Crazy question, but I have to ask...?

Question

I was pondering...If you have two dogs both are two years old and grew up together, if you send one to obediance training and not the other, would the trained dog influence the untrained dog or vice versa?

I would definitely send both, but I was just curious.

They are both pit bulls, sisters, both are intelligent, with different personalities.

You guys are giving great answers, thanks.

Answer 1

dogs can be very good imitators...so it could go either way. if the "bad" dog does something, and it looks rewarding, the "good" dog may copy. conversely, lets say the "good" dog sits for you all the time and gets treats or praise, the "bad" dog may start responding as well to also reap the rewards.

it is possible to do training classes with one, and take what you know and apply it to the other. but generally, its always better to take both.

Answer 2

I'm gonna take a guess here, and say it depends on the breed of dog. I have a pit bull that started obedience classes, but hasn't finished yet. I also have two small dogs...a dachshund, and a mix. My pit seems like she is eager to learn. My dachshund has never been that way. Besides the fact that my pit, and the two small dogs have separate "issues." The small dogs are "lickers", never had that problem with the pit. The pit chews up stuff, never had that much of a problem with the small dogs. My guess is that the other dog might pick up a few things, but probably not enough to be beneficial.

Answer 3

I think they would both influence each other. If the untrained dog sees the trained dog doing stuff and getting treats, the untrained dog would mimic the same behavior. On the other hand, If the trained dog saw the untrained dog getting more attention from his bad behavior, he would surely follow.

Answer 4

Dogs are definitely influenced by each other. I have one dog and when ever other dogs come over she picks up on their habits. Both bad and good. (Usually bad ) haha! If the untrained dog saw that the trained dog was getting more attention or more rewards, it would probably try to do the same to make you happy and get rewards too.

Answer 5

well some things the other dog can mimic, but the best thing you get out of obedience training imo is the bond between owner and dog, it makes the dog listen and watch YOU more , you want both dogs to do that and not follow the other dog.
I found one trainer who charges the same price for 2 dogs as 1,theres probably alot of good trainers out there who do that, good luck

Answer 6

I have a Pit Bull named Petey(Pea,for short)who is very well trained.He knows not to jump on people when they come in,he can sit&stay on command as long as I want him to,I can walk him without a leash,he sits automatically when offered his food dish,he never stares when we eat our dinner.In comes my Mom to live with me temporarily with her Pit Bull ,Goku ,who jumps on everything and everybody,gets in the garbage,takes off from the yard,and generally misbehaves about everything,mainly because my Mom allowed it.I asked her if I could help her train some of this stuff out of him,and it took a while to overcome his(and my Mothers)stubborness,but he now sits at the door before asking to go out,doesn't leave the yard,doesn't dig(I installed chicken wire over the whole yard)and generally has a lot of manners.Well,my Dog began to pick up Goku's bad manners,and I had to re-Instill the old good ones,he figured out he could get more attention if he mis-behaved as Goku did.Dog Training isn't really Dog Training,it's People Training,because it's your reaction to what your dog does that matters most in the way they will behave in the long run.I would take them both at the same time!

Answer 7

I always keep what I call a "lead" dog in the house: A well trained dog that is very obedient, extremely stable, highly socialized to cats and dogs, and one that really likes puppies. I have found that this does help to stabilize the environment. I have seen her literally step between two dogs and in no uncertain terms tell them to knock it off...

Also, it helps to ward away nuisance barking as she has never been a nuisance barker and the other dogs will often take her lead and walk away.

But nothing suffices, as you know, for training.

Answer 8

If the one that got trained was the dominant one of the pair, it might affect the other's behavior. I have a situation where one of my dogs is older than the other and the older dog taught our younger one some of the house rules - which rooms are off-limits, where to go potty, etc. So some obedience training would probably rub off, but likely not enough.

Answer 9

No as I don't believe in sending a dog I take my dog to dog obedience learn what's needed and work with both/.

Answer 10

In my experience the untrained one would influence the trained one..more than the reverse.