# Ep 140 Double the Dogs, Double the Drama? How to Tackle Multi-Dog FOMO!

An episode of [Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1721245241), 5 Aug 2026, 11 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287608/episodes/19475111-ep-140-double-the-dogs-double-the-drama-how-to-tackle-multi-dog-fomo.mp3

Do you have a multi-dog household where training sessions quickly turn into chaos, or your dogs can’t seem to do anything when they’re apart? Whether your dogs distract each other when training together or suffer from serious FOMO without the other, managing multiple dogs can leave you feeling pulled in every direction. In this episode, we’re exploring why our dogs can struggle to switch off when their housemate gets all the action (and how you can help them get unstuck)! We’ll explore if this struggle is driven by jealousy, the importance of daily routines, as well as some clever ways to transform your training sessions to unlock calm, independent dogs and bring harmony back to your multi-dog home! ................ Whether your dog is unpredictable with other dogs or predictably bad… Whether it looks like freezing, barking, lunging or running away… Whether you are just starting out on your dog-owning journey or your dog has been labelled as having a “behaviour problem”… … this episode is for you and is going to give you huge insights! Want to join the Help! My Dog Online HUB? Here's the link: www.helpmydog.com/hub Dr Tom Mitchell is a world-renowned veterinarian, behaviourist and dog trainer and director of the Behavet behaviour clinic (rated Excellent on Trustpilot), which sees over 400 pet behaviour consultations each and every month no matter where you are in the world. In 2023, he founded Help! My Dog, an online dog behaviour learning platform to help even more owners all over the world and show that dog behaviour transformation is not only possible but it's FUN, with the right know-how! Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast for the free weekly episodes! Useful Links: Follow Help! My Dog on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpmydogofficial/ Schedule a Consultation with Behavet: https://www.beha.vet/ Follow Behavet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behavet

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: I can't disengage from my, you know, canine friend, and my owner is also doing something fun, right?
[0:06] SPEAKER_00: And that's really what this is.
[0:07] SPEAKER_00: It isn't jealousy that's driving this, it's that they've got two things that they can't disengage from.
[0:13] SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in, a warning.
[0:16] SPEAKER_00: The content of this podcast may not be appropriate for some young listeners.
[0:21] SPEAKER_00: This is real life, and that means that sometimes it can be a little bit graphic.
[0:26] SPEAKER_00: So listen on at your own peril.
[0:29] SPEAKER_00: As a veterinarian, dog behaviourist, best-selling author and trainer, over the past decade, I've had an obsession with transforming the behaviour of dogs, understanding their brains and creating practical strategies that you can implement easily at home.
[0:44] SPEAKER_00: I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.
[0:50] SPEAKER_00: In fact, out of the blue, a few months ago, my little dog Gorse was bitten by a dog 20 times her size.
[0:57] SPEAKER_00: And suddenly our life of stress-free walks, a calm and cuddly household, and being teammates was replaced with reactivity, anxiety, and worrying about what's around the next corner.
[1:08] SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
[1:09] SPEAKER_00: Tom, this is the Help My Dog Podcast, and this is me documenting that journey of transformation, sharing my knowledge and experience with you and having a few laughs along the way.
[1:20] SPEAKER_00: Alright, welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog Podcast, and we are doing a listener's question, and the question is as follows Hi Tom, my dogs really struggle with FOMO.
[1:32] SPEAKER_00: I find myself feeling guilty because I should be doing more with them, but they drive me crazy.
[1:38] SPEAKER_00: If Callie hears me training Cody, she will bark and vice versa.
[1:44] SPEAKER_00: I love the C theme as well there, that's cool.
[1:47] SPEAKER_00: Um I struggle to train them together because they distract each other and it turns into mayhem.
[1:51] SPEAKER_00: Please help.
[1:52] SPEAKER_00: Alright, so I think this is a really common struggle that people have when they have multiple dogs, is that both dogs want to be involved, they have this like FOMO fear of missing out type type kind of presentation.
[2:04] SPEAKER_00: And um, and it can be difficult to know kind of how to move forward.
[2:07] SPEAKER_00: And so I'm gonna give you some tips and then you can go away, try them, and let me know how you get on.
[2:12] SPEAKER_00: So, first things first, I think really all of this has to be on a foundation of is are they able to actually be separated from one another?
[2:23] SPEAKER_00: Because it's if you think about it, it's gonna be really challenging for Callie to hear Cody being trained if actually they're not really practicing being separated from one another all that much.
