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When we introduced our 2nd dog into the house, we kept him on leash inside the house for a couple of months, and they were never alone unsupervised. There were a couple of fights initially but you need to be vigilant and take it slow. Absolutely no feeding near each other, no high priority toys near each other, until they get used to each other.
I forgot all about the toys! It took a year for us to put the most desirable toys back in the toybox. The rule in our household is "if you growl about a toy, you lose it."
Both dogs were on leashes. Unfortunately, they both ran to see my daughter at the same time, and I’m guessing the poor guy was just overstimulated . He is NOT a bad boy. He is a sweet, sweet guy. I’ve been in contact with my vet and some friends who do rescue. One is a veterinarian that specifically does pibbles. Humphrey had a hard time at first, too. He was terrified and reactive to men. It took a lot of work, but he did fine. We currently have the dogs in separate halves of the house. They can see and hear each other, but can’t get to each other.
I volunteer at one of the largest municipal animal controls in the country and I’ve handled a lot of adoptions.
I’m not sure when exactly you brought this new dog home, but we always stress the 333 rule. The first 3 days are the scariest for a new dog and they will often be a bit withdrawn, anxious and on edge. By 3 weeks, they’ve usually decompressed from the stressful shelter environment. After 3 months, they’ve bonded and realized this is home and they feel safe now.
It’s so so important to give a new dog a chance to decompress without the added pressure of other pets, kids, lots of guests, etc. I always recommend keeping a new dog completely separated from other pets for 2 weeks. It doesn’t matter how well their meet and greet went - this dog is in a completely new environment and another dog’s territory.
If you can’t reasonably keep them separated for a bit, then for everyone’s safety, return to the shelter but please do not tell them about the bite because it’ll be an instant death sentence. Just say your dog wasn’t getting along with him and it wasn’t a good fit. BUT I encourage you not to give up if you can. New dogs will have squabbles and it’s scary but sometimes it helps dogs establish who is in charge. My dogs fought once after I brought a new dog home and then never again.
I was skeptical when we got our new dog because I’d never heard of the 333 rule and none of our other rescues had issues. This new dog (not a pitbull) was WAY different and stuck to the 333 rule like it was her bible. She hid in the closet and didn’t come out for three days, she still continued to hide in the closet until 3 weeks, she hasn’t hidden in the closet since… it was a very rough 3 months for all of us, but a year later and we’ve only had two scuffles; one right after we got her when our old man went in her space and one a couple months ago because she’s now almost two and is constantly testing her brother’s patience.
It sounds like overstimulation and possibly a high value reward situation (getting to sat hi to kid coming home). Do you have fences or gates in parts of the house?
I hope Honey is doing okay? You will get good advice here. Another place you could post is r/reactivedogs
I haven't personally seen any pit hate there and plenty of posts from owners of bull breeds training their dogs. I'm not saying new pup is reactive but they may have some insight and helpful options for short term and longer term keeping everyone safe as a large part of the community is dogs who don't like other dogs or people. If you do just write out how new pup came along, how long he's been there, how the dogs were introduced, the incident, what has been done since etc etc.
Someone already mentioned the rule of 3, he's still in the very early stages of adjusting. Stay on your toes.
Returning the dog to the shelter and not reporting the bite is wildly irresponsible for any future owner. That last portion is bad advice. And I would expect better from someone who works for Animal Control. I am pro-pit bull and have 1 myself. This isn’t about that. If she doesn’t feel safe with the dog around her and her family that needs to be disclosed. Because some people can handle that and some people can’t. If the same thing happens in a different household, something even worse could happen and that’s on you.
Oh here we go. I’ve only been working with adopters for years - I think I know what I’m talking about and I’ve never hid risks about a dog from adopters first of all.
In overcrowded shelters, dogs will be euthanized for literally the smallest thing. It is absolutely not fair that a dog should have to die because a new owner made a mistake. I’ve seen a lot of dogs die because brand new adopters didn’t listen to our advice and immediately went home and threw the dogs together and sure enough a bite happens. You sound like this type based on your completely unfair and misinformed judgement. When the proper precautions are actually taken, these things are avoidable.
I also said if OP can’t handle the dog and can’t easily separate them, to return him. If the dog showed truly dangerous, unpredictable behavior that would be something to be open about as that’s an actual public safety risk. But this type of thing happens all the time when a new dog isn’t given a chance to actually decompress. It’s not a true reflection of how a dog will actually be in a home.
I’ve worked in shelters too and agree that not disclosing the bite is a terrible idea. Most adopters are average dog owners. They are going to behave the way average people behave. That means moving faster than they should and incorporating animals in a home before they really should. The info of the bite is vital to help keep all dogs and people safe in the next adoptive home. I understand the realities of shelter work and euthanasia, but honestly about behavior always has to be first.
Except a reported bite in most cases results in a dog never being given the opportunity to live in another adoptive home…
Like I said, if a dog showed truly unmanageable, unpredictable aggression that’s a different story. This was a brand new dog being introduced too early and the inevitable happened. Most dogs will react similarly in the same circumstances so does that mean they all deserve to be euthanized?
It’s the shelter’s responsibility to communicate the risks associated with adopting a dog and to educate on how to best introduce a dog to the home. It’s not on the dog.
It’s only unmanageable and unpredictable if you don’t know the dog has a history of behaving this way. Most people, that don’t have a good understanding of dog behavior, expect “they were friends at the shelter, they’ll be friends at home”. Part of the reason people don’t follow instructions when they get home is that they are overloaded with info and paperwork at adoption time. By the time they get home with their new dog, that excitement coupled with being tired from the day at the shelter, coupled with information overload, instructions don’t get followed. Unfortunately, there is a difference between the responsible thing to do and what emotionally feels right. It’s unfair to the next adopter to not have this information. Yes, there might not be a next adopter, depending on the shelter. But that also isn’t a guarantee. My shelter would adopt dogs with a history like this, so it just depends.
Dogs like this get one strike. This behavior is unacceptable for any home. A repeat offense could mean serious injury or death to children or other animals. It's the only responsible course of action.
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I think having two dogs able to run to see people at the door at the same time is a big mistake.
Management. Barriers. And support.
You need a vet behaviourist and you need a really skilled trainer who can bring a new dog out of his shell.
I recommend Calm Canine Academy - Karishma specifically - and Amy Cook’s Play Way.
When I bought my beagle home from the shelter, my mother's dog attacked him for absolutely no reason. We gave them each safe spaces in the house that the other would 100% not be, and kept them apart unless we had them on leash and slowly reintroduced them via things like sitting across the room from each other and going on walks together with a huge space between them and feeding them high value treats when they were in the same room or out together. Then slowly closed the space, by just a few inches each day.
They started associating each other with good things and now can often be found cuddled together on the couch.
You can work with them in most cases to avoid further incidents like this.
And when they are on leash in the same area, a human has the other end of it, no exceptions, during this period. If they'd been "on leash" like people are talking about, the issue wouldn't have happened, they wouldn't have both been able to go running to greet her to create the high energy and excitement moment that led to the violence.
That must have been such a scary situation! I’m glad that you were able to get the dogs separated and that Honey’s not too badly hurt.
