#AMANDA BOYD FROM SIDEKICK DOG TRAINING PROFESSIONAL#

It’s difficult to leave chew bones or toys out in a multi-dog home because these may become items of contention. In cases where the guests may be too exciting for the group, Amanda makes things safe for everyone by steering the smaller or more excitable dogs to crates or other “safe” areas until introductions can be made calmly.Īnother challenge in multi-dog households is delivering highly valued items like food, treats, or interesting toys. Once there is a knock at the door, it’s relatively easy to organize a variety of “sits” from her dogs and reward them with cookies for greeting politely. Having cookies ready to reward polite behaviour is critical to success, Amanda tells me. Whether company is expected or not, her dogs are keen to alert her that someone has arrived. Amanda says that one of the biggest challenges is when people arrive at her home. There are lots of challenges with that many dogs in the house. Amanda credits dog trainer and behaviourist Patricia McConnell’s DVD “Feeling Outnumbered?” with giving her some great insights to managing her multi-dog home. What could be a very complicated situation has been made manageable by good foundational training for each dog and an understanding of what each dog needs. But training using positive methods and behavioural science has given her a tremendous advantage. From her older chihuahua, Sasha, to her young mixed breed, Wren, they all have something different to teach.Īmanda admits that having six dogs takes up a fair amount of her time.

#AMANDA BOYD FROM SIDEKICK DOG TRAINING PROFESSIONAL#

As a professional dog trainer, having a diverse group of dogs, both in terms of age and breed, makes for a great resource for Amanda. She and Larry don’t have a huge home but somehow they fit themselves and their six dogs into a 1,500 square foot home with a minimum of chaos. Lucky is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans who has found a home with Amanda and Larry.Īs you might guess, Amanda has a big heart. Tess, their youngest, was re-homed as a puppy from a home not able to keep a growing Great Dane. Sasha, Poe, and Wren were acquired from private non-profit rescue groups.

She and her husband Larry share their lives with her six dogs, all of whom were re-homed from various situations. Amanda runs Sidekick Dog Training near Seattle, Washington. How do you manage multi-dog households? To answer that question, I turned to a good friend of mine who has not three but six dogs in her home!Īmanda Brothers is a dog trainer, wife, and dog mom with a lot of love for dogs and one of the nicest smiles I’ve ever seen. Beyond two dogs in a household, adding more seems to increase the complexity exponentially.

Amanda boyd from sidekick dog training