Advice needed on dog hating new dog

Sharon140

We lost our oldest dog late last year and we always knew we wanted to get another one but didn't want to rush in to it as we wanted to grieve properly first and didn't want emotions to play a part, the remaining dog is 5 and is normally as good as gold and a real sweetheart. Well we finally decided the time was right a couple of weeks ago and have been looking at rescues ect I didn't want a young puppy but an older dog well to cut a long story short over the weekend a 1yr old male come into our lives which hasn't come from a rescue but from a home where his owner has passed away and the family didn't want him

My problem is Suzie hates him with a vengenance, he is as good as gold fully house trained sits stays ect he is a little darling but to Suzie he is the devil, she has snapped at him all weekend and pulled chunks of his hair out but he has not once snapped back. It just seems never ending have I made a huge mistake or can things get better.

Suzie was fine with the other dog but not this one. Anyone got any experiences at all with this, I really don't want to give the little fella up by the way they are both Shih Tzu's

Caroline_a

In my experience dogs generally tend to sort themselves out. It's her territory, hence why she is being so narky. He is good not to go back at her, so I reckon a week or two down the line they will be the best of mates.

Sharon140

Thanks Caroline, it's just so hard to see her so stressed and the young one just smiles away with that doggy smile they have he is such a happy little fella. Have had no sleep this weekend at all due to the stress of it all and the guilt

My son has taken him up his house today so I could go to work but obviously I can't expect him to have him all the time

krlyr

I would advise the opposite to above and don't let the dogs sort it out. You risk the newcomer being bullied and possibly eventually retaliating, and the girl learning that this behaviour works. It will only take one big scrap before the situation becomes two dogs with a fight history, which can be a lot harder to manage than a slightly disgruntled older dog.

I would keep them in separate spaces as much as possible (use crates, babygates, etc.) and only allow controlled interaction. I.e. new dog is in a crate in the same room, or both dogs on-lead with each of you on a different sofa holding the dogs apart. Keep them at a distance where Suzie isn't trying to get to him, and then reward every positive interaction (infact, any interaction that isn't negative - so a glance in his direction, laying down ignoring him, etc. are all things you want to reward). Over time, you would slowly reduce the distance, and then eventually have the dogs off-lead, but keep rewarding all that good interaction (dogs approaching without kicking off, even if they walk off straight away, etc.)

Lots of parallel walking out on walks, so always two people to allow you to keep some distance, rather than trying to walk the pair of them (too close quarters, too difficult to separate if they kick off, etc.). Also, having one dog each gives you both a spare hand to reward all those positive interactions again.

I would also remove any potential fight/squabble triggers in the house - no leaving toys down, take care around areas like doorways and beds, feed them in separate rooms (or at least opposite ends of the room with supervision), don't leave them alone with chews or Kongs, and so on, not until they've settled down.

If you're really struggling, many trainers and behaviourists offer a consultation for new rescue dogs to settle them in to their home, it could be good to nip this in the bud and ensure you're doing things right from the start - like I say, this situation is going to be much easier to tackle than if they reach the point of having a fight.

Sharon140

Thank you krylr for the advice, there has been no improvement but my sons friend and his family have fallen in love with Alfie and they want to give him a loving home. I know they will give him a good life and he is such a loveable little fella I have known them since they were little so I know they are good people and I also get to see him as well

I feel such a failure but I have contacted a dog behaviourist and Suzie is having her first consultation this weekend. I just feel so bad for the little fella he lost his first owner came to me had a lousy weekend with a dog he just wanted to be friends with and is now going to another home but at least I know he will be looked after with his new family it's better than what his original owners family wanted to do with him they were going to put an add in the local paper and sell him to the first person that came along :eek:

Mojisola

We've always given the resident dog the last word when choosing a new companion. Obviously, we've looked round and found ones we liked but always had a meet-up between the two dogs before making a final decision. If they didn't get on, we'd look for another one.

Person_one

Sharon140 wrote: »

Thank you krylr for the advice, there has been no improvement but my sons friend and his family have fallen in love with Alfie and they want to give him a loving home. I know they will give him a good life and he is such a loveable little fella I have known them since they were little so I know they are good people and I also get to see him as well

I feel such a failure but I have contacted a dog behaviourist and Suzie is having her first consultation this weekend. I just feel so bad for the little fella he lost his first owner came to me had a lousy weekend with a dog he just wanted to be friends with and is now going to another home but at least I know he will be looked after with his new family it's better than what his original owners family wanted to do with him they were going to put an add in the local paper and sell him to the first person that came along :eek:

Did this really get decided between 6pm last night and 9am this morning? That was fast!

Mojisola's advice is good, if there's a next time then put a bit more time in introducing the dogs and making sure they get on before bringing one home.

There are some good books out there too about introducing second dogs, and living in multi dog households. Have a search on Amazon.

Sharon140

Person_one wrote: »

Did this really get decided between 6pm last night and 9am this morning? That was fast!

Mojisola's advice is good, if there's a next time then put a bit more time in introducing the dogs and making sure they get on before bringing one home.

There are some good books out there too about introducing second dogs, and living in multi dog households. Have a search on Amazon.

I know it seems to be a spur of the moment decision but as I said my son took him home with him for me to come to work yesterday (I finish at 7pm) and he went for a walk with the dog to his friends house they fell in love with him he explained all about him and by 10pm last night they decided to offer him a home with them, after another sleepless night I came to a decision this morning that I thought was in his best interests and my dogs, my dog is really stressed at the moment and as I said I know the family really well and I know they are great with their pets so its a good decision honestly.

I agree that I shouldn't have made a quick decision but honestly it was either I take him or he was going in to the paper and to the first person that would buy him unsuitable or not. I couldn't leave them do that to the little fella so although I made quick decision and it backfired on me he will be so well looked after and loved.

I have always had 2 dogs and I am a responsible person honestly I have introduced dogs before and within a couple of days they are best mates.:( We introduced them over the local park and kept them in different rooms as well but whenever she laid eyes on him she went mad he couldn't go anywhere near her.

meritaten

I think its a good decision Sharon - your sons family fell for him straight away and it takes a lot of stress off you (and your dog).

do you think perhaps she wants to be the 'only' dog now? she may have felt threatened by a new dog coming into your home?

JennyW_2

meritaten wrote: »

I think its a good decision Sharon - your sons family fell for him straight away and it takes a lot of stress off you (and your dog).

do you think perhaps she wants to be the 'only' dog now? she may have felt threatened by a new dog coming into your home?

I have to agree here...ultimately the priority is keeping everyone happy and that includes you and both dogs. There is no point forcing dogs to live together - some just don't want to.

I've always had 2 dogs but with my current dog, he doesn't want a companion. I tried fostering a dog to see how he would get on and after the 3rd day he was showing signs that he didn't want her in the house so I had to make the sad decision to return her.

He loves all other dogs and very sociable but prefers to be the only dog at home.

Sharon140

Thanks both I agree with you that Suzie seems to want to be an only dog, she just changed completely from a sweet placid dog to a monster she never relaxed when he was here she was completely tense and just snapped at him all the time never had a sniff or looked at him. I really couldn't let her carry on like that.:(

I went to visit Alfie last night and he is doing fine he was running around after the children and playing with them which done my heart good after his tough couple of days. The only problem they have with him is that he is cocking his leg everwhere and trying to hump any man that comes into the house, :rotfl:but they are going to have him neutered as soon as possible so hopefully that should help him.

I am certainly NOT going to have another dog for a long while after this experience, the behavourist I spoke to and am seeing at the weekend thinks she is still grieving for Sasha and is going to work with her to try and at least get her relaxed with other dogs around .:D