Owners worry about dogs’ behavior when introducing them

“my family has 3 dogs–a 9yo jack russell, 10yo bearded collie, and a 3/4yo? toy poodle. + my sister’s 4yo jackawawa who just recently had 3 chipoo puppies, who are only a couple weeks younger than my 10w old chihuahua. we aren’t breeders or anything; the jackawawa’s pregnancy was completely accidental. i’d assumed that, being that she’s a new mother and her puppies are a similar age to my little chi, she’d take to her best out of the pack. sort of like a maternal instinct. so my sister and i held”

“They have played with extremely healthy body language for 2 months, constant sneezing, loose posture, tail wagging and wrestling for 30-45 minutes at a time. Older dog became very defensive while they played last night, and snapped several times at puppy. Now older dog keeps walking away from puppy and snapping defensively whenever she approaches. She seems tense with ears pulled back, and shaking off stress whenever puppy passes. Older dog didn't want to sleep in the same room as everyone l”

“Hello! Tomorrow night we are invited by my MIL for dinner, right next door. There will be two other adults and two young kids that the puppy already met once and the interactions were calm and positive. Pup is 11 weeks old, is doing pretty good on potty and crate training in our place. She went to my MIL’s place a couple of times, and almost daily to her garden so she can sniff and did potty sometimes there too - but it’s not a habit like the grass patch we have on our balcony. Currently our rou”

“I’ve been reading online that the transition from 2 to 3 dogs is pretty tough. We currently have an 8 month old golden retriever and a 12 year old small mixed dog (10lb) and have started the conversation about adopting another dog on the younger side. Our 12 year old lady will play with the puppy from time to time, but mostly does her own thing. Training the new puppy has gone pretty well and we have a nice routine established with her, which I know would change with a third dog. Just curious if”

“My two dogs are Maple: 8 months (GSD) and Lucy: 8 years (18 lb mutt), both female. My 8 year old girl is spayed but I am waiting to spay my other girl until she is older. My puppy is very rambunctious and excited but she is also disrespectful. She will get in my other dog's face and personal space and will keep pushing boundaries even when they: bare their teeth, growl, bark, walk away, etc. Then, the older girl, Lucy, snipped at the younger one, Maple, and they got into a fight because Mapl”

“I have an 1 year old female GSD/Collie mix and I adopted her at 8 months old and was told she liked other dogs and not much on her past but I do know there 3 dogs she does like and will play with and it's different sexs,size and breeds but here lately there been this one dog that has no personal space at all and the owner does not speak English and I try to move away and the owner does not pay attention to his dog and the dog is on one of those one leashs that you can control how much room y”

“Hi guys! I feel my issue here is sorta unique so I’ll do my best to explain it. In the house I currently have a 4 1/2 year old Lab, a 8 year old chi/beagle mix, and my foster pup who is a chihuahua. I also have 4 cats but they aren’t really apart of this issue. I got the foster pup 2 days ago from a local humane society. She and 74 other small dogs were seized from a home. The humane society was overrun and was looking for fosters so I decided to take 1 in. With this dog’s background in mind, I”

“Hey there! For background info: Partner and I already have two (about 5yo) dogs, both are female. We love them so much, they get along great and they are both large dogs. We live in an apartment and we will be leaving our lease beginning of next year to move somewhere with a yard. Okay so we found a stray puppy while driving last night. We bathed her, kept her overnight, and then brought her to our local shelter this morning. She is honestly the most baby-ish sweet puppy ever, and she just wants”

“Hello All, I have a household with three dogs. The oldest is a 12-year-old pitbull, he can get grumpy around other dogs and tends to play very rough. I also have an 11-month-old female husky who I got when she was 8-weeks-old. At first the puppy annoyed the older dog, but after about 6 weeks they began playing together and have a great relationship. Three weeks ago I got the opportunity to adopt another 11-month old male husky. He came from an abusive background and needed a good home where he c”

“We have two family dogs, my mother is a single parent, lives with my grandmother and has a job. I have moved out of our hometown and live separately with my husband. Out of my two dogs, one is reactive and has food resource guarding issue and because of that she fights with the other one. We had found both of them on the streets and adopted them together while they were same age. As puppies they were great together but as they grew they started to show aggression. The non reactive one is basical”

“I recently moved into a new house and there are now 4 dogs that live here! I have a 6 year old beagle and my dog is beginning to react very poorly to the other dogs. Specifically one of the Aussies (8 Months) Since he is a puppy, he doesn't respect space well (standing over her while she is resting, and continual sniffing) and will follow her when she tries to leave. She was extremely tolerant at first just looking annoyed and lying there, but now is beginning to snap at him whenever he gets”

