Multi-dog households can provide companionship and social enrichment for dogs but can also create chronic stress through incompatibility, resource competition, and bullying. Good management is essential.
A dog living with an incompatible housemate experiences chronic low-grade stress from vigilance, competition, and social uncertainty. This stress often goes unrecognised by owners who interpret absence of fighting as compatibility. Careful attention to body language, equal resource provision, and willingness to separate incompatible dogs protects the welfare of all household animals.