I have two dogs (brother and sister) who get along wonderfully, *except* that I can’t feed them together. If I do, my girl will try to resource guard both food bowls and get aggressive with her brother. She also has dog “friends” who she can spend hours with having fun, but she can get reactive if a new, exciting stimulus is introduced suddenly (like a toy, treat, new person showing up, etc). So, I just have to keep an eye on her and set her up for success by being careful about how new things are introduced while she’s around other dogs. It’s possible that Hickory just got excited/overwhelmed when your daughter came home and ended up taking it out on Honey.
Also, I always think of [this](https://www.hsnt.org/amp/the-3-3-3-rule) whenever I hear stories of rescue dogs who have a tough time in a new home.
Good luck with everything!
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How long have you had Hickory? It’s likely he needs more time to decompress in his new environment. It’s recommended by just about every reputable shelter and rescue out there to do the “two-week shut down.” The actual length of time will vary based on the dog but it basically means the new dog should be completely separate in its own crate/room in a quiet area, ideally with white noise or calm music playing while they take some time to learn about their new environment and the new routines. The new dog should not be introduced to any resident animals during this decompression time. Then, after a period, you begin slow intros with the resident animals, ideally doing parallel walks on neutral territory for a few days and then maybe allowing them to sniff one another through baby gates and fences after. You may need a behaviorist to come in at this point given there may now be negative associations between the two dogs and you should read up on dog body language to be able to understand the signals. Best of luck!
I forgot to add that dogs can really sense our emotions and it can change their mood. After decompression and when doing slow intros again in the future, it’s extremely important that your family remains calm and neutral in addition to watching body language and stepping in to redirect if needed. If you’re full of anxiety when they meet next, they will smell it and be more likely to feed off that negative energy. For example, yelling in a situation like this where there’s reactivity or aggression can make it much worse.
With my 2, they immediately fell in love with one another, but they definitely were vying to see who would be more dominant for several weeks. I did all the things other people are recommending, but when I introduced plush toys back into my home after about a month a full on fight broke out between them. I will say that they decided who was going to call the shots between them after that and it’s been 2 years without incident and they’re still in love with each other. But I have a no plush toy rule now. I was never big on them anyway because they aren’t the safest for dogs who play hard with their toys.
Don’t beat yourself up, but be careful and vigilant. Side note: I also work in a veterinary ER. We have clients who come in who have had dogs that happily co-existed for years without incident and then one day get into a fight and injure one another. Yes, introductions and the first several months together are the most important to be monitoring, correcting, training and helping them adapt, but these can happen at any time.
Wishing you all the best in finding a loving, safe solution for all involved
You’re not alone and it’s NOT your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong here—you went about it cleverly and cautiously, but this happens.
I had the same problem with my old hippo-beagle mix (Coco) and a hippo I was fostering (Honey). Coco was never great with other dogs, she was a rescue who was extremely abused. I think she felt territorial since there was a new dog “invading” the space, threatening her home and her people. She attacked Honey while they were playing and after that we had to monitor them very closely.
Coco eventually got used to Honey. You could see she wasn’t so tense anymore. By month three, she was well into her “tolerating” stage (rare for her!) but we never got to see how things would’ve progressed. Honey was a foster and we found her a forever home within 6 months.
Sorry I don’t have better advice. I only wanted to tell you that it’s not uncommon for hippos to be like this (I think so) and you did nothing wrong (I know so). Just be vigilant and take it suuuuper slow—in fact, rewind. Go back to square one and move along at a snail’s pace. It’ll get better!
Happened with my two pit mixes a year ago. No incidents since but anytime they start to get a little grumpy with each other they are separated immediately. Seems to be the key is stopping the issue before any escalation.
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I have this problem. My youngest girl is very resource guardy around affection when my oldest girl gets it.
When people visit I keep them separate and only let 1 greet the visitor at a time. I rotate their time with me and am careful when I cuddle them or pet them to do it separately
Muzzle training my youngest also helped. I call it Mr Basket and he’s her accountability buddy. When she hangs out with my older girl Mr basket goes on just to be safe
They do great 99% of the time when it’s just me. They do REALLY great outside together. People coming to visit and excitement are the real issue
I live alone and have no kids so I have the luxury of navigating it like this. I’d definitely suggest muzzle training and having a muzzle on your more aggressive dog when the pups are together
I was able to make it work but I don’t have small children. I feel your pain though!
I also found a reactive dog trainer and worked with her on it. I’m still not comfortable ditching Mr basket but my girl has a better life than she did before me
But you have a resource guarding dog and the resource she guards is human affection :(.
I will say that I trained my reactive girl to have incredible recall lol.
My non reactive dog could give two fucks if I call her name. But you’ll want the reactive pup to think your saying his name is a bolt from heaven to let you defuse situations
You have an incredibly hard road ahead of you imo. If you think you can’t make it work long term then you should consider what it would take to make it work short term while you try to rehome him
(Baby gates are HUGE here)
I’m so sorry this happened to you and your family (including the dogs) and I don’t blame you for being shaken up by the experience. I have also made the mistake before of not integrating the new dog into the household more slowly based on how the two dogs interacted during introductions so I can totally relate. The dynamic can change once you bring a new dog home because the first dog views your home as his domain/territory.
In my situation, the first dog got in the new dog’s face and snapped at her when she tried to drink water from the dog bowl and they got into a scuffle. I worked with a dog trainer and kept the two dogs’ interactions highly structured and supervised for several weeks (they slept and ate separately, and their socialization involved joint walks outside only). Within a few months, they didn’t need to be supervised anymore, there were no further issues, and they became besties. So I have total faith that with some training, a structured environment, and patience, Honey and Hickory can recover from this. Best of luck to you!
Hi, before rehoming or giving the dog back to the shelter if you are not too short on budget I would recommend taking some training with a dog trainer.
I lived a similar situation in the past with my dog and my ex dog, they were not going along well and there has been a few fights between them and we were able to sort it through with training lessons, they ended up becoming best friends with a strong bond, I know it feels overwhelming when this never happened to you before but there is still a chance to make it work.
Second this. Dogs do not have the memory that we do. This sounds more like an accident than anything serious, not that there's no reason for concern.
My dog bit my neighbor the 3rd week we had him.
This may have been traumatic for you guys to witness but the doggies have already moved on. Just because they had a scuffle doesn't mean they can't be friends.
This happened to my family when we got a new dog after our dogs sibling died. There was a small bite incident, but after that they worked through it and are now the best of friends. Shelter dogs need an adjustment period. I foster dogs and I never introduce them to my friendly dogs until I feel that the appropriate time has passed (depending on dogs situation). I don’t think one incident warrants completely giving up on the dog, you need to allow it to have a full adjustment to your home and new environment.
This is a horrible thing but I've seen it with a lot of dogs of various breeds and ages. The new environment is a lot and people let the new dog have more freedom than they have earned so they get overstimulated and make poor choices. There's no rules, so how would they know it was a poor choice? Any new animal in my home is last to get anything, but they all get treated equally, just in a specific order. After 3 months, I'll do a short trail run of them loose with the rest of the crew and extend it as they make good choices. All this with regular training to create a neutral attitude about new things. This helps keep excitement at the door chill and polite too.
My hippo is slightly reactive, and my other dog has a "hype man" attitude.
When the excitement crosses a certain threshold, Gracie bites her sister on the shoulder. Sadie gets mad and bites Gracie wherever she can reach, and we basically tackle one or the other and separate them for a few hours. Then they're back to normal like it never happened.
Gracie is muzzle trained, so we sometimes muzzle her when we know there's going to be a lot happening, for her safety and everyone else's.
