Advice on new dogs....

DragonSlayer

DragonSlayer

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My step-daughter has just taken on a new dog today, large-ish breed, a bitch who is 8 months old.

Anyhoo, my question is....at 8 months old, she's likely to HOPEFULLY be fine with other dogs, as we have our old dog and the last rescue dog someone introduced left me with huge vets bills! Another dog in the street ripped her shoulder open by launching itself on her. :(

We had let them meet on neutral ground and all seemed fine but it was when one came into our house, my poor dog got savaged in her own bed!

I don't mind dogs visiting but after our previous experiences it's not fair on my poor girl.

So how long would you suggest to meet in neutral territory? We will let them meet this week for the first time, but when they come for a meal at Christmas of course her dog is invited and I don't want fights!

Thanks in advance :D
 
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Most dogs don't want to fight! They do, however, want to play. If the youngster is well-mannered with other dogs that she meets on walks, I would take your two for a walk on their leads and if they seem ok together, let them off in an enclosed space, in case of poor recall and let them play with a ball or similar. I wouldn't introduce them on either's home territory.
 
Sorry I need more info - what breed is your dog, what breed is the step daughters dog? It does make a difference....

8 months old is no age if the pup has had negative experiences with other dogs or humans, it takes rather more than one meeting to make a difference?
 
And remember, if you are worried you will be tense and make things worse, I agree with CC here if you are at all bothered.
As Levrier asks - breed can make a difference, too.
 
Just have to say no im afraid. My two dogs dont get kicked out so that my uncles tiny rat can come in for xmas day..their dog gets taken elsewhere. Theyre already eating for free and not contributing anything but their questionable company, dont want their dog disrupting our dogs lives too.
 
DragonSlayer said:
My step-daughter has just taken on a new dog today, large-ish breed, a bitch who is 8 months old.

Anyhoo, my question is....at 8 months old, she's likely to HOPEFULLY be fine with other dogs, as we have our old dog and the last rescue dog someone introduced left me with huge vets bills! Another dog in the street ripped her shoulder open by launching itself on her. :(

We had let them meet on neutral ground and all seemed fine but it was when one came into our house, my poor dog got savaged in her own bed!

I don't mind dogs visiting but after our previous experiences it's not fair on my poor girl.

So how long would you suggest to meet in neutral territory? We will let them meet this week for the first time, but when they come for a meal at Christmas of course her dog is invited and I don't want fights!

Thanks in advance :D
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Does your daughter live near enough for them to meet at least weekly until much nearer the time for Christmas? I would want to get them used to being together before expecting them to cope with the hullabaloo of Christmas.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Most dogs don't want to fight! They do, however, want to play. If the youngster is well-mannered with other dogs that she meets on walks, I would take your two for a walk on their leads and if they seem ok together, let them off in an enclosed space, in case of poor recall and let them play with a ball or similar. I wouldn't introduce them on either's home territory.
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It'll be on neutral ground, probably the tennis courts for safety! Cheers :)

Lévrier;13656602 said:
Sorry I need more info - what breed is your dog, what breed is the step daughters dog? It does make a difference....

8 months old is no age if the pup has had negative experiences with other dogs or humans, it takes rather more than one meeting to make a difference?
Click to expand...

Mixed breeding it seems! Lots in there by the looks of things.

CorvusCorax said:
If you are worried, stair gates, play pens and crates are your friend.
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She does have a crate at home whilst they all get themselves sorted and used to routines etc.

Clodagh said:
And remember, if you are worried you will be tense and make things worse, I agree with CC here if you are at all bothered.
As Levrier asks - breed can make a difference, too.
Click to expand...

I guess it will be a case of see what happens. If it looks like things might be dodgy, we'll use barriers. The dog has been walked though and has appeared fine with other dogs from what I can gather.

equi said:
Just have to say no im afraid. My two dogs dont get kicked out so that my uncles tiny rat can come in for xmas day..their dog gets taken elsewhere. Theyre already eating for free and not contributing anything but their questionable company, dont want their dog disrupting our dogs lives too.
Click to expand...

If there's an issue, her dog will stay home, no worries there.

Thanks all, I'll let you know how it goes. :)
 
I'm sure it will be fine! It usually is - and I've introduced many dogs to exisiting ones. 8 months is still a pup really. I know you've had a bad experience but ime if you expect everything to go well it usually does - so long as you've taken sensible precautions.
 
When I had a similar situation with my dads rescue JRT who apparently didn’t like dogs we walked a couple of times without stopping to greet so there was no pressure to meet each other formally. We then went to dad house and I kept my dog on a lead so again no pressure. We carried on like that weekly for a couple of months, sometimes he came to me and sometimes me to his. His dog was never out in the position where he was forced to interact (and my dog is pretty perfect anyway so no worries there) Dogs are firm friends now.
 
equi said:
Just have to say no im afraid. My two dogs dont get kicked out so that my uncles tiny rat can come in for xmas day..their dog gets taken elsewhere. Theyre already eating for free and not contributing anything but their questionable company, dont want their dog disrupting our dogs lives too.
Click to expand...

Oh dear! Sorry to say this did make me laugh a little bit - reading your post and OP's post I think perhaps the OP has a better relationship with her step daughter than you do with your uncle! Good luck with it this year, it sounds like hard work.
 
I would find her some dog training classes where the new dog can get to meet lots of other pets in a controlled environment, which will give you a good idea of reactions. For Christmas, get your daughter to bring a crate so that the new dog has a safe place if it gets too much.

Funnily, we got our first rescue at eight months and he has always been fabulous with others, even though he was castrated at first!
 
Long walks and tired dogs make for easy introductions! When I brought Blaze (rescue stafford) home properly he had already had 2 introductions to Tara (rescue stafford bitch). I walked them again together and wore them out before they finally set foot in the house together. The interim test we did was to see if she would let him in the car (which she did). I have since had another 2 Staffords joining us (same introductions) and a foster stafford boy. Taking a bit of time, removing any points of contention (food and toys) and tired dogs make for a much easier life.
 
We have my daughter's vizsla to stay quite frequently, she has a huge crate which comes with him and we have a crate for our dog. When viz was a pup we had an elderly BT who really didn't want to know but the crate was his go to place for peace and quiet, now we have Stanley, it's the viz that goes to his crate. Initially it was a bit stressful as we couldn't do the long walk together as in both cases the walk needs were so different but we did a lot of shortish play sessions in a safe place with the puppy. It is possible to make things work with a bit of time and effort and I love seeing my daughter, so we had to find a way to make it work.
 
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