Chow chows

Question
My two chows (1 1/2 year old and 5 months old both female), when take them for a walk individually they are very calm and walk really well right next to me. But when I walk them together, I can feel that they are not as calm as when I walk them individually. How can I walk them together and make them as calm as when they walk alone?

Answer
It's normal for dogs to feed off each other's excitement a bit. I teach my dogs that we never go forward unless the leash is loose. Going with a pulling dog rewards the behavior (and of course, you have to be sure you aren't pulling on the dog. I would work on this with the dogs individually, until they are very good at it in distracting situations, then  I would start putting them together in less distracting situations and letting them know that the same rules apply. It can particularly be difficult to walk two dogs together when one is a puppy. Sandy Case BFA, MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com