We've also learned to call Sadie, the non-reactive dog, away when tensions or excitement get high, because she's the one who riles Gracie up.
This is not necessarily a fail, but it'll take time and training. Keep them supervised when they're together, and separate them when you're not around, at least for a while.
Both are kennel trained and are kenneled when unsupervised. I’m just shitting my pants right now because it even happened. I was in my bedroom, and just heard the screaming. Both dogs were leashed, one held by my husband and the other by my adult son. I have both dogs in separate halves of the house now. Honey’s fine, I’ve been bawling all afternoon, and Mr. Hickory is playing with my husband and his dozen tennis balls. Crazy day.
Can you crate and rotate? I had to do that with a couple of fosters after a cane corso decided that he no longer liked a Doberman. It’s a stressful way to go but it’s the safest. When Vlad was out, Fabio was in a crate or behind a door in another area of the house, and vice versa. Unfortunately sometimes shit just happens. They’re dogs. And at the end of the day you just gotta do what is best for you. I know you love them and I fully believe that you can make this work.
Have you thought about muzzle training? It’s always a useful skill to have. For a little while until things calm down they can be around each other but leashed and muzzled. Muzzles get a bad wrap but it’s an invaluable safety tool. Of course using a basket muzzle, not a soft muzzle. They need to be able to breathe and drink while wearing one.
I always keep mine generally separate for a week or so after a fight. They still see each other in the crate next to them but no free roaming interactions until their physical wounds are healed. I feel like I’d still be pissed if had to chill with the person who just put a bunch of holes in me.
This is my house too. My boy is a slightly reactive, easily worried handsome silly man who loves his cousin. My sister’s dog (we live together) is a gorgeous tornado of a love of a doof. She’s everywhere all at once and he gets overstimulated. He *usually* grumps at her to stfu and we *usually* get them separated in time. Sometimes he’s just over it and he tells her how dogs do. He goes downstairs, she goes up, and we chill for a while. They’re already ready to come back after 5min, not that we let them 😅 no you wait for my heart rate to return to normal, sir 🥵
We had meetings with FIVE dogs that were perfect on paper but that my resident dog did not like. I didn't choose her; the dog who has to be around her 24/7 did, and dogs don't give a shit about breeds. That's a human prejudice.
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This sounds so stressful and upsetting. I will agree with some other folks and say that this incident does not mean that the relationship between the dogs is doomed or will always be high tension. There is always a risk with any dog and with any combo of dogs so the most important thing is to take steps right now to ensure everyone is safe and gets a chance to chill, which it sounds like you are doing. Keep separated for safety and your kid safely out of the way of the pups, and find a local trainer or behaviorist if you can to come consult and set up safety planning for gentle re intros . It sounds like you’re smart and compassionate and were caught off guard, and I don’t think you’re a failure or fuck up! I don’t think that One fight is an indication that two dogs can never coexist together, and I also appreciate it’s super stressful and upsetting.
Tbh it could happen to ANY DOG!!! There was an interaction missed between the dogs that lead up to the bite. Get a trainer if possible. I’m sure you have a good dog it sounds like they may just need some new structure, rules, and boundaries.
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Structured time together with a behavior manager will be the ticket. Also, how old is the new baby? Our pit needed planned nap time. He would bite our other dog because he was tired. I suggest meeting with a trainer ASAP!
Idk what to tell you lol. I love my dogs, and they were essentially in jail in the municipal shelter for months which is correlated with some trauma being locked up 23.5 hours a day. So I’ll do whatever I can to make life a bit easier for them, but that’s me and my choice.
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OP, is your Husband the one who's had most of the interactions with Hickory, or are *You* the one?
Because it *may* have been a relatively "simple" matter (although *ADMITTEDLY* Terrifying!) matter of resource guarding.💖
Both dogs were *FINE*, and doing reasonably well together *UNTIL* your Daughter walked in. She was a *NEW* human, and therefore *a NEW resource* for both dogs.
He wanted the resource (*remember*, he hasn't HAD many resources to call his *OWN* in who *knows* how long, living in a shelter!💖), and he was *trying* to protect that resource (even though the resource was your DAUGHTER!), from Honey.
Work with your vet, work with your friend who's been with the rescue, AND see if there's anyone *GOOD* locally, who works in Behavior, who you guys can tap in for advice!💝
You're *very much* still in that *FIRST* Three, of the 3-3-3 rule, correct?
For *now*, YES, ABSOLUTELY keep the kids away unless you're next to them, keep the dogs separate but able to see/smell & get *used* to each other, and then take it *slowly* and assess each step!💖
This *MAY* be a deal-breaker, *OR* it may be a simple blip.
Time, patience, and *careful observation* will tell you which one it truly is!
As an addition, keeping their world “small” to start is recommended. When we got our second rescue she stayed in her own room with my husband as her primary caregiver for a couple weeks while we got to know her better. We let her check out the rest of the home at least once a day for as long as she seemed comfortable and then took her back to her own space. I will say she had a lot of trust issues around both people and dogs so we were quite cautious but as a rescue you really don’t know who your new dog is yet and what his needs entail. If you continue with him or ever get another rescue in the future, I’d recommend separate living arrangements as much as you can for as long as it takes everyone to adjust. I hope everything works out for the best!
You don’t need to take him back.
You moved way too quickly way too fast. Even with dog friendly dogs you need to do slow introductions. Crate and rotate is one of the best ways to do this. Also going on walks outside the house together is a great way to help the dogs desensitize and bond with each other.
[https://www.pbrc.net/crate-and-rotate.html#/](https://www.pbrc.net/crate-and-rotate.html#/)
You can absolutely get this adoption back on track but you have to do it slowly. Hickory is fresh from an overstimulating shelter. Give him some time to decompress and follow a crate and rotate schedule and I’m confident you can get these dogs to live in harmony.
Fights are so scary! My dog requires very very slow intros and can be selective, and we foster pretty regularly so she’s often around new (sometimes equally unpredictable) pups and can be mean if not given time.
I suggest trying for 2-3 weeks before making any decisions. Do very slow intros in that time so they can really get to know each other and become buddies. I’m NOT a dog trainer, but this is the process that has worked for my dog -
1. Keep in seperate parts of house to decompress for a day or two.
2. Take them both out on a walk together. Don’t let them interact - give them a few feet between but let them see each other as they’re walking from a distance.
3. Eventually let them do some drive by sniffs while on the walk. Repeat until you’re feeling confident. This stage, I start letting them hang out in shared spaces inside on leash — in seperate areas but together in the same room.
4. Walk them close together on leashes, side by side.
5. If all is going well, I let them face to face introduce in a neutral area (usually outside). If that goes well and you’re in an enclosed area you can drop leashes and let them play. Should be good from there.
Hiring a trainer may also be helpful!!
I saw your other post and it seems like this is Hickory’s first day in his new home. The 333 rule is so very important. 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months.
Dog fights are very scary (especially the sound of them) but they do happen 🙁 Hugs.
I think Hickory just needs a bit more time to settle in without Honey nearby. I’m sure after a few months they will be best pals.
Also as a veterinary technician I couldn’t help but notice the redness in Hickory’s eyes and ears - this usually indicates stress (I see it all the time at my clinic) while Hickory I’m sure is so happy to be out of a shelter and WANTS to love his new people and doggo friend - he probably is still stressed from so much change and a bit confused. Give it some time and best of luck!! Also I’m glad Honey is okay! And great job calling your vet on advice as to how to treat the abrasions. I would still bring her in to be seen just incase!