“To give some background he's a 9.5 year old frenchie. He's been around animals and other dogs his whole life and has never been aggressive etc. my mum adopted a dog 2 years ago and he absolutely hates him... to the point he will lunge at him but but not attack. I'm not sure if it's because of the way he was introduced to him. We were in my apartment and my sister bought the rescue over and my dog was asleep. He was woken my this big fur ball in his face and immediately took a dis”

“I have a 9 year old female frenchie who does have prey drive and controlling behaviors. She has always "policed" other dogs. Hates moving objects like the broom and vacuum. Had this intense stare, stalking and then attacking. We got a new puppy and hoped she'd see it as a puppy and knew she'd be bossy towards it. However, she never gave it the puppy pass. While her initial intensity looks calmer. She cannot handle it moving around and stares then chases it and bites. We've”

“I have two dogs. Zoey, she’s a 3 year old boxer. And Hannah, a vizsla coonhound 13 years old. I got Zoey from my friends mom. I’ve always had boxers and mine passed away, and my mom had passed away right before that. I needed something to fill the void. So when my friend who was actually my previous boxers breeder, said her mom was looking to rehome her 1 year old boxer, I was ecstatic! I’m beginning to wonder if this is why she rehomed her and if the behavior didnt start with her bad training.”

“Hi! I have a 1 year old (well she turns 1 on the 30th) Field Golden Retriever and a 4 month old Aussie. I know, I sound crazy having two puppies but hear me out. When we got our Golden we already had another dog. She unfortunately passed away in April. It was extremely hard on all of us. We ended up adopting our Aussie 2 months ago, she’s fitting in great and believe it or not she’s a way easier puppy than the golden was lol. I posted on here crying weekly my golden was such a menace lol, traini”

“My wife and I recently adopted a collie mix from a local shelter. The black dog is ~2 year old female. Our other dog is a 6 year old golden male who is super gentle and sweet. Play often starts like this but ends up with with her on top pinning him and not really letting him until we interrupt. Is this normal/ safe play? Any tips to keep them both safe and happy? submitted by /u/butterscotchboss69 [link] [comments]”

“Ok so this will need some (by that I mean a fair amount) of context. For starters we have 3 dogs, two doodles and a new puppy that is a small breed (breed shouldn't matter but wanted to clarify the puppy isn't nor will grow up to be the same size as the other two). We also have had the puppy for about 2&1/2 months now. All of them get along great if we are either playing or just outside in general, however in typical fashion they get overwhelmed by the puppy when it isn't play ti”

“Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice on introducing and safely socialising two dogs who are now living in the same house. We recently rescued a 4 month old Bull Arab and have had him for about two weeks. He has been an absolute sweetheart and, until now, we haven’t had any behavioural issues. His foster family had two larger-breed dogs, and we were told he had no issues living with them. The issue is that our roommate has a 1.5 year old female German Shepard x Koolie, and the two dogs met”

“Hi all :) my partner just got a dog a few months ago (4 y/o dominant female Staffordshire terrier) and we have decided that it’s time to introduce her to my 8 y/o dominant female beagle mix that I’ve had for 4 years (we are long distance so I will be staying with him for a week, plus we figured it gave his dog ample time to settle into her environment). My dog does really well with other dogs. She is dominant, but plays well and asserts boundaries properly with adequate signs that she is aggrava”

“we have a 1-year old mixed breed (4 working breeds in her 30 lb body, and a few non working breeds too). she's insecure and resource guards me against strangers. she LOVES dogs. we do training and safe socialization (at a training facility) consistently. we met a sweet 10 year old boy dog who needs a home, is currently being fostered. he's a sweet harmless fluff ball. conflict avoidant. loves people, seems to like when a dog appears but then generally ignores them. we had our second meet”

“Hi everyone. My elderly parents are moving into assisted living, and they’re bringing their Havanese with them. They’ve lived a pretty isolated life and never really trained their dog, so I’m worried about how the move will go, especially because of the barking. The dog barks at people, other animals, and even things on the TV, which is on most of the time. The dog is very important to my parents. Both of them have different levels of dementia, and the dog really helps with their anxiety. Has an”

“This is admittedly a little weird of a question. I have a well trained four year old, my brother has recently moved in and asked for my help in training his 9 month old puppy. My brother has some unforeseen work issues and isn’t home much, which is why he moved in, I’ve trained multiple dogs and agreed we to help. The problem is my 4 year old doesn’t understand that not every training session is about her. She actually makes it a little easier because he will copy what she does he also is a litt”

“Our 10 year old Border Collie has always been an introvert. She only got on with our cats because they never bothered her. We try to socialise her but she always bares her teeth and growls. We got a puppy 3 days ago so we're not expecting our older dog to just suddenly like him, especially in her own home and around places like her beds and food bowls, so we block the puppy from getting too close. But we are cautious of the fact that just keeping them separate won't help either of them.”

