Is it okay for a dog to live in two houses?
Otis Kunze
2025-06-19 16:26:11
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I should be getting my puppy around the last week of April. My boyfriend and I are currently living in separate apartments, but will be moving into a house in June. I work during the day, but my boyfriend works from home. During the first month or so, my plan was to drop the puppy off at my boyfriend's before I go to work and pick him up on my way home. That way, my boyfriend can walk him during the day and play with him a bit. I guess my question is, will this be too confusing for the dog. We'll be living in the same place soon after and I don't work during the summer.
Britney Kozey
2025-06-14 16:45:13
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There's no hard and fast rule on whether dogs should or shouldn't be able to have more than one home, so the answer is that it's really down to the individual dog. Some will cope just fine with split living arrangements, but others, particularly young puppies, will be better off with the stability of a single household. Dogs are individuals with their own personalities and unique outlooks on life, so whether or not your pet could cope with sharing their time between two households may be difficult to determine. If you're thinking of going down this route, it might be worth trying it out for a trial period and seeing how your dog copes with the situation. However, if your pet is a young puppy that needs stability, if your dog gets anxious when you move the furniture around, or if he or she simply has difficulty adjusting to any new environment, asking them to split their time between two separate houses may not be a practical solution. Does your dog cope well with change and adapt to new scenarios with a minimum of fuss? Do they have a steady temperament and an easygoing attitude? If so, they may be a good candidate for some sort of sharing arrangement. However, if your dog has a much stronger attachment to one owner than the other, as splitting up a dog from the person they see as the most important human in the world is a recipe for disaster. You need to put your dog's needs above all else.
Vern Cremin
2025-06-09 02:52:56
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Moving back and forth between two homes is not necessarily the best solution for pets. Dogs can handle a move. Cats are more attached to a place, whereas dogs or more attached to people. Dogs can make the adjustment of spending alternate weeks with each of the two owners than cats are. But the best solution for a very young puppy is to get the stability of a single residence. Certain adult dogs will also be happiest with just the single household, for instance when it is especially attached to one of the owners. Then the best thing could be for the animal to live permanently with the one it’s most attached to. Dogs are gregarious and it is unnatural for them to be alone for lengthy periods.
Destinee Hane
2025-05-28 19:36:57
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Not all dogs adjust well to shared custody. Some dogs can settle in just fine to a life split between two homes, but this is not always the case. For many dogs, it is a stressful way to live and not ideal for them. The reality is in a divorce, or any separation, emotions can cloud our best judgment. While deep down no one wants to cause a dog stress or anxiety, it is all too easy for a dog to end up in the middle of a fight that is not their burden to bear. In my behavior practice I spent years working with dogs who were having behavior problems after a custody decision was made that the dog could not cope with.