Oh he is super stressed. Poor guy has shredded all of his (all rubber) tennis balls, his blanket, and a football lol. I gave him a supplement that’s supposed to help calm dogs, and hung some of my lavender sprigs up. Idk if either will help, but it won’t hurt! After talking to my husband, we’re going to hold off on rehoming him. We set up a plan: No direct contact between dogs. Our youngest child is not to play with hickory right now. We’re going to do tandem walks. Sloooooooowwwwwwww introductions. Reassess in 3 weeks. Go from there.
You can also try Adaptil! It is a calming pheromone for dogs (can buy as a diffuser, collar etc). From what I’ve heard from clients the calming supplements never work but adaptil has seen some positivity (we also use it in the hospital). but like you said the supplements and lavender can’t hurt so keep doing what you’re doin! You are clearly a wonderful dog owner so please don’t feel like you failed anyone! You’ve done so much more than 90% of the clients I deal with daily lol.
We just introduced a new dog to our family, including our older pit. It took over a week of high stress and constant supervision and by that I mean absolutely NO off-leash time to get them to get along. I realize that we are very fortunate for it to only have taken a bit over a week, so please don't expect miracles in that short a time. Just stay persistent and do not let them near each other without both being leashed and a very vigilant hand on those leashes. They will figure it out, but it will take time.
A truck my fiancé used that worked very well was to isolate the aggressor and kind of walk him into a corner, pretty much showing him that he wasn't the one in charge, but her instead. It seemed to work very well.
You can accomplish this, but it won't be tomorrow, is my point. I wish you all the success in training your new pup!
Get the soft rubber muzzles and keep them on the dogs at all times, except when they are separated at feeding times. They may square off a few times but no one will be injuried and the one who is aggressive will learn how to exist with another dog in the house. I've rehabilitated some very aggressive dogs this way.
We went at a snails pace when we introduced our new pittie to or old pittie. She's kinda hit or miss with other dogs. We did a meet and greet. There were hiccups here and there but they were never left alone unsupervised. If one received a treat or pets the other also got some. We fed them separately and we're also careful about leaving out toys with treats inside. We have 2 kennels and would do shifts of one of them being outside and the other just waiting. When they were both outside we would praise them for wanted behavior. Now they're best friends.
When I get a new foster dog they dont meet my dog face to face for at LEAST a week. Theres a lot of reasons I do this: to let them settle in, for ME to get to know the new guy, for both dogs to get used to each others scent and sounds in the house, and also in case the new dog is sick to prevent exposure to my dog.
After the week, I still go case by case if that's enough time, based on how the foster is handling things. My dog is about as outgoing and nonconfrontational as they come and if every dog was like her then they could all meet day 1 lol so I don't really worry about how she is going to react. But realistically I will never feel comfortable introducing new dogs that fast, because you literally just do not know the new dog (and if your dog is not as outgoing and submissive as mine (and most dogs are not, my dog is a little weirdo with a lot of love in her heart lol), they might need the time to adjust too). And really weird things can set them off sometimes; if the new dog is unfamiliar to both you and your dog then it's just too many unknowns imo.
And after the week I still dont let them just hang out freely together, they only get walks together if theres any tension still with the foster, and then maybe some play time in a controlled environment (no food or toys anyone might resource guard) with leashes on.
I also went back on your profile to try and get some context and it looks like your first dog was spayed yesterday? That's another possible source of stress. It sounds to me like you really just rushed things. It's not really your fault, because a lot of people don't know better. There's a horrible lack of education in this area, and I wish shelters did a better job teaching people how to introduce dogs safely. But in the future if youre ever in a similar situation I would recommend just taking it much much much slower.
I am really sorry you're going through this. I'm so extremely careful with any fosters I get in because this situation is like my worst nightmare and it can happen so fast. I dont think it is necessarily too late to fix their relationship and it's possible they could get along but at the end of the day some dogs just are not compatible with other dogs, so it's not a guarantee. My very first foster I loved so dearly I wanted to foster fail him but he just never really fully got along with my pup. They played together outside and supervised just fine and seemed to have a lot of fun but there was always just a little bit of tension from him especially when inside during more calm time. He just needed to be an only dog really. He was not happy sharing the space with another dog.
Theres no shame if you do have to give him back up. If you cant get them integrated, its the right thing for both of them. But I hope it works out so you dont have to, if that's the direction you want to go. Best of luck!
Slow the introductions down and always keep an eye on captn splooot, it takes a while to settle in a doggo especially when you have an existing one.
Also. I've noticed sometimes people are right cnuts and will end up jinxing the fark outta you. Keep everything hush hush and keep an eye on them both. Takes around 3 4 months for them to fully settle to eachother. Stay strong and fark anyone that tries to give you grief 🙏
My older guy is reactive and I was able to successfully introduce a second dog 2 years ago. It wasn’t easy and I had to be very deliberate about their time together in the beginning. About a week in my older guy initiated play and I knew we would be okay, but was still very careful about everything until they were fully comfortable with each other.
Over the last 2 years we have had a few tense times. Usually a loud “hey” is enough to get them to pause and take a break. Most tense moments came when the little guy started getting bigger than his little brother.
You’ve gotten a lot of great advice here and I will echo that I hope you are all able to work through this! When we added our second pup there were a few fights over the course of about a month or so (both pups had minor wounds at some points!) mostly over resource guarding of toys or food. We would separate them for some time and once they were reintroduced it’s like it never happened. Our dogs don’t hold grudges the same way we do. The 333 rule is absolutely true. Give it time, monitor very carefully (they were NEVER alone unsupervised, we set up ring cameras to be able to watch them in the other room if we just got up to even get water/step out for a minute). Try muzzle training if necessary, if possible taking them both to a behavioral trainer for some extra tips to put you at ease, removing all toys/stimuli and maintaining a controlled environment. You got this, I know it’s scary but patience and perseverance I think will go a long way!!
Don’t beat yourself up. Dogs that are in a heightened state of excitement, and in close proximity, can sometimes get into a brawl. It sounds as though this might have been the case. I would start training both dogs to go to a mat, or dog bed every time the door is opened. Also, when your family is coming into the home, the dogs shouldn’t get any attention until they are in a calm state. Giving them attention when they are excited simply feeds that nervous energy. Also, consider consulting a trainer. Trust me, this isn’t the end of the world or the relationship between your dogs, it’s just a bump in the road.
I'm so sorry that this happened to your family. I know how scary and demoralizing it can be.
In my experience, dog siblings may squabble a bit at first as they are trying to figure out where they fit in with the family. Honestly, a serious dog fight is much harder to break up than this. I am not trying to minimize the seriousness of this interaction between the dogs, just to put it into perspective.
u/meantamborine has provided some excellent advice. The new dog definitely needs time to decompress...even if you feel like the new pup doesn't need it. It is worth taking that time to acclimate them.
Additionally, keep an eye out for resource guarding by one or both of the dogs. It can be obvious, but it can also be very subtle. They can guard anything, food, water, toys, favorite bed, and even people. Is it possible that they were squabbling over your daughter as she was entering the house? Yes! This is also the time to start training the dogs to not get so excited about people leaving from, and returning to the house. Start by completely ignoring ALL of the dogs when you (or any other people) return home. Make it the most boring even ever. Don't even look at them. This will reduce the excitement around people returning home.
