Splitting the family?

[Wandering Man]

I have two jobs. One is close to home, but the other is about an hour and a half away. We bought a small patio home in the other town so I wouldn't have to drive back and forth everyday.

Frank is a two year old minnie that we adopted a couple of months ago, and PD, our 8 year old tweenie is still acting pretty territorial / possessive over stuff. We will catch them playing and napping together, so its not all bad, but PD keeps him off the bed at night, and bit me pretty hard about 3 weeks ago because I stuck my hand between them when PD was trying to chase Frank off of our laps.

So far, we've gone with the theory that we want them together as much as possible to help them bond. But I've been thinking about taking one or the other dogs with me when I leave for the other house. I'm usually there 3 to 4 days at a time.

It would be nice to have a dog with me, and I think Kathy would appreciate not having to deal with both dogs, especially around bedtime (the only time we have problems anymore).

Any thoughts? Would taking one or the other create more territoriality (is that a word?)? Or am I just over thinking things?

 

[Inkeri]

Maybe you could try taking the other dog with you at least once?

I don't know if this helps, but we've had another dog for 6months now and we've never left them together in the house while we're away. We have a 2-story appartment, so they're in different stories during the day. We've never had any fights or territorial behaviour, though. But i think that as they play together all morning and all evening they get a little bit "tired" of each other and they get along better when they have a little break from each other. Our dogs are 2 years and 11months old.
PD is already 8, so he might be a little bit cranky already. In my experience dachsies tend to be like that as they get older.

 

[Wandering Man]

Sometimes I wonder if part of the problem with PD totally accepting Frank is because he still misses Henry.

He didn't look all that depressed when we brought Henry home to bury him, but I have heard of dogs mourning the passing of their family members.

 

[natural curl]

So, will the dog do the driving on these trips? Sorry, couldn't help referring to one (among many) of your earlier memorable posts.

Seriously, will the dog with you be alone a lot more than usual?

 

[Wandering Man]

Yes. (to being alone, not driving)

I tend to spend most of my time on campus when I'm in Victoria. Monday evenings I'm teaching a 6 to 9 class face to face class, so I'd have to run home to feed the dog, and then run back to campus. Tuesday evenings I would have to ignore the dog for a couple of hours while I teach an online class, but I'd at least be in the house.

That's a good point, while I'd probably spend more time in the house, I'd still be pretty neglectful.

 

[Doxmom]

Home away from home?

Such a tough decision - but the good news is that nothing is permanent. You could try the one doxie at the patio house for a week to see if it works better. And if he seems lonely or unhappy, back he goes. It's certainly worth a try.