Training

Having a well trained, reliably recalled, dog makes such a difference to the quality of your life. But it does require effort when they’re young. You’ll need to align on that. I don’t fancy your chances of a well trained dog if you halve it with a chaotic untrained household! That was never going to be a problem for us, as we all inherited our approach to dogs from my farmer grandfather, whose dogs were always impeccable.

We decided that we’d both treat training like an individual task - not rely on the other house to do it for us. It’s as much about training the owner as the dog. We took different approaches. My dad took the dog to classes, where she showed off just how bright spaniels are, if they’re playing hunt the treat in the company of pugs and French bulldogs! I did training by myself - I had a lot of time. I want a dog that comes when called, doesn’t roam too far without checking in, never jumps up, never begs, never goes on furniture… Agree what your aims are, and both work towards that. If you do go to classes, the trainers need to understand that they can’t impose their language or routines onto you and your dog because of its living arrangements. The trainers my dad went to were fine with that.

You’ll need to agree what command words you’re working on and accompanying hand signals, and exactly what the dog is expected to do. We got our dog confused between my kids’ trick command “high five!” [palm presented fingers upward] requiring a paw touch, and my parents’ recall command “touch!” [palm presented fingers downward] requiring a nose touch, because the hand gesture is similar, and each household was teaching one but not the other, so the dog didn’t learn the distinction. She’s still a bit confused by that, which is our fault. But we got the basics right. (I don’t know whether my parents appreciated my choice of “Donald Trump” as the command word for toileting!)

In my experience training half a dog has been more difficult in just two respects. Getting your dog to walk to heal is a laborious discipline anyway. If several people walk the same dog (ours is walked by seven of us), then the dog’s behaviour will tend to the lowest denominator. But that’s not an absolute rule. Dogs will behave according to what they think the owner requires and to some extent behave differently for different individuals. Chewie is better behaved for me in this respect than for my kids, but then I walk her more often, and I’m more willing to keep stopping if she pulls. Her slack-lead walking is okayish - though when she’s excited, she forgets and pulls a bit. If I had to walk her longer on a lead (the park is only next door, and then she’s off), then I’d work on it harder. We’ve reached an equilibrium which seems to suit all 7+1 of us.

If you do have problems with a dog that pulls, buy a “halty” type harness that is anchored under their head not at the back of their neck. That way if they pull they find they turn their head. So the dog shares your incentive of not pulling. They’re perfectly comfortable for the dog to wear. It’s not a muzzle, or a choke. If your half dog is struggling to understand what’s required of her, because she’s working with multiple bosses, then this could help. We used one for a while, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do so again if I thought it was necessary.

The other issue - the only thing I’d say is a negative impact of our arrangement - is a tendency to guarding. Chewie spends two months in rural isolation, and then is abruptly immersed in all the diversity of a Lambeth park. Big dogs, small dogs, nice dogs, less nice dogs, obedient dogs, untrained dogs, single dogs and packs of dogs. We did have a couple of times where, after transition, she got it into her head that she should chase off small dogs with lots of aggressive noise. She doesn’t like the sound of pug and bulldog breathing, which doesn’t help! I’m prepared to believe this is a consequence of the life we have constructed for her. She feels a need to bond, especially when she’s just relocated, and the sudden intensity of canine company requires a bit of adjustment, and gives an opportunity for guarding instinct to kick in. She has to remember that we don’t need guarding, and that other dogs pose no threat to us.

My approach to reducing guarding behaviour is to make an elaborate effort of greeting other dogs, so mine can see that I can pet two dogs at once, and that the other dog is in no way a threat. When a small dog approached, I’d make sure I reached it as soon as my dog did (so, she spent a few walks on the lead for this purpose), and then pet and praise both dogs. We quickly established that other dogs were welcome, and their presence was rewarded. It’s a bit of an elaborate charade, but it achieved the required change in behaviour very quickly.

So, a bit of diligent management addressed this problem the first time it occurred. At the subsequent transition (ie four months later), I addressed it proactively without waiting for any evidence that she might consider guarding. And now all it takes is verbal reminders from me, and even that only for a couple of walks until she’s back in the swing of it. I wouldn’t describe this process as “settling in” because I see no signs that she’s aware of or bothered by moving. She’s settled from the moment she arrives, which is part of the joy of the arrangement. Guarding is just an instinctive dog behaviour, and sometimes she needs a reminder of the rules!

We get similar guarding behaviour if we stop for a picnic and I just accept that she’s actually happier, on those occasions, on a lead. If I had a whole dog, I might try to train it out of her. But I have half a dog. And if that’s the only compromise it requires from me, I can live with that.