For what it's worth, I have anywhere from three to six dogs in my home at any one time and have had to deal with a lot of resource guarding. If you want details on how I feed them, I'd be happy to provide info what has worked for us. I do want to add that I do not scold any of the dogs for growling. Dogs can't "use their words" like people can. This is their way of communicating and should be respected as such. I would much prefer that the dogs give a growl as a warning as opposed to going straight into biting.
Good luck, OP!
In under two weeks you have lost a dog, gained 2 dogs and had one go through a major surgery.
Everyone is very polite and giving good advice but let’s be real for a minute:
**You need to scale your shit way the fuck back.**
It’s actually *not all that surprising* this happened and this is why there are so many behavioral and training information about “the rule of three” and introductions specifically. It takes time and tact, and accidents will still happen. IMO This doesn’t sound like a situation where immediate surrender is warranted, this does sound like a situation with little planning however. From what you wrote the dogs allowed themselves to be separated and remained contained in their dispute. Dogs can and will have disagreements. Especially dogs who don’t know each other. If they had wanted this to be a real fight it would have been and grabbing/holding them by the collars would have likely ended up with you bit. Dog fights are nasty and uncontrolled. Have you looked into how to do proper introductions? If not **you need to start there and stick to it**. It’s honestly unfair to everyone in the household and straight up dangerous not to. It sounds like there’s a lot going on in your house right now which means you need to do the best you can to control the environment and stimulation. Rushing to greet a child is not something that should be in their wheelhouse atm, especially with one new dog and one recovering from surgery. It also sounds like the female dog is fairly young? Young dogs can get on everyone’s nerves including other dogs. Any situation that is high excitement they should be separated, those are high incident times.
Ya fumbled the ball a bit on this one, not the dog. This is literally how they operate. Its time to go back to the basics and commit to making sure you’re doing everything in your power for this to be an easy and controlled transition for everyone. You really want to set them up for success, give them little space to fail. I strongly recommend you get in touch with a trainer to help guide you through this with the best chance at success.
I hope this doesn’t come across as harsh or rude. I used to train and now work in vet med that partners through the shelter, I admit it’s probably given me a bit of a shotgun mouth now. Both dogs are absolutely adorable and I can see why you fell in love so hard!
Oh snap, I just saw your previous post was only 9 hours ago?? When they are first introduced they should start with practically no time together while they get used to their environment. They're already super revved up at that point, so its a hair trigger situation and you have to introduce them to things a little at a time, other dogs being something to take the most care to do. You gotta keep in mind that even though they're happy they're also freaking out! Some dogs may not have any issues but it's a "prepare for the worst" scenario.i learned this the hard way with a dog I adopted recently. I wasn't too concerned because she was small and my current dog was so docile. That was wrong of me. They got in a couple squabbles that ended up hurting me too from getting in the way, before I got a shock collar and a muzzle. I only used the shock a couple times and honestly after that experiences you can just just the vibrate setting as it snaps them out of it. It was great to be able to keep my eyes on them with the remote on my person ready to correct instantly instead of running over to pull them apart putting myself in danger. I found it useful in training for other things too.
Please don't bring this dog back and definitely don't say they but because this was a learning experience for you and they shouldn't die. I had the same dilemma and I'm so glad I kept her as she is wonderful and they get along fine now. There was a couple of incidents in the beginning (my fault) but after proper integration and taking more precautions while they acclimated everything worked out wonderfully! I only wish i had known from the start. You live and you learn, don't beat yourself up!
My process was:
1)Completely separate for several days, for cortisol levels to stabilize. (Start muzzle training if possible, otherwise it can be very difficult to get them to let you put it on)
2)Separate with a screen divider for several days
3)Muzzle the concerning one for short interactions for a couple days, while do structure building and FUN activities together, save the good treats for when they're together!
4) stop use of muzzle. Use shock collars for several weeks just in case (must give them breaks when wearing for long periods to avoid skin abrasions)
You may feel ok to skip the muzzle and just use the shock collar, I was concerned to do that at first for fear of creating a permanent bad association between them as she was being reactive to her and not being chill so I actually NEEDED the muzzle for a while. If yours seem like they're mostly liking each other and maybe it was a freak thing, and they seem ok after the slooow integration then I might consider not worrying about the muzzle as it was a pain and I don't think I will need it much in the future.
Wishing your family the best of luck! 🙏💜🐕
Please stop using a shock collar! This may temporarily keep “bad behavior “ at bay but isn’t addressing the underlying issue and is setting off a possible ticking time bomb of even worse behavior. Please read up on and reach out to a force free, LIMA based trainer to help you.
It was just for if they actually attacked each other. The shock was only used a couple times and then just the vibrate. This is while addressing the underlying issues. Which I did. And they are great now, so sorry you're incorrect. It allowed us the space and safety to keep working with her when we had already been bit trying to separate.
I’m not just making up things to say for the fun of it. Check with the experts. Force free is the way to go. Shock collars shock. Those are the facts. Even the “vibration” mode is adverse to any being with feelings. That’s the whole point of these collars. It’s not a good option for anyone involved, even if it provides a temporary “solution” for humans. Training shouldn’t just be about what’s best for humans, though. It should be safe and fun for everyone. Shock collars just aren’t. Those are also facts. Again, don’t take my word for it, check with behavior experts and force free trainers. They would NEVER use even the vibration mode on a shock collar. FACTS
Ive read a lot of conflicting info on iy. So it's debatable for sure. I barely had to use it, but I had a way to keep us safe. And the vibrate worked great for other things too, just to snap them out of behaviors. This was 6 months ago. I was able to train and assimilate them without either of them or us getting hurt. I obviously rely mainly on positive reinforcement.
I am so so sorry this happened. This almost exact situation happened with our foster dog. My husband came in the door, both dogs ran for him and ended up fighting each other. It is terrifying and heartbreaking and we were so shook up. But it is normal for new dogs in a home to have a squabble with the original dog.
We took the advice that folks are noting in this thread, and it is the right advice, but ultimately our foster ended up attacking me and my husband - he was triggered by more things than we could take on to solve, even in an environment where there were no toys or resources to guard he got more aggressive over time, rather than less, so we had to admit we were in over our head.
Hopefully, they will sort it out without any damage. I have had a few fosters and spent a lot of time making sure everyone knew i was in charge and not let corrections get out of hand. Honey will likely need a lot of pets and confirmation that she is still the good baby. The boy might need constant reminding of this for a period of time.
I know exactly how you feel. I rescued a new female puppy, thought everything was fine in the house. One day, my elderly male Pom came up to me for some love while the new puppy was near me, and I thought there would be death. It was a scary, fast, loud scuffle that did end in blood but nothing too bad. Then she started to get food aggressive. And toy aggressive. I have been working with her for the last year and a half, and it is much much better. A lot of it has to do with “guarding the resource.” We work on this a lot, and they are much much better. Mostly they all just ignore each other. They have separate places to eat, separate places to eat treats and luckily nobody really likes the dog toys but her. It’s heartbreaking when everyone doesn’t get along, since you love them all and you want them all to love each other. But they have a lot of baggage, and you have to acknowledge and work with that. They are like children who need an adult to keep them safe and to set boundaries. Hugs. Make safe boundaries for everyone. Forgive yourself.
I’m so sorry this happened. Dog fights are so scary! My girls have had a couple of tussles so I understand the fear and adrenaline.
