On Saturday my wife and I rescued an 11 month old lab mix female. She doesn't bark and is a lap dog. She is 50 lbs and so sweet. However, we also have a 91 lbs female chocolate lab female named Rory. From the start, Lily, the new dog, was very aggressive to Rory. She growled at Rory, the first time they met. She actually bit her on the first night. Now Rory is fighting back and growling and barking at Lily. I am afraid someone is going to get hurt bad. Does anyone have any advice?
Hi KirbyHawk75, Sorry that I cant be much help on this one - but it might be worth getting in touch with a trainer / behaviorist or maybe even your vet for some suggestions? The only experience I have had of two dogs fighting was when a full bitch was introduced to a male who had the snip - she was aggressive towards him and other females as if she was trying to be the Alpha Female? Have both of your dogs been done? Please bare in mind that you may need to discuss this aggression with the rescue, and if it doesn't stop then it might be better for Rory that Lily goes back to the rescue and is re-homed into a single dog home. Keep us posted, Holly and Nala x
When I have rescued and bought another dog into the house, we met with the other dog at least 3 times, walking them together, sitting on sofa together, eating together. This gave us a good indication if they were compatible or not. It was hard but I once turned down a dog that bit my little spaniel on first meeting. I would be tempted to keep them apart until you can get advice on what’s triggering it for them both and how best to manage it ? Difficult time for both dogs when you think about it from their perspective, it might resolve a little when the new dog starts to feel safer with you in your home too? Hope you can get it sorted .
Your local humane society where you adopted the dog *should* have a trainer/behaviorist on staff. Check the website and get in contact with this person ASAP for suggestions until you can get professional help in your home. I would have thought the humane society observed the dogs together before adoption. Was this the case? How was the initial interaction and did they make any suggestions? Call your vet and ask for referrals to trainers or use the CCPDT directory: https://www.ccpdt.org/dog-owners/certified-dog-trainer-directory/ NB there are lots of good trainers who are not certified but the directory is a good place to start. Try to arrange for an in-home visit as quickly as possible so you don't reinforce problematic behavior.
Hi there, sorry to hear you are having problems. It isn't unusual for 2 adult dog to not get along to start with. It sounds as though they may need to be introduced much more gradually. I second the suggestions to contact the rescue center urgently. They may suggest taking her back on a temporary basis while you spend some time introducing the dogs on neutral territory, to see if they are likely to be compatible.
I’m a volunteer at our local animal control facility, and we always advise adopters that it takes at least 2 weeks for their new dog to decompress. Your rescue dog doesn’t know yet that she’s in a safe place where she’ll have food and people who’ll care for her, so she’s probably feeling she needs to compete with your dog for these things. The advice you’ve gotten here to gradually get them together is important. Your new dog needs to get a little more self confidence before she’s comfortable sharing her space.
When we brought a new SPCA dog into our home our non aggressive shepherd seemed to want to bite her. We first kept them apart in different areas of the house then walked them together on lead (two different handlers, everyone going in the same direction side by side) in a neutral-ground park vs home territory. When they got comfortable with that, we let them meet on lead in the same park, then off lead with a Ball handy to keep the shepherd occupied. Then if I remember right we let them play together in the back yard heavily supervised. After that we never had an issue and they were best friends till both died within a few weeks of each other years later. Try walking them near each other on neutral ground and keep them moving, it seems to help.
