Treating 2 dogs fairly

Do not fall for the trap of the two-headed dog.  You have two separate dogs with separate needs and separate rewards.  Treating them fairly means understanding and managing them for their individual characteristics.  NOT as one dog with two heads.  Duckie has earned his place on the furniture with blankets, and clearly understands whatever rules are in place regarding that (invite on the furniture, command to get off, etc.)  Mollie will learn if you invest the same effort in training her as your did Duckie.  (BTW, I love that name for a Golden!)

The commands for each dog can be confusing, but unless you're doing competitive obedience for either/both dogs, it's ok to reward Duckie for correctly executing the command that was intended for Mollie.  Mollie will learn by watching that.  Be careful in what you reward - ie, don't reward a half-effort from Mollie, who may also be trying to wiggle around and get in front of your first dog, or race to steal a treat that's scattered in the wrong direction, etc.

There's more, but it's late and I'm probably not going to make enough sense right now.  Anne (spiritdogs) or Jackie (JackieG) or others should be along tomorrow to help. :)

 My rules for training multiple dogs:

Train each dog separately - I take one outside, or put the others out and train one inside.  I also drive my dogs individually to remote sites to train.  I take my own dogs to classes, even though I'm a trainer.  There's no substitute for great coaching so you don't get sloppy, or for the experience your pup gets from being around other dogs beside the one he lives with.

You can begin using each dog's name softly before the cue so that they know who is being asked to perform.  (Most dogs have no idea what their name is, because humans rarely bother to teach them - I use a clicker  to mark the dog for looking at me if I say her name, closely followed by a small treat. Once you do that, you should have a dog that looks at you at the sound of their name.)   I reward the dog I cue if he/she performs the cued behavior.  I don't reward what I didn't ask for, from either dog.  If they offer a behavior, I giggle to myself how cute it is, but I still ignore it.  Then, I ask the dog that offered the behavior for another behavior, so that I can reward her for something.  I've actually trained my crew that the word "Everyone" means that you ALL do the cued behavior.  So, when they come in from a potty break all together, I say, "Everyone sit" and "Everyone wait" before they are allowed to go in.  It's very cute to see all three sitting and waiting at the open door for me to say "OK." 

 It is hard at first, but its more of a handler thing then a dog thing. Once you get rid of the idea of needing to be 'fair', everything runs more smoothly.

For the longest time, and even occasionally still now, Astra would get lunch in a crate. It didn't take long for the others to understand they were not getting lunch also. They all eat in crates now because I'm trying to take weight off one and put weight on another and need to monitor 2 others food intake.

There's other dogs on three sides of my yard. My girls are fence fighters. It didn't take them long to understand Jackson, puppy, is going out to potty way more frequently then they are and they are not going out each time with him.

Anne uses 'everyone', I use 'girls' for group commands. (Yes, poor Jackson is responding to *girls*)

As long as you're consistent, they won't have a problem with the way you set things up.

In order to be fair, you have to realize that you may not treat them identically. New dogs to my home, whether they be foster or permanent, always have a lot more rules and boundaries for a long time, and don't have the priveleges that my existing dogs do. All dogs have to earn the freedoms that we grant them, through good behaviour, appropriate skills, and learning the routines.

I always train my dogs individually, until they are at a level at which I think they can then perform appropriately with the others. Now, I have three dogs, so it's even more complex than just working with two, but the idea is the same. This will help to prevent confusion for Duckie while you teach Molly, although Duckie also needs to learn the difference between when you ask him something, and when you ask Mollie something. It will be a bit frustrating for him, but all changes take time.

You mentioned that Mollie is kennelled and Duckie is not. There is nothing "unfair" about that. When I leave Zipper and Gaci both have freedom in the home, and Shimmer is always in her kennel when we are not home. That's just how it is.

 I agree. Fair means that each dog is treated fairly, according to it's needs. It doesn't mean they're treated the same.

3girls

Anne uses 'everyone', I use 'girls' for group commands. (Yes, poor Jackson is responding to *girls*)

Dear Jackson - If you ignore all the cues that start with "girls" perhaps your mom's behavior of calling you a girl will extinguish.  You can then train her to to use an alternative cue, such as "sir."   If she does, be sure to click and toss her a grape or something (we can't eat those anyway). Love, Maska

Two dogs = different rules and different training.  Same has having a 2 year old kid and a 10 year old kid...not unusual, but definitely NOT treated the same way.

Duckie should not have to regress in training or lose any privilege or normal routine to accommodate the new dog.  Keep Duckie's life the same as it was and keep training him where you left off when you got Mollie.

Use physical barriers to manage Mollie's freedom/confinement at this point.  She needs to earn the privileges just like Duckie did.

When training one dog, crate the other.  I would also crate Mollie for her meals and when Duckie eats his meals.