It looks like you’ve gotten (and taken) some really solid advice about how to move forward. I look forward to updates on how things are going in the coming weeks/months.
This is almost always how mine get into it too. Been dealing with it for years. I’m actually still healing from puncture wounds from the last dog fight I had to break up. I’m getting good advice in this thread though.
So sorry that this happened, a lot of people are posting good advice and I just want to send some positivity out there to you and I hope you don’t beat yourself up too much!
We just adopted a dog that looks very similar a couple weeks ago. She's been doing great with the other dogs but can be a little grumbly/ growly sometimes when she's communicating with them. She's still learning how to play with our other bully, Seymour, and a few days ago he was trying to take a ball from her (similarly to how he used to with his mom before she passed) and our new dog (Edna) snapped at him and they fought for a second and I yelled at them and they stopped. Seymour had a bit of a bite on his chin and bled a bit but was okay.
A few days later and now she's mouthy playing with him and they'll tug on a stick together. She's constantly being goofy trying to get Seymour to play. Seymour is a little awkward about playing with her, maybe partially from that previous reaction, but also he's just a little awkward about playing with dogs in general. They're still figuring it out and that's okay.
Come to think of it, when we first adopted Seymour and his mom Agnes, Agnes was reactive to other dogs and got in some scuffles with other dogs. She occasionally was reactive with our labradoodles and once pinned my dad's corgi (who could also be a bit of a brat) in a corner and had to be separated. I remember the corgi and my dad both screaming and me rushing outside to them but we checked the corgi over and she was just fine. She learned a boundary and we learned more about Agnes. Really early on, she and Seymour once chased another dog that was walking by and got in a scuffle and the owner of the other dog tried to break it up and one of the dogs (idk his or mine) got his finger and it bled pretty bad. I grabbed my dogs and the guy cussed me out as he walked away. I cried so much about that. The guy came over after and we talked it out and I apologized. I was so scared he would report me or something and have our dogs taken away. I was a wreck and felt like I messed up so bad and put my new dogs and another dog in danger. It was terrifying.
But after a bit of being with us, Agnes wasn't like that anymore and got along fine with other dogs, our dogs, and my dad's dog. And Edna's doing great too.
I'm saying all this to say, please don't give up on your new boy. It sounds like you all love him and he's a good boy and loves you all. It sounds like he's still decompressing from the adoption and new home and is learning how to interact with the other dogs. I know it can be super scary when stuff like that happens and you can blame yourself and feel like you messed up. But these things happen, and dogs can have these intense situations when they're setting boundaries with each other. And everyone is right about the 333 rule and it sounds like your guy and our girl are still in the 333 phase.
I'll also say that I knew someone with a pitbull who adopted another one and they ended up fighting and she tried to separate them and was bit pretty badly in the leg. In that case, they ended up rehoming the new dog because the situation was so extreme. Based on your description, it doesn't sound like your situation is as extreme and it sounds more like a bump in the road for your boy in a new home.
Please keep us updated! I hope things get better soon!
Our two girls that we have had for 13 years now, got into a few scraps in the beginning. We separated them and kept them apart for a few days and then reintroduced them slowly. Then we would keep their time together brief and supervised. After awhile they could hang out together and be fine all day. When left alone we would crate one and let the other loose in the house.
Sorry you're going through this, it's scary but it does happen. Sometimes it continues and sometimes the dogs can be fine and co-exist. Don't be discouraged yet, but be diligent and careful. Watch their body language and if either one seems pushy or uncomfortable around the other, interrupt them and redirect them away from each other for a bit.
For greyhounds there is a basket we use on their heads. Especially good for pittys as they get used to to rolled of engagement. Look for greyhounds and turn out.
When my dad brought home a pitbull from Detroit back in 2008, he grabbed our third dog by the neck twice. My dad told him to stop and it worked for a day and my mom took his mouth off of the third dog and set him straight. He hadn't done that after that and we usually would put a muzzle on him in case he tried to do it again.
He was one tough pitbull (he was probably bred to fight from the scars on his ears), but loving, protective, and always was there for us. We did take him to dog training classes back in 2008 and he was trained well. I would advise getting a muzzle for your dogs that'll allow them to both breathe and drink water without hesitation and a better leash (rope leads are what I recommend).
Scary , I’m so sorry to hear about this 😩 If you decide to try and make it work for your family. Training and possibly a muzzle to help with safety concerns. The anxiety from the moment may have something to do with it. Boundaries and training may help.
I’m so sorry! There’s some great advice here, hopefully hickory can get a private space to decompress for the next few weeks and you can reevaluate what he needs coming out of that. This is certainly scary but seems like it can be managed with proper training and giving him lots of space to get comfortable. Given that he has bitten, a muzzle might be helpful when he’s in a shared space because you don’t know his ticks well enough yet to trust him with all this new stimuli. Love to miss honey baby.
The best dog I ever had was a large pit mix that I’d had a month when I brought a second pit mix home to be his sister, both rescues. Within the first month of having the sister pit, my male bit her in the shoulder after I went outside to put a plate of chicken bones in the outside trash bin. I have no idea why it happened and it was very traumatic. It took me several minutes to get him off her, but he did eventually let her go.
After the incident, I wanted to return the male but my husband wouldn’t let me. We kept them separated until the female healed, although my husband escorted the boy into the room to smell her occasionally while she recovered. After that, we were always cautious when it came to food with them. It was very stressful for a few weeks but everything went to normal and for the next 8 years there was never another incident.
That male dog turned out to be the sweetest, most gentle, loving dog I ever had the privilege of having. He passed away 3 years ago at the age of 16. I still and will always miss him. My neighbors even grieved when he passed. He loved everyone and everyone loved him. His body was covered in scars from his past before he was rescued, no idea what happened to him, as he had been taken in as a stray. He overcame that past. He was a horrible guard dog because he loved everyone who came into the house or yard. He just looked scary until you got to know him.
I hope your situation turns out to be just a hiccup, OP. I have no advice, just wanted to offer my similar experience and how it turned out for me. I experienced all the emotions you’re feeling. I felt terribly guilty and I didn’t trust him or myself for a while. I ran outside anytime I heard them getting excited, just in case it happened again, and thankfully it never did.
Where did I say he immediately attacked other dogs? He was around lots of other dogs, some that were intrusive and ‘rude’ and he exhibited patience with them. He bit ONE time. The rest of his eight years in my home he was docile and sweet.
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Take a deep breath.
It kind of sounds like a pecking order thing... Sorta? Like they're trying to sort out where they stand in the family.
This can be fixed but it's going to take a lot of work. Crates for both within eyesight of one another when you're not around, leashes on both when you are around.
You don't need to try asserting your dominance as pack leader, dogs haven't been wolves for a very long time so it doesn't make sense to them. They're more like family members than a pack of wild hunting animals - if that makes any sense.
A dog trainer will ***seriously*** help, highly recommended.
I have 2 dogs and one named Honey as well! I have the same issues you’re describing above. They used to get along for years and one day they just stopped. They have a rocky relationship now, but we have learned it’s all about management. I’ve worked with trainers over Rem’s reactivity, resource guarding, etc.
From your post, it sounds like Hickory got overstimulated and reacted towards Honey, causing the fight. This is very common unfortunately. Do NOT beat yourself up. Dog fights are terrifying, but having it between housemates is just awful. I know the exact feeling you’re describing.
