Rescue Dog

gettingready

Ops, sorry - my mistake about new dog being neutered, read it wrong....

foreign_correspondent

Norbertsmum wrote: »

The early days of bringing a new dog home are always a little difficult, I always wonder if I've done the right thing and if all the other pets will like the newcomer and vice-versa.

I tend to stick to the normal routine and try and fit the new dog in with as little fuss as possible.

I'm careful about possible sources of conflict and remove all toys and bones from the garden and house. The kitchen can be a spark point as there will be lots of lovely smells to a new dog - especially if he's been in kennels for a while - so I'm extra careful there. Food is kept really boring, no titbits for the first few days, just kibble, and the bowls are as far apart as possible with me standing inbetween.

I keep all interactions calm, so no 'mad' play or over the top fussing until I know that all are happy with each other and life can slowly return to the normal mad house

I think if I were you OP I'd get the neutering done and out of the way ASAP so you can really start to settle your new dog in.

Good Luck OP xx and well done for taking a rescue:T

totally agree with all of this - its best to avoid too much attention to either dog in my experience, and to carefully manage the things they are likely to get stressed about - bed, food, toys etc...

Do you have the potential to seperate them off if needed, a cage can be handy, or popping them in seperate rooms - and, as you say, spending time with each dog seperately is a good idea - this new lad has to bond with you, so he will listen to you - but giving him lots of attention in front of your other girl is not a good idea.

Mutter_2

The fact that you love him already OP, bodes well for the future.
Poor dogs, it must be confusing. Out of kennels, home to another dog plus cats. The girl, mistress of all she surveys sees the little upstart arrive. They have a lot to cope with.
I'm glad your rescue is standing by you, hope everything works out.

tina_foskett

Thank u for ur response.

I am tina's son and have jus recently got home from goin out last night and bein at football this mornin. I understand what ur sayin is a process but from what ive seen this mornin from charlie goin at Izzy and her retaliation ive got my doubts. My worries are that if we do try this long term and it doesnt get better tht it might effect Izzy in the long run wit other dogs when up 2 now any she has come in contact wit other dogs there has been no aggression. I am a big lover of all animals and it would break my heart 2 return him and normally would have 2 convince my mum 2 let him stay. I am fearful tht somethin might go wrong and one the dogs comes off really badly especially Izzy and heaven forbid one needs 2 be put down. Also i am worried about him wit our cats tht they will be scared off due 2 his behaviour towards them. I'd love 2 b confident tht this will work but nothin ive read has made me feel tht way. I no im bein very pesimistic about this as it is our first time bringin 2 adult dogs into our home. I jus feel unsettled by it all and would appreciate some re-assurance tht thm wanted 2 tear lumps out each other is very normal and sooner or later settle there differences without one bein injured.

Lookin forward 2 ur replies

Sagz_2

Could you ask one of the dog rescue people to pop over and see what they think? They should be able to assess the situation pretty quickly, theres quiet a difference between out-an-out aggression and 2 dogs working out their roles in the family.

Failing that how about asking a local dog trainer to visit and see what they think?

foreign_correspondent

Obviously, I dont know what is going on between your dogs, but if its any help, when my mum first gor her dog, and we introduced her to mine in a neutral location, there was a lot of growling, raised heckles, and the occasional snap (no damage done!) when one got into the others space... then when Cleo first came into my house, my dog would growl and snarl if Cleo got too near to where she was... there was quite a bit of tension, and I had my doubts they would get on at times, but now they will happily travel in the back of the car together for long periods, and are really, really pleased to see one another.

We worked on ensuring that when they spent time together the experience was positive, getting them both to sit for treats, being walked together etc. They were also kept seperate unless supervised, until we were happy they would be ok - about three months I think.

I have introduced other dogs in the past with less stess, but you have to be aware that dogs do have to sort out their relationship - and sometimes this does involve some quarrels along the way. Judging whether these quarrels are something to worry about or not is difficult though - as others have suggested, asking someone knowlegeable to come in and observe them together would be really useful

tina_foskett

Hi, thank you again for all your responses.

Well, things have not got any better but we are still managing to avoid the dogs having any physical contact. We are finding out more and more not only about Charlie but also about our first dog Izzy, who it must be said may also be contributing to the problems we are having, much more than we initally thought.

Charlie continues to be a well behaved dog, apart from when he is raring up to Izzy, although he is responding to checking from one of us when he behaves like this. We have also noticed that he also responds far quicker if the response we give him, is calm and reassuring. We suspect from his body language that although he looks as if he is behaving in a challenging and aggressive way (we think) he is actually very scared and uncertain about Izzy and what she is capable of, who by the way is much bigger than him and of course far more confident in the home. Both of their responses and behaviour towards eachother appears to much worse when others are around: such as: my son. When it is just me and them and Charlie is in his crate and Izzy on her lead they both calm quicker; not sure if this is relevant or not. Basic stuff really which seems to be consequently changing.

