Fear Aggression ?

[chime67]

I recently rescued what is supposed to be a 5 month old cocker spaniel, I immediately took her to the vet and had her altered at this time they informed me that because of the buildup on her teeth she could be anywhere from 1 - 3 yrs old.
She has now been in our household for 8 days, I do have other dogs Syloh (male altered 6yrs) Cozy (female altered 5yrs). These two dogs are not aggressive in the least towards the new dog Tucker (female now altered) but when they come anywhere near hear she shows her teeth and growls a little. She is being crate trained also and the same thing happens when they come anywhere near it.
I am not sure what to do with her, I don't know if this just may be fear from being found in the woods to defend herself or is this some other type of aggression. My husband tells me that she just needs to settle into the household.

[Giselle]

I would recommend having your pups meet on neutral territory, like a quiet park. Have all dogs leashed and muzzled (very important when dealing with a dog of unknown background), and take two dogs out at a time.

For example, let Tucker approach Syloh, allowing her to go at her own pace. Treat or praise her for any signs of relaxing or curiosity. If she doesn't attempt to approach Syloh, give her a couple treats and walk towards Syloh. Keep walking and keep treating until either she gains interest in Syloh or you're close enough now and she's not growling. Now, take Syloh away and bring out Cozy. Let Tucker meet at her own pace and, again, treat and praise for any good behavior. Take Cozy away again, and play with Tucker. Next, bring out Cozy and Syloh and have them sit or lay down calmly. Let Tucker approach them and treat and praise for good behavior. You can also try going for a walk with all three or just playing with Tucker.

When you go home, always supervise Tucker when she's with your other two, and crate her when you feel like she's being overwhelmed. Eventually, she'll come out of her shell, but it does take time. Good luck!

[chime67]

I took Cozy and Tucker outside in the yard.. I have 5 acres so they had plenty of space lol.. I then put them both on leads and did what you instructed, in the end it didn't work out too horrible and at least there was no aggression going on.
Thanks for the advice, I will keep working on it :)

[Blackrose]

Taking them on walk together might help too. I have a fear aggressive dog (when it comes to other dogs) and a not-so-dog-tolorent aggressive dog, and when I brought Chloe into the mix they weren't too pleased. They didn't hate her, which shocked me, and were actually very tolorant of her, but I think the best thing that got all three of them used to each other was me walking them together. They weren't allowed to interact on the walks except for some harmless sniffing. After a couple of walks, I was able to let Blackie and Rose off leash around Chloe (with Chloe still being on leash because she's worse than either of the other two) and they now get along fine (with me to supervise and Chloe on leash).

[Canis-Lupess]

Also be sure to never make a deal out of it when they meet no matter what happens because that can make the aggression worse.

If they have a little spat, just try and stay calm and don't say anything but if they are fighting just gently pull them away from each other if they are causing injury....which I think would be very unlikely. This is most like to happen after human intervention has already ruined the dogs chances of resolving things on their own.
The odd spat here and there between any dogs that live together is nothing to worry about and they often just flash the teeth, one might pin the other down and do a lot of growling and snarling but no biting takes place and no injury and if they do bite, the bites are superficial with no real pressure applied. It looks quite severe to us but its just a little ticking off in a dogs books. They are pretty good at sorting things themselves though so you should be ok.
I'm sure your new addition will gradually get used to the other two dogs but try and keep it one at a time at first as mentioned so she isn't overwelmed.

[chime67]

I have done tons of reading on the subject and one of the things that kept popping up was when Tucker barred her teeth at the other dogs that I was supposed to grab her by the gruff of her neck and put her on her belly and stare into her eyes to teach her that I am head dog..
personally I like all your advices a whole lot better. I kinda believe with children that hitting a child will only instill that to them and they continue the pattern.
so if I was to get aggressive with the puppy like they are saying than it will only lead to more aggression.
Your advice is more calming towards the rug rats and probably would work the best.


Thanks for the Great Advice !!
Tucker's mom