Pushing with two dogs?

[Bea]

Is it OK to push with both of my pups at the same time? I have done this twice now when I had to hurry out after dinner. Each of them push hard into me and each wait for the ready. I have them take turns by handfuls.

They are already used to waiting close by on a mat or box while I do tricks or training with the other one. They can also be side by side and only the dog who's name I use will do the behavior asked for, i.e. Colt lie down. Only Colt will lie down.

Just wondering if there is anything that may be detrimental to the affect of the exercise.

[neilsattin]

Hi Bea,

Hopefully the pushing is still going well with you. As with just about anything, the most important thing is for you to observe how it's going for your dogs. If you don't notice any detrimental effects, then I wouldn't worry about it.

However, what you miss out on by doing it this way is building a rhythm with a single dog, and riding a wave to ever higher energy states. It strikes me that the stop and start of one dog, then another, might prevent you from making as much progress.

Remember that the "push" is also about the relationship-building that's going on with you and your dog. It's about you learning how to attract your dog through the way you move, varying according to how your dog responds to you over time.

I suppose that having said all that, I would encourage you to spend more time pushing one-on-one to see how that changes things in your relationship with each, and YOUR comfort level in attracting your dog's energy, and working with an energized dog.

Great question - thanks!