We have spent most of the afternoon looking for a dog behaviourist and hopefully we have found one. We have spoke to her on the phone and it sounds as if she knows her stuff and from what she asked and said it would seem Izzy's role in this is about to be uncovered. She says that she will observe us with the dogs over a period of a few hours and then tell us whether or not she thinks Charlie and Izzy will warm to each other and in time become good pals and/or companions. She says that if nothing else her involvement could, if we follow her lead, improve Izzy's behaviour, which we did not think was a real problem until we spoke to her. Anyhow, fingers crossed, the money we are spending will be well spent and prevent further upset and upheaval in the future; although we accept we still have a long way to go and her input will not be a quick fix. She will be visiting us, all adults in the home and dogs on Wednesday evening.

Thanks again everyone for your responses, help and advice, so very gratefully received. Any further responses, comments and suggestions still welcome and will continue to be eagerly received.

gettingready

Good you managed to find a behaviourist and so soon, hope this will be helpful.

You did not say how did you introduce the 2 dogs to each other?

Did you bring Charlie straight home to where Izzie was?

My Zara does not allow ANY dog into our flat - she happily goes to visit her dog mates in THEIR flats/houses but won't have any of them in ours....

tina_foskett

Hi,

Thank you for your response. We did actually introduce them on neutral ground - on Charlie's way to our home. The initial introduction between them was really very good and inspiring. However, in hindsight it all started going wrong when we let Izzy off her lead, as per some advice we had received - in saying that the result may have been same. Particularly as even now, while on walks they appear to get on much better outside the home than inside.

Charlie seems to be the one who shows aggression first though, but not sure whether this is in response to something he is picking up from Izzy or his own feelings of fear and insecurities, poor little man - he really is a loveable and endearing little soul - but so are our other pets - we just want whats best for all of them. If getting another dog at this time was not the right thing to do, so be it, we can only learn from this experience and take the knowledge we get, hopefully quite a bit from the dog behaviourist, forward and use it to our advantage in the future.

Thank you again for your response.

tina_foskett

Update:

Charlie is booked into the vets on Thursday for an initial check up and to be neutered. We have taken some advice both from this forum and from the dog behaviourist (at the time we made the appointment for her to come and see us) and began taking both dogs out at the same time on leads and meeting up during our walks; we have now progressed to meeting v nearer to the house and taking the walks together - it seems that on every walk more progress is made (and touch wood, no incidents or signs of aggression from either dog).

The more we get to know Charlie the more adorable he becomes and already his presence is having a positive effect: Izzy and the cats who once only tolerated each other are getting on better than ever - and all credit to Izzy given Charlie's arrival and the upheaval it has caused combined with her spoilt and defiant streak she appears to be coping really well.

Tonight we learnt some else. Today we purchased a dog gate and put it between the room where we have been keeping Charlie and the hall and kitchen where Izzy is spending more time. As soon as Charlie saw Izzy on the other side - off he went, barking, snarling and lunging towards her. I was on the side with Charlie and gentle pulled him back and stayed close to him while telling him no and talking to him in a soft, reassuring voice. My son stood on the other side with Izzy who had a bit of a go back but seemed to be more confused and unsettled by his response. However, it soon became apparent that Charlie was actually frightened and when he stopped as I had asked he wanted to be comforted and reassurred but as soon as he looked at Izzy he reared up again, while she sat with my son holding her collar and reassuring her - until finally Charlie stopped, would not look at Izzy and then hid behind me.

It seems every day we learn something new and we are really very hopeful, but accept that it is still very early days. However, the dog behaviourist has said that if she feels we will not be able to sort things out she will tell us on Wednesday evening!! I am feeling very optimistic and so much better than a few days ago; although we have not really even looked at socialising Charlie with the cats yet.

I just wanted to give an update just in case someone else finds themselves in our position and while my initial reaction when Charlie first showed an aggessive side was to return him, I am so glad that I did not at that time. Even if we don't get to keep him, which will be the last resort, at least we can say we tried and have no regrets. Returning him at the first hurdle may have relieved my concerns but it certainly would not have eased my conscious. Although we know there is still a very long way to go before things settle, if Charlie stays, the past few days have taught us alot about ourselves, our animals and the importance of patience and the knowledge that has followed.

Thank you again to those who responded; your response also encouraged us to hold on and not to make rash decisions based on anxiety and fear and gave us hope that things could/might get better, so very much appreciated.