How to Train Six Dogs at the Same Time

Above all, most dogs want to please their owner.

Training one dog is difficult. You have to make sure you know its feelings, requirements and personality well enough to treat it accordingly. Training six dogs at the same time, on the other hand, is six times more difficult. Not only do you have to keep your eye on six different personalities, you have to make sure that their personalities do not collide and result in hostility between them. Training six dogs might be difficult, but it is possible.

Difficulty:

 

Moderate

Instructions

1. • 1
     House the dogs in a large, open area. If you have an open basement, make the entire basement a "dog floor." This will allow all of the dogs to have their own personal space and help them to keep their paws off one another. If a dog is cramped, it will become agitated and potentially violent.
   • 2
     Work with one dog at a time at first. When training a dog to do a simple trick, like sitting, you need to be able to get your hands on it. Once it gets the basic command, it will just need a little practice. Practice can be done in a group. Get all of the dogs' attention and tell them to "sit" collectively. Reward the ones that do and keep trying on the ones that do not. If a particular dog has trouble sitting in a group, it might just need more individual attention.
   • 3
     Integrate slow-learning dogs. If a dog seems to not be getting what you are trying to teach it, pair it up with a dog that understands better. The slower-learning dog will learn from the example of the faster-learning dog.
   • 4
     Establish yourself as the dominant alpha -- the pack leader. Dogs think in a pack mentality. They need to know, without a doubt, that you are the one in charge. If a dog acts out or ignores you, punish it immediately so that it has no doubt about your dominance. If the other dogs see you acting dominant toward one of them, they will quickly establish you as the alpha.
   • 5
     Allow a pecking order to be established. Though you might be the alpha, the dogs will eventually settle into a pecking order among themselves. This means that one of the dogs will be something of a leader to the others. This is usually the largest or oldest dog, but an aggressive male dog might establish dominance, even if it is smaller or younger than its peers. Do not allow fighting to take place, but do allow the dogs to determine who is the "top dog."