new dog

[cheryld409]

Help, my daughter has moved back home with her female pit bull mix she took in as a stray. She is very loveable, but my 9 year old male lab doesn't think so. Neither one appreciate the other and have to be kept separated. They have had a few scuffles. I need to know if they will ever be able to cohabitate and if so, how do I go about making that happen. I understand that she has moved in on my dog's turf.

thanks!
Cheryl

[Bigyummydog]

i'd like a suggestion to that too...sorry, i'm gonna invade on your question:D ...we've thought about getting a puppy someday...
but MAXIMUS is sure to have issues about that...he's NEVER had to share us, his toys, you know "his private property"...he may be able to get along with another dog, but, it's not allowed to get near us, or even look at us too long...
anyway, we'd love to hear all about your furkids...:p

[lizbud]

Originally posted by cheryld409
Help, my daughter has moved back home with her female pit bull mix she took in as a stray. She is very loveable, but my 9 year old male lab doesn't think so. Neither one appreciate the other and have to be kept separated. They have had a few scuffles. I need to know if they will ever be able to cohabitate and if so, how do I go about making that happen. I understand that she has moved in on my dog's turf.

thanks!
Cheryl

Can you tell me if this living arrangement is just temporary or
long term? This will require commitment on both you & your
daughters part in helping them get along, or at least tolerate each other. Here's a link that explains a little about intros of a
new dog. Good luck with this.

http://www.homevet.com/petcare/petmeet.html

[Giselle]

It depends, really. If you introduce the dogs properly and subside over every single time they interact with each other to ensure safety, then yes, they should learn to cohabitate comfortably. Whenever we introduce a new dog to our family, be it dog sitting or a permanent addition, I'm always vigilant for signs of uneasiness and tension. If I sense tension or the dogs are avoiding each other, I try to find what they're upset about. Remove it and gradually re-introduce it as times goes by and the dogs are familiarized.

If your dogs have not had the proper introduction yet, I would recommend you do so even if the new dog has been living with you for an extended period of time. Also, you must remember your resident dog has been the 'only child' for a while. It's very threatening to his stance in the pack when a new dog comes in and marks the areas in which he claimed his territory (your backyard, for example).

Have their scuffles ever led to bites and blood? When they start scuffling, is it usually over a valuable resource [toys, human attention, food, etc.]? You probably know already, but it's a good idea to remove all resources [mentioned above] if you're not there to supervise. My resident dog was a tad food/toy aggressive, so I made sure that my new dog was NEVER allowed access to my resident dog's toy. If she was given access, my resident dog would have gone into attack mode and the results would have been devastating.

Is your resident dog alpha? If so, then I would direct my attentions to the resident dog and make sure that my resident dog receives every resource first.

But to answer your question, yes, they should learn to live together peacefully. My two dogs were pure h-ll when I first brought my Greyhound into my home. Lucky was so territorial and I struggled for the first few months to suppress his urge to challenge my Greyhound. It got to the point where the Greyhound was SO scared of my resident dog that she wouldn't bear to be in the same room with him. They both became withdrawn and my resident dog was *very* depressed. The Greyhound was timid and painfully shy. It was then that I questioned myself, Should I relinquish the Greyhound? Gradually, but surely, the two dogs began to tolerate each other. Now, 9 months later, I sometimes catch the two sleeping with each other.;)

[Pit Chick]

How long ago did your daughter move back home? You should give both dogs a little time to adjust to the new situation before introducing them to each other. It's too much too soon to bring them together when there is so much new stuff going on. If they are both or just one of them is unaltered, that too could cause problems which altering them both would help. Not all dogs will get along, so yes, they may have to always be separated. I have to do it with some of my dogs because that's mainly what I have is Pit Bulls and they would rather be with a person than another dog. I live with my mom and Ginger stays in my room with me since that's where I spend most of my time. If they still don't get along after a proper introduction, then the best thing to do is keep them separated for their own safety and yours. It's ok, they won't be upset if they don't get to play with each other as long as they get their own time alone with each of you and their regular routine continues as best as possible. Here are some links to help you with this situation:

http://www.pbrc.net/fightinfo.html

http://www.pbrc.net/rotate.html

I also encourage you to check out the rest of that site so you can get a better understanding of the Pit Bull breed. And welcome to Pet Talk. :)

[cheryld409]

Thanks for the reply. The scuffle brought a small bit of blood around my lab's ear-minor scratch. There was also a small circular place on the side of his head-tooth mark maybe. That happened when our "visitor" while chained outside the fence found her way under the fence into the backyard. Obviously my dog attacked her as she was still chained. I quickly ran outside but they had separated. The other scuffle occurred indoors when their whereabouts weren't known. No injury then.

When humans are around they bark and carry on terribly. When we aren't around they only bark intermittently and will even be in close proximity while the fence separates them.

