The Two dog Rule - Page 1

I have a rule that I can never have more than two dogs ( adult GSD ) off leash and playing together at one time.  This only works if you have perimeter fences to keep your dogs inside and unwanted visitor dogs outside.  I have been involved in adult dog fights and with immature dog fights that have taught me not to have too many dogs together as a single adult human can not handle more than two dogs fighting without somebody risking serious injury or death.  The woman in the link below apparently had three or four dogs loose and together with a horrible outcome for all.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/video/neighbors-rescue-woman-attacked-her-183030669.html

The cops didn't kill the dogs which is a breath of fresh air after seeing what cops and SWAT teams normally do.

It depends on who the person is, and both the breeds involved as well as the individual dogs as well, though. I would run 30 huskies loose, by myself, in a one-acre fenced-in exercise area and never had anything serious ever occur, but our racing group was breeding for working ability and thus strong pack instincts... The lone GSD I had at that time was the dog they looked to as their leader, which worked out beautifully. She'd work the perimeter, and played 'fun police' when it looked like any of the huskies were getting over-stimulation that could spill over into agonistic reactions.

I would expect trying the same thing with 30 GSDs and one person would likely yield much different results, but who the person is, along with who the dogs are, will also be a factor in the success or failure of the effort.

I'm going to state my opinion. It might be incorrect, but here it is.
Listening to the video, it sounds like the dogs were typical "backyard" dogs. Numerous barking complaints, which tells me that they were under exercised and lonely, and a man having to replace planks on his fence from the dog, presumably, trying to tear it up and get out. It just sounds to me like a form of neglect is what lead to this, as well as a lack of training.

On that note, I think that as long as the dogs are well trained, well exercised, well socialized, and familiar with one another, it shouldn't matter too much how many there are, within reason. I'm sorry this woman had to go through this, though.

Thank you to the police officers who every day need to deal with many problems. I also would like to thank the media to show more of the police in the actions of helping people above and beyond the call of duty. There are more great moments in police actions than the bad news the media likes to splash all over the place. GOD BLESS OUR POLICE

When I lived in Michigan, my friends and I would let all our dogs run and play together, sometimes numbering 20 loose GSDs (in a contained acre), a couple shelties, a border collie, and the rest GSDs.  Some were intact some were not.  ALL were obedience trained basic and advanced, 4 were protection trained, 3 were tracking trained.  Not one iota of problem. But then again we were always paying attention and knew how to read their body language.  I miss those crazy run days.....

Once two or more dogs are engaged in a serious fight any obedience training goes out the window unless you think the fighting dogs will mistake another dog for a sleeve or a helper or that both dogs will cease fighting at the same time. All obedience training is centered on responding to and focusing on the handlers commands ... I have separated two dogs fighting ( two females or two males ) and while they tried not to bite me they were not about to let the other dog get the last bite. My question would be what would the plan be if 20 dogs started fighting in one or more groups ( most likely two or more groups ) and exactly how would this situation be resolved?? I have had to separate two of my high drive males or females when fighting and it was all I could do alone with my dogs avoiding biting me. I usually run a single male and a single female together and that eliminates 99.99% of fights but you can never say never. There have been times that I have thought I would need to kill or severely hurt one dog to save the other even with only two dogs fighting. The idea that running a herd of dogs together is without serious risks to both the dogs and the humans is a laugh. I was raised around cattle and I have seen cows severely injure themselves fighting so the question is not if but when??  Cows, chickens, horses and pigs when placed in groups will all fight for dominance and social rank.

So not true Bubba when owner is the known Dominant one within the pack.
I have 'several', living in my house, together. ...NOT CRATED....FOR YEARS.