I would have to agree that seeing how two dogs relate at a shelter is not a sure sign that there would be trouble. Almost always there is a little friction between the new dog and old one. But, and with my having five and each of my daughters having three, it seems to work itself out. Again those articles you were lead to will probably give you good ideas.

The first thing to remember is to make sure the someone is always there watching the interaction between the two dogs. You also have to let both know you are the boss and you will not allow any fighting. I have found that water is a good breaker-upper. In fact, Jack who is the biggest and came to us the oldest is scared to death of a squirt bottle and will run the other way. So if you think there might be trouble, and you uncertain as to how Scooter will react if you try to pull him away, make sure you have some water in a bottle, dish whatever just in case. It is suggested that you introduce them outside anyways.

Also I think one thing that scares a lot of people is that because there is a scuffle they think the dog is mean. That is not necessarily so. Kids fight about things that we don't always understand and so do dogs. Dazzi and Oreo have fought, Jack and Taggert, Dazzi and Jack. Actually I would call them scuffles because no blood was shed - it was just a lot of growling, rolling around and some biting but again no skin broken, no blood. All my dogs are kenneled when we are not home, so I don't have to worry about any fighting when I am not here.

What I guess I am trying to say is to not give up because the first meeting did not go well. That would be a terrible sentence to Scooter. Give him a chance on your home ground, but make sure to separate them if no one is around to keep an eye on them. I think you might be surprised of the outcome and even if they don't become best buds it does not mean they cannot come to an understanding and accept each other. And just because a dog shows aggression to another dog does not mean he will attack a human. I think that Scooter should be given some space and watched when he is around your brother for awhile but there is nothing to say that he may not become your brother's best friend.

I hope your father will at least give it a chance -if Scooter's time is almost up at the shelter, it wouldn't be any meaner to give him a chance at your house and see if it will work and then if it doesn't take him back to the shlelter. It will at least buy him a few days, a week, a month, forever.