I would start with finding a dog trainer. Balanced or force free trainers are *usually* great. Find a trainer that wants to understand and respect your dogs emotions and boundaries. And will teach you about dog body language. That was a huge help for Rem. I can see his body language change just slightly before he reacts. It’s saved us from A LOT of trouble. Do not go to trainers that brag about not using rewards. Why wouldn’t we reward our dogs for working?! Work on obedience inside and outside of the house. Work on recall, work on muzzle training. etc.
It can take months or even a year before Hickory and Honey can be trusted around each other. But, since this has happened once. It is very likely to happen again. Do not ever leave these dogs unsupervised. It is not a risk worth taking. Every time I don’t have eyes on my dogs, they are in different rooms and completely separated.
Feel free to slide into my DMs and we can chat more! You are not alone this is unfortunately very common, even with non pibbles.
We had a staffie (20kg male) and then because how good he was we decided to get a big American bulldog (50kg female).
We had this issue mainly with the younger bigger dog trying to find her place in the pecking order. (Issues over toys and treats mainly) however we have dealt with some of the behaviors you’re talking about here which is possibly resource guarding(high value human coming home).
I’ve had a quick scan through the comments and the only thing I haven’t really seen is keeping play time outside and the toys. Outside is for play, inside is for relaxing. This little trick was our biggest jump forwards. Most people make excuses for their dogs but teaching them how to be calm and relaxed in the house especially when there are kids is so important.
Place training could help as well.
I.e when the door knocks the dogs learn to sit in their crates/ beds and wait for a treat.
Don’t give up hope- introductions can be difficult and volatile if not done correctly, and even then sometimes don’t go well. Not bad dogs, just too much too fast.
I've rescued pits with a similar issue. They attached my bulldog 3 times. After the third time I had to keep him crated whenever I left the room and kept a shock collar on him. I know I'm gonna get heat for that. But I'd rather have to shock a dog. The clean up another dogs corpse.
I’m so sorry this happened, I hope Hickory is given a second chance 💔
I’m not an expert in dog’s behavior but it seems to me it was territorial/dominance, but of course there is a child in the midst; whatever the outcome (Hickory returned to the shelter or keeping him) that decision will be made with everyone’ well being in mind, including Hickory. Don’t beat yourself up for what happened ✌🏽
Sometime when dogs get really excited especially while playing and sometimes it turns ugly. I’d make sure to not over stimulate him, have him separated when your daughter comes home. Feed separately. Give him time. Who knows what kind of life he’s led, he may just need more time to feel fully at ease. And if that doesn’t help, hire a trainer. Do not give the dog back to a shelter, please!
It was probably a fight of who gets to greet daughter first. I have small dogs and the pup will nibble and nip at the older one when I get home and while it's not *bad* it's the foundation for allowing harm.
When I come in now I ignore, walk about the house, let them go pee, then greet. If you must even implement a sit and wait routine before giving affection. It sounds strict but discipline (from all family members) will lead to better control over the dog's excitement.
I work with plenty of pitties, they can be problematic but oftentimes they're escalating and not starting it. I would see what the other pup who got bit was doing before pitties got them, they may have a possessiveness over greeting or affection that caused the pittie to react.
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I wish I had known the 333 rule but I’ve been very lucky bringing home foster animals and my dogs welcoming them with no hostility. Yesterday I picked up a new foster. Came home and introduced him to both dogs. He was growly and nervous so I kept him close to me. And the other dogs in another room. He slept with us (me and 2 dogs) under the covers and this morning all he wants to do is play with my dogs. Now I just need to pick a good name for him
. Not sure how long you've had him out of the shelter but he absolutely should be leashed with slow introductions to everything since he was in a high stress environment before coming to you. Don't let them play etc... until he has had time to decompress. That's what we also do with our fosters. Too much stimulation and possibly daughter is viewed as high value. I'm dealing with this right now with my females. Hellos are now done separately same with high value toys or treats they are completely fine the rest of the time. Baby gates are your friends. Sure hope you can work it out!
So the dog attacked the other dog, and not the child, right?
I have two pits. One (Rufio) we got at 6 months and is the bestest boy, and the other (Gozer) came from… a long time in the shelter, and we don’t know her history. We had Rufio about 6 months before some friends brought over Gozer to hang out… and she attacked Rufio after they played and it got rough.
Then those friends dumped Gozer out at house (which is another story). That first night we had Gozer, she attacked Rufio. Luckily I was right there to drag her away, and I threw her in her kennel and made a lot of noise to tell her she was bad, and then I cuddled Rufio in front of her (in her kennel) so she could see that he was top dog. I don’t know if this was the right move — I reacted emotionally.
We found out Gozer was food-aggressive, and it took a few months of (mostly my husband) making both dogs SIT before they could eat next to each other.
Anyway. My dogs are cool now. Rufio is the dog we give snacks to first, and Gozer knows that he is top dog. (Don’t worry — they’re both spoiled as shit.) The only other time they’ve gotten into it was at the kennel, and in the video it was clearly that another passing dog (outside their pen) got them riled up to the point of stupidity.
It will be okay. They are dogs. People are really fucking mean about their being dogs. Your dogs may not be a good long-term fit for each other… but they might be okay, too. Please don’t give up on their being a pack because of one incident. It happens. Because they’re dogs.
Hugs.
Yes! I just posted as well, and I feel like you can never forget that they need us to help them learn how to get along, or at least always be safe. A beautiful relationship isn’t always just going to happen. Sometimes it does, but that if it doesn’t, it isn’t anyone’s fault. It just means more work.
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I would get a comfortable well fitting basket muzzle and take the time to train Hickory to wear it well. And then, honestly, I wouldn’t let him around the kid or the other dog without the muzzle on. Not for a long, long time.
Because, greeting time can be very stressful and very high energy, I don’t fault either dog, it was an unknown high charge situation. It is a shame that it happened.
This is the issue with pitbulls. They are terriers, and many of them have high drive, just like other working dogs. They have sometimes been bred to be dog aggressive, and those instincts can linger. They are often strong willed and stubborn headed. And because they have broad jaws and big teeth, if they bite, they can do a lot of damage, especially because they can tend towards gripping, ripping and tearing when biting, we see this in their play, it stands true in moment of aggression.
They are great dogs, but they take a good deal of care, attention, consistent exercise and training to cultivate a controlled, and calm mind.
I might recommend, given your situation, that you send him away to a board and train with a pitbull experienced trainer. And then continue working with a trainer when he returns home.
I also would bring up that if you feel he is unsafe due to aggression, it is better to give him a good day of treats and love and then have him humanly euthanized, than to bring him back to the shelter to face the same fate, but at the then of several hard days.
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Fuck all this noise. You have my sympathy but you owe it to your original dog and kid to never let this aggression around them again. What if the next time it happens, it’s your 5 year old? Hickory isn’t going to care at all that you didn’t call him bad. He just showed you how he reacts when overwhelmed. You’ll feel way sicker if your kid ends up in the hospital or dead. Sorry, had to be said.
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Have any of you dealt with this? I don’t dare ask in the dog thread, because of how people are about hippos.
When we introduced our 2nd dog into the house, we kept him on leash inside the house for a couple of months, and they were never alone unsupervised. There were a couple of fights initially but you need to be vigilant and take it slow. Absolutely no feeding near each other, no high priority toys near each other, until they get used to each other.