Is it wrong to let the new dog in the backyard?(without my dog of course) I don't know what an alpha male is. Sorry. They don't share the same toys. They eat at different times but maybe from the same bowl and location. I'm so uneducated about introducing the new dog.

I'm not sure if she is here to stay. If this situation doesn't improve, I'm not sure what we'll do. We both love our dogs.

Tell me how to introduce them to each other properly without a major fight. They are both extremely strong dogs.

Thanks!

[Pit Chick]

You and your daughter can start by having them both on leashes in the front yard. Let them meet nose to nose or nose to butts whichever they prefer. Pay close attention to the reactions which will probably go in this order: hair on hackles standing up, tails raised, standing stiffly on their toes while eyeballing each other, and if you're lucky, play postures. If you hear any growling, calmly but quickly pull them away from each other. Don't let them get the leashes twisted or a fight will more than likely happen because they feel trapped.

Don't try to force a friendship, not all dogs are compatible with each other. They don't have to get along to live in the same house. Instead of chaining the Pit out front while the Lab is out back, rotate them. Let the Lab have his time out back, bring him inside, then let the Pit out back or take her for a walk. If you're leaving the Pit chained even if it's not that long, there is too much room for tragedy: she could get stolen, attacked by a stray dog, get caught up in the chain or even hang herself.

[Giselle]

I would also suggest you buy two PLASTIC muzzles. Metal muzzles are very prone to injuring others and you do not want a metal muzzled dog bumping his schnoz into you. Whenever they're within reach of each other, always muzzle them.

When you introduce them, you always go onto neutral territory, or a place that your resident dog has not claimed his territory. This can be the sidewalk, your neighbor's yard, the park, etc. Hold the leash with the proper grip- with your hand outstretched and your palm to the sky, place the leash flat against your palm. The part of the leash that is connected to the dog should be below your hand. Now, put your thumb against the side of your hand so that it lays on top of the leash. Take the free end of the leash and lay it over your thumb. Now, both ends of the leash are pointing towards the dog. Place the rest of your fingers over the leash. This is the proper grip that military dogs and police dogs use. I can take pictures of the proper grip if this doesn't make any sense. This grip is very important when dealing with two powerful dogs who tend to resort to scuffles such as yours.

When the two dogs meet, stand with your feet planted shoulder width apart. Move as the dogs move. If your daughter's dog moves left and they are now standing at 3 o' clock. Move to *your* left so that you stay synchronized. When your daughter is at 12 o' clock, you're at 6 o' clock. This way, the leashes will NEVER tangle, and you can quickly pull your dogs out. As Pit Chick mentioned, always be aware of the reactions they are giving/receiving. Look for signs of trying to heighten themselves (i.e. the standing forward and staying on their toes, ears up right, chest out, tail up) and signs of submission (i.e. lowered ears, head down, slinking). Praise continually for not growling or showing signs of aggression. After a few minutes, you can pull them out and lavish them with treats.

I highly do not suggest chaining your dogs outside. A chained dog in new territory is a fearful dog. My two dogs were never separated via one being in the house, one being out the house. They were both in the house 24/7 except for potty breaks and walks. Of course, yours are not reliable enough, yet, so you'll have to crate them or separate them in different rooms.

The alpha dog (doesn't necessarily have to be male) is the dog that is above the rest. S/he gets the toys and food first and s/he tends to be given more attention than the rest. We reinforce this to prevent scuffles because new dogs tend to want to challenge the pack hierarchy by scuffles. Usually, the resident dog is alpha, so if he is, I would continually give more attention to him and reinforce the idea that he is alpha over your daughter's dog. Above all, remember to make interactions between both dogs enjoyable! Praise and treat everytime they're in the same room and they're not fighting. Hopefully, all this tension will fade away.:)

[Giselle]

Here, I'm not good at explaining things so I took photos of how to get the proper grip:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/The%20Dogs/IMG_1262.jpg

Then, clamp your thumb down onto the leash
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/The%20Dogs/IMG_1263.jpg

Then, take the leash and wrap it over your thumb
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/The%20Dogs/IMG_1264.jpg

Finally, place the rest of your fingers on the leash like so:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/The%20Dogs/IMG_1265.jpg

That's the grip :) When the dog is on the other end of the lead, stand with your feet planted shoulder width apart. That stance plus this grip should give you maximum control.

[cheryld409]

Thanks so much for the info. and pictures. I am going to try the suggestions. I had thought about muzzling them both to at least be able to have them in the same vicinity. I am rotating them in the backyard so that they both get exercise and fresh air. At night they sleep in different bedrooms. The vet suggested spaying the female and that might help. My dog is neutered. What does it mean when my dog ignores the other dog and won't look at her? For example, she is inside the fence. I'm walking him on the leash outside of the fence but beside it. He tries to act like she isn't there. He won't go to the fence but just kind of walks in circles never giving her any attention. It's kind of comical. But, if i were to give her attention,of course he would start barking. They are complicated creatures!

Again, thanks for everything. I'll keep you posted.

Cheryl