[2:34] SPEAKER_00: It's almost like they have to to work on this, we have to have periods of the day where they are on separate schedules, they're doing different things.
[2:42] SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, they we're gonna have the double challenge for the dog that is separated away of thinking I can't disengage from my you know canine friend and my owner is also doing something fun, right?
[2:55] SPEAKER_00: And that's really what this is.
[2:56] SPEAKER_00: It isn't jealousy that's driving this, it's that they've got two things that they can't disengage from.
[3:02] SPEAKER_00: They know that when you make certain sounds or move in a certain way, which they'll be able to hear your movement, right?
[3:08] SPEAKER_00: That that means you, as the owner, are doing something fun.
[3:11] SPEAKER_00: And there is a barrier between you and them, and that is really frustrating, and they find that really challenging.
[3:18] SPEAKER_00: Also, if they are not used to being separated from their little friend, well, they're also not able that they're also struggling to disengage from the fact that they're separated from their little friend.
[3:27] SPEAKER_00: Double challenge.
[3:29] SPEAKER_00: So, first tip that I've got for you is we need to have separate schedules, like separate coexistence.
[3:37] SPEAKER_00: Separate existence, probably not coexistence, is it?
[3:40] SPEAKER_00: And and so that might look like um at certain times of day, each dog doing a different activity away from one another and making sure that we are we're we're putting barriers between them, okay?
[3:51] SPEAKER_00: It's not enough to kind of have that distance, we've also got to have something physically between them.
[3:56] SPEAKER_00: Why is that important?
[3:58] SPEAKER_00: Well, because that's the piece that we need to get them used to, right?
[4:01] SPEAKER_00: We need to get them used to the fact that they can't access the other dog and also they can't access you.
[4:07] SPEAKER_00: So that's layer one.
[4:08] SPEAKER_00: Layer two that I think we've got to think about then is just as we talked about, we need to get them used to actually not being able to have access to each other, we need to make sure that we're building this um kind of training independently.
[4:23] SPEAKER_00: Um, we're building it on a foundation of them being well-versed and just see it as completely normal to not always have access to you as their owner, right?
[4:34] SPEAKER_00: And so that's gonna look like again, there needs to be periods or times in the day where you are present in the house, but they do not have access to you because they are behind a baby gate, they're behind a door, they are um in a crate or a puppy pen if that if they are used to those things.
[4:52] SPEAKER_00: And again, that is just kind of breaking up this really challenging experience and saying, right, let's get you cool with each individual piece.
[5:00] SPEAKER_00: All right.
[5:01] SPEAKER_00: So that's step one, step two.
[5:04] SPEAKER_00: Now, step three.
[5:06] SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, I just want to take a moment to answer a question that has been coming in in literally 10 emails today, and that is how can we help you with your dog's behavior struggle, whether that be reactivity, separation, anxiety, resource guarding, maybe you've got a multi-dog household struggle right now, maybe your dog's just so overaroused on a walk that they just can't listen to you and they're chasing everything inside.
[5:29] SPEAKER_00: Like, can I get Tom's help?
[5:31] SPEAKER_00: Um, and the answer is that actually you can, and you can do that by booking a behaviour consultation.
[5:39] SPEAKER_00: That's where literally my team give you the plan on how to transform your struggle and get you to that dream that made you get a dog in the first place, right?
[5:50] SPEAKER_00: Your world's got smaller and smaller and smaller, and actually it doesn't need to be that way.
[5:53] SPEAKER_00: You just need to reach out for help.
[5:56] SPEAKER_00: Now, a couple of things to say on that.
[5:57] SPEAKER_00: First of all, if you're insured, if your dog's insured with Pet Plan, Kennel Club, Agria, or many pets, we actually do direct claims with them, which means that that's covered by your insurance.
[6:07] SPEAKER_00: So you don't you don't pay out of your pocket, your insurance covers that.
[6:12] SPEAKER_00: And and the second thing to say is that we have loads of options if you're insured with another provider, or if your dog's not insured at all, that's also totally fine.
[6:20] SPEAKER_00: We have loads of options that we've developed to make this so accessible for you.
[6:24] SPEAKER_00: And because we're aware that you've already invested a load of time and a load of money in getting your dog, looking after your dog, caring for your dog, but the last thing we want is for you to have done all that and still not be living the life that you deserve with your dog.
[6:36] SPEAKER_00: And we know we can get you there.
[6:38] SPEAKER_00: So all you need to do is go to the Behave Vet website, and the way to do that is go B-E-H-A.V-E-T.
[6:47] SPEAKER_00: That's behotvet, and it will take you there, or just Google Behave Vet, right?
