily go through puppyhood and adolescent problems with a 'I know it will be over soon' feeling.

I am so glad you wrote that as I was thinking that maybe I was beginning to lose the plot as he is so good at training class but can suffer from selective deafness when out in the big wide world. I know he is in that awful adolescent stage but some times it seems as though we have cracked it only to have a bad day when I can't envisage him ever being a reliably wellbehaved dog.

I have read so many posts where people criticise the behaviour of other people's dogs and would feel terrible if someone thought that about my dog and that I was an irresponsible owner whereas I am a caring individual who is just trying to get it right.  I will have to concentrate on that "working towards" feeling :)

Perhaps it is like when you have your first child and get so much conflicting advice but in the end you do what you think is right and what you are comfortable with.

Ooooh hate to be a party pooper.................
But Boxers NEVER grow up

With Boxers it's patience and consistency that are the keys..
Even now I still have an 8yo Boxer bitch that is a complete pain in the backside.
But it's important to note that her behaviour would have been much better if I'd
have done some formal obedience lessons with her instead of solely concentrating on
her show career. So I pay the penalty now...she's walked on a headcollar, but she also
has problems with an over long soft palette so the vets have advised not to walk her in anything
that puts pressure on her throat. So it's either the headcollar or a harness. I prefer the head collar as I have full
control of her head.

With Boxers people don't realise that the 8 week cutey grows up into a horrible 'kevin am I bovvered' stage at around 12-18 months.
Which is why I always say to people with pups take them to training classes. Sadly Boxers are also casualties of people that can't
cope in adolescence stage. But Boxers never really calm down...I had one that I lost at 10 years old and she was still a Peter Pan
with oodles of bounce until 2 weeks before I lost her.

I don't disagree that Boxers like a few other breeds can stay more 'immature' I've seen plenty of bouncing Peter Pans myself, :-D but I walk daily with 3 Boxers 2 females and a male, ages 4,6 and 7, and they are absolute angels, extremely well behaved, and walk beautifully off lead, so training does make an awful lot of difference and I am glad that you are refering people to training classes, though the owners time and effort outside the classes is what really makes the difference.

I used to pass a Boxer in a mother's car every morning at school, and watched him grow up to 8 month's, he was a lovely friendly chap, the children loved him to bits, a few weeks ago he wasn't in the car and the owner told me she had passed him to rescue as he was too difficult to handle. :-( If I'd known she was having problems I would have offered to help her out, and spent time training with her, I wish she could have seen my friends 3 Boxers and how beautifully behaved they are.