“I have a 4 month old Australian Kelpie (marty), we've had him since he was 2mo. He understands leave it commands, and no. So, my family has a 4 year old girl yorkiechon, and she's so gentle and sweet. Marty will bite her legs and ears all in a super playful manner, and sometimes she'll play back. However, when she'll yelp in pain or hide from him he doesn't understand her cues to stop. I've told him no, separated them for some time, and have shielding my little one from h”

“Hello! My sister is fostering 3 puppies for a few weeks until an adoption event. We were wondering if it makes sense to introduce them to my adult dogs (2 yr goldendoodle + 5 year schnauzer mix) since the puppies are now 2 months old Both of my dogs are fully vaccinated and love to play with other dogs (relatives’ and neighbors’), but rarely get to see puppies. They don’t have resource guarding issues so I’m not worried about that, but is this an appropriate age for socializing puppies with olde”

“My 5mo border Collie is extremely friendly and we're doing great with e collar training and basic behaviors. She settles and sleeps for most of the day and loves her corgi brother. I'd like some tips though on her greeting people I find acceptable (coworkers and other adults.) She is an extremely submissive pup and when going to greet, she'll first be pretty distant. I usually have a treat bag full of her kibble, so I'll throw a handful in her direction and say 'go find it.&#”

“We have 10 year old Lab Cross, he's very docile and placid. 2 weeks ago we brought home a puppy, same breed, he's 10 weeks now but we are finding it really difficult to integrate the dogs and also for the older to feel relaxed in the house. the puppy only wants to bite the older dog, goes for his ankles, tail, feet, face, and the older dog is too placid to tell him and just goes to hide upstairs. I'm hopeful the relationship will get better as the puppy grows up and starts to learn b”

submitted by /u/MadLadok [link] [comments]

“Some background context: My parent in laws (PIL), my partner, and I are moving onto a large farm property together. The property has two seperate houses, and lots of land. We plan on housing the dogs in seperate yards for their comfortability. The dogs: My dogs are Maki (8yoF) and Ponyo (5yoF). They're both Cavalier x Pomeranian. They're both reactive to dogs on whilst on leash, however they are fine at the park off leash. Maki has pretty bad manners in the way that she will approach a d”

“TLDR: I'm looking for personal experiences and possible issues when walking dogs with other humans joining you, and how to make pet parents comfortable with that idea... So... on occasion my husband or adult son joins me when I walk dogs. Of course I ask the owner first if it's OK, and I also make sure the dogs don't have issues with men. But every so often when I ask a client if this is OK, they look at me kind of strangely. Am I asking for too much? None have said no yet, but I won”

“Hi everyone, My dog is getting older (Samoyed). She’s very very sweet and gentle and great with other animals (while still needing her space and quiet). As she gets older I’ve been considering introducing another animal into the house. It’s just me and her here. I’ve never had an elderly animal, she’s my first dog, so I’ve never been in this position. Does anyone have any helpful advice? I don’t even know if I should get a dog, or cat, or rabbit, or if I’m just being selfish. Please be nice this”

“Hi all. We have a 2 year old dog, and after losing our senior dog last year, we have finally decided to bring a new dog into our home. He is 9 years old and is adjusting well so far. We got him just over two weeks ago, and up until now they have been getting along very well. They have had no issues eating from opposite ends of the kitchen, they go on walks together a couple times a day, and they even play with each other a few times a week. The issue started last night. They had been playing tog”

“I put a lot of the ground work in when she was a puppy. She’s almost 2 now. She will walk with me and play. But with my wife make just sits there and won’t move when it’s time for a walk. Sometimes they will be outside for 30 minutes until I come along, take the lead, at which point she will immediately walk nice and go toilet submitted by /u/Weird_Horse_5981 [link] [comments]”

“Hello! Seeking dog training advice for a specific and mostly harmless issue. Background: We moved to a completely new area about 2 months ago shortly after euthanizing our 14 year old mini aussie. Our 10 year old black lab came with us and overall seemed to adjust fairly smoothly. We did the EU at home so he was able to process and grieve appropriately. He's been on solliquin for a long time (started as just for the aussie but gradually became part of his routine), he gets regularly exercise”

“To provide a bit of context, we recently purchased a home with my partner’s grandmother and close in a few weeks. We have two dogs, a 12 year old English mastiff and an 8 year old Border Collie mix. Grandma has a 10 year old Bouvier des Flandres. The Bouvier is extremely calm and friendly, maybe even bordering on timid. Our English mastiff is typically friendly, but our collie is the concern. She tends to be a bit territorial and at times reactive. Yesterday we parallel walked our Collie and Bou”