[6:53] SPEAKER_00: Um, and you can get scheduled in and we can literally get you booked in for a consultation as soon as possible.
[7:00] SPEAKER_00: We normally can accommodate it within a week, right?
[7:02] SPEAKER_00: So that you can be getting to your dream ASAP.
[7:05] SPEAKER_00: Now, step three, then what I think we need to, um what I think we need to work on is this idea that if the other dog is doing something, that is not doing something with the owner, that is not a loss, okay?
[7:21] SPEAKER_00: So I'll say that again.
[7:22] SPEAKER_00: The lesson we need to teach them is if the other dog is doing something with the owner, that is not a loss to them, okay?
[7:30] SPEAKER_00: And so the way that that I tend to build this up with my with my own dogs and and obviously clients' dogs, is I will actually start this process working very close, okay?
[7:40] SPEAKER_00: So what I will do is I will have some kind of mat or bed next to me.
[7:44] SPEAKER_00: So let's say that's on the left.
[7:46] SPEAKER_00: I have a mat or a bed, and um, and then um I'll have one dog on my left, and that the dog on the left will probably be on lead, okay?
[7:57] SPEAKER_00: So dog on left, on lead with a mat or a bed.
[8:00] SPEAKER_00: And what I'm doing with that dog is I've got a handful of food in my left hand, and I am literally feeding the bed at my side, yeah, dropping bits of food on the bed at a fairly decent rate of reinforcement if they are not used to this.
[8:16] SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, with the dog on my right, with food in my right hand, I am pretending to train them.
[8:24] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[8:24] SPEAKER_00: I'm not actually doing anything of significance.
[8:26] SPEAKER_00: I'm not using any words, I'm not using any cues, I'm not sounding exciting.
[8:30] SPEAKER_00: I might be luring them around in a circle or in a figure of eight or maybe rolling a bit of food occasionally for them to go and get it.
[8:38] SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, I am feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feeding that dog on my left.
[8:42] SPEAKER_00: And so if we were to look at which dog is actually getting more in terms of the food, well, the dog on the left is getting more.
[8:49] SPEAKER_00: Contrary to what we think, the dog on the right is not really the one being trained in this game.
[8:54] SPEAKER_00: It's the dog on the left that is being trained, okay?
[8:57] SPEAKER_00: And of course, you can see where we go with this.
[9:00] SPEAKER_00: Over time, we're feeding the dog on the left less, right?
[9:04] SPEAKER_00: Less frequently, less regularly, maybe lower value food, and we're upping the ante in excitement with the dog that we are working with on our right, okay?
[9:14] SPEAKER_00: And then we can start to, you know, potentially put some barriers between or replace our feeding the bed with instead a long-lasting chew or a stuffed kong or a stuffed bone, and then you can start to gravitate them to behind a baby gate, you know, in a different room, in a crate or whatever, right?
[9:32] SPEAKER_00: You could, you know, if if the goal is that you would like them to be in a crate while you're training the other dog long term, pop the crate next to you, yeah, and be feeding in the crate.
[9:40] SPEAKER_00: That can that can work really nicely.
[9:41] SPEAKER_00: And of course, we need to do this with both dogs.
[9:44] SPEAKER_00: So dog on the right is going to become dog on the left at some point, yeah?
[9:48] SPEAKER_00: And they're going to develop these skills.
[9:50] SPEAKER_00: If you do that in that very methodical approach of going, well, rule number one, are they cool about being separated from one another?
[9:56] SPEAKER_00: Tick.
[9:57] SPEAKER_00: Rule number two, are they cool about being separated from me?
[10:00] unknown: Tick.
[10:01] SPEAKER_00: Rule number three, do they understand that me interacting with the other dog is not a loss to them, instead, it is a gain where we need to teach them that tick, and then we've not got FOMO and we've got, you know, two dogs that are happy to be trained independently or together, right?
[10:18] SPEAKER_00: So go forth, implement that.
[10:20] SPEAKER_00: Really great question.
[10:21] SPEAKER_00: I know this is a really common question that many people have, and hopefully, you got tons and tons of value.
[10:26] SPEAKER_00: If you did, please, please, please leave a review for the podcast over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify because that gives context for other people.
[10:33] SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, we all know what it's like searching around in the dark for answers about dog trading, coming across loads of bad advice along the way.
[10:40] SPEAKER_00: Imagine if people found the right advice right from the start.
[10:44] SPEAKER_00: Consider it an act of public service.
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: We will see you next time.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.