#191 Beyond the Pack Mentality: The Emotional Safety of Dogs in Shared Spaces

Send us a message - we can't reply but we are listening

What happens when dogs are forced to share space with an unpredictable or aggressive housemate? I'm diving into a thought-provoking comparison that might change how you view multi-dog households.

Support the show

🎙️ Have a topic you'd like us to cover?
Submit your suggestion at fiveminutedog.com using the contact form.

📚 Join our online training platform:
Dog training courses from Personable Pets

👩‍💻 Need one-on-one help?
Book a virtual session with a Family Dog expert: personablepets.com/virtual-sessions

📱Follow us for daily tips and updates:
TikTok | Facebook | Instagram

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
So hear me out on this one and you don't have to
agree with me.
I just want to give yousomething to think about.
If a dog lives in a multi-doghousehold and one of the dogs is
unpredictable, aggressive, aresource garter, would that be
similar to living in a domesticviolence situation?

(00:25):
I talked to some people aboutit but they weren't quite on
board.
They said you know, dogs arepack animals.
That's just how it works.
There's always a dominant oneand I get where they're coming
from and that idea has beenaround for a long time from and

(00:49):
that idea has been around for along time.
But honestly I disagree.
Because here's the thing Evenif you do believe dogs have a
natural hierarchy, that doesn'tmean it's healthy for one dog to
live in fear of another.
And in most homes the setupdoesn't exactly replicate the
great outdoors.
Our dogs aren't roaming acrossacres of land where they can
spread out and avoid conflict ordecompress in their own space.

(01:12):
They're sharing a relativelysmall area, four walls, and
often with no real way to escapeeach other.
So they're competing for thesame beds and furniture, the
same windows to look out, thesame three-foot doorway to get
inside and outside, that sametight kitchen where food prep

(01:35):
happens.
The same humans, the samehallway, the same bedroom.
There's no pack dispersal herebedroom.
There's no pack dispersal here.
There's no safe distance to getaway and cool off.
If one dog is resource guardingor posturing or snapping, the
other dogs can't just opt out,they have to live with it.

(02:03):
And even if nobody's gettingphysically hurt, that kind of
stress always watching your back, always checking the room
before entering it builds up, itshapes how a dog moves and
sleeps and eats and interactsand some of them, I think,
probably just go into survivalmode.
To me that's not that differentfrom what people experience in

(02:23):
abusive or high-conflict homes.
There's tension, there'suncertainty, there's nowhere to
truly relax.
And look, I'm not saying theaggressive dog is bad or that
the owner is doing somethingwrong.
This isn't about blame.
A lot of dogs with aggressivebehaviors are just scared,

(02:44):
under-socialized, maybe in painor just doing the best they can
with what they know.
And this also isn't a call toaction.
I'm not saying you have torehome or separate or make
drastic changes.
I'm just saying let's look atthe whole picture and ask those

(03:04):
harder questions Like are myother dogs safe, not just
physically but emotionally?
Do they get to be themselves,or are they always deferring to
keep the peace?
And is the way we've set up ourhome working for everyone who
lives there?
No judgment, no easy answers.

(03:26):
Just thought I'd give yousomething to think about.