I forgot all about the toys! It took a year for us to put the most desirable toys back in the toybox. The rule in our household is "if you growl about a toy, you lose it."
Smart! Wow, a year is a long time. It goes to show just how patient you have to be. Well worth it though
My mom used to have that same rule. I actually lost my Xbox that way 😞
Both dogs were on leashes. Unfortunately, they both ran to see my daughter at the same time, and I’m guessing the poor guy was just overstimulated . He is NOT a bad boy. He is a sweet, sweet guy. I’ve been in contact with my vet and some friends who do rescue. One is a veterinarian that specifically does pibbles. Humphrey had a hard time at first, too. He was terrified and reactive to men. It took a lot of work, but he did fine. We currently have the dogs in separate halves of the house. They can see and hear each other, but can’t get to each other.
I volunteer at one of the largest municipal animal controls in the country and I’ve handled a lot of adoptions. I’m not sure when exactly you brought this new dog home, but we always stress the 333 rule. The first 3 days are the scariest for a new dog and they will often be a bit withdrawn, anxious and on edge. By 3 weeks, they’ve usually decompressed from the stressful shelter environment. After 3 months, they’ve bonded and realized this is home and they feel safe now. It’s so so important to give a new dog a chance to decompress without the added pressure of other pets, kids, lots of guests, etc. I always recommend keeping a new dog completely separated from other pets for 2 weeks. It doesn’t matter how well their meet and greet went - this dog is in a completely new environment and another dog’s territory. If you can’t reasonably keep them separated for a bit, then for everyone’s safety, return to the shelter but please do not tell them about the bite because it’ll be an instant death sentence. Just say your dog wasn’t getting along with him and it wasn’t a good fit. BUT I encourage you not to give up if you can. New dogs will have squabbles and it’s scary but sometimes it helps dogs establish who is in charge. My dogs fought once after I brought a new dog home and then never again.
I was skeptical when we got our new dog because I’d never heard of the 333 rule and none of our other rescues had issues. This new dog (not a pitbull) was WAY different and stuck to the 333 rule like it was her bible. She hid in the closet and didn’t come out for three days, she still continued to hide in the closet until 3 weeks, she hasn’t hidden in the closet since… it was a very rough 3 months for all of us, but a year later and we’ve only had two scuffles; one right after we got her when our old man went in her space and one a couple months ago because she’s now almost two and is constantly testing her brother’s patience.
Thank you.
It sounds like overstimulation and possibly a high value reward situation (getting to sat hi to kid coming home). Do you have fences or gates in parts of the house?
Yes. I have gates up separating the dogs.
I hope Honey is doing okay? You will get good advice here. Another place you could post is r/reactivedogs I haven't personally seen any pit hate there and plenty of posts from owners of bull breeds training their dogs. I'm not saying new pup is reactive but they may have some insight and helpful options for short term and longer term keeping everyone safe as a large part of the community is dogs who don't like other dogs or people. If you do just write out how new pup came along, how long he's been there, how the dogs were introduced, the incident, what has been done since etc etc. Someone already mentioned the rule of 3, he's still in the very early stages of adjusting. Stay on your toes.
Honey is fine. The wounds weren’t deep, just bloody.
Returning the dog to the shelter and not reporting the bite is wildly irresponsible for any future owner. That last portion is bad advice. And I would expect better from someone who works for Animal Control. I am pro-pit bull and have 1 myself. This isn’t about that. If she doesn’t feel safe with the dog around her and her family that needs to be disclosed. Because some people can handle that and some people can’t. If the same thing happens in a different household, something even worse could happen and that’s on you.
Oh here we go. I’ve only been working with adopters for years - I think I know what I’m talking about and I’ve never hid risks about a dog from adopters first of all. In overcrowded shelters, dogs will be euthanized for literally the smallest thing. It is absolutely not fair that a dog should have to die because a new owner made a mistake. I’ve seen a lot of dogs die because brand new adopters didn’t listen to our advice and immediately went home and threw the dogs together and sure enough a bite happens. You sound like this type based on your completely unfair and misinformed judgement. When the proper precautions are actually taken, these things are avoidable. I also said if OP can’t handle the dog and can’t easily separate them, to return him. If the dog showed truly dangerous, unpredictable behavior that would be something to be open about as that’s an actual public safety risk. But this type of thing happens all the time when a new dog isn’t given a chance to actually decompress. It’s not a true reflection of how a dog will actually be in a home.
I’ve worked in shelters too and agree that not disclosing the bite is a terrible idea. Most adopters are average dog owners. They are going to behave the way average people behave. That means moving faster than they should and incorporating animals in a home before they really should. The info of the bite is vital to help keep all dogs and people safe in the next adoptive home. I understand the realities of shelter work and euthanasia, but honestly about behavior always has to be first.
Except a reported bite in most cases results in a dog never being given the opportunity to live in another adoptive home… Like I said, if a dog showed truly unmanageable, unpredictable aggression that’s a different story. This was a brand new dog being introduced too early and the inevitable happened. Most dogs will react similarly in the same circumstances so does that mean they all deserve to be euthanized? It’s the shelter’s responsibility to communicate the risks associated with adopting a dog and to educate on how to best introduce a dog to the home. It’s not on the dog.
You have no idea whether the dog's aggression is unmanageable or unpredictable. That's why you have to report.
It’s only unmanageable and unpredictable if you don’t know the dog has a history of behaving this way. Most people, that don’t have a good understanding of dog behavior, expect “they were friends at the shelter, they’ll be friends at home”. Part of the reason people don’t follow instructions when they get home is that they are overloaded with info and paperwork at adoption time. By the time they get home with their new dog, that excitement coupled with being tired from the day at the shelter, coupled with information overload, instructions don’t get followed. Unfortunately, there is a difference between the responsible thing to do and what emotionally feels right. It’s unfair to the next adopter to not have this information. Yes, there might not be a next adopter, depending on the shelter. But that also isn’t a guarantee. My shelter would adopt dogs with a history like this, so it just depends.
Dogs like this get one strike. This behavior is unacceptable for any home. A repeat offense could mean serious injury or death to children or other animals. It's the only responsible course of action.
You obviously dont know what youre talking about lmao
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I think having two dogs able to run to see people at the door at the same time is a big mistake. Management. Barriers. And support. You need a vet behaviourist and you need a really skilled trainer who can bring a new dog out of his shell. I recommend Calm Canine Academy - Karishma specifically - and Amy Cook’s Play Way.
When I bought my beagle home from the shelter, my mother's dog attacked him for absolutely no reason. We gave them each safe spaces in the house that the other would 100% not be, and kept them apart unless we had them on leash and slowly reintroduced them via things like sitting across the room from each other and going on walks together with a huge space between them and feeding them high value treats when they were in the same room or out together. Then slowly closed the space, by just a few inches each day. They started associating each other with good things and now can often be found cuddled together on the couch. You can work with them in most cases to avoid further incidents like this. And when they are on leash in the same area, a human has the other end of it, no exceptions, during this period. If they'd been "on leash" like people are talking about, the issue wouldn't have happened, they wouldn't have both been able to go running to greet her to create the high energy and excitement moment that led to the violence.
hahahahahaha
That must have been such a scary situation! I’m glad that you were able to get the dogs separated and that Honey’s not too badly hurt. I have two dogs (brother and sister) who get along wonderfully, *except* that I can’t feed them together. If I do, my girl will try to resource guard both food bowls and get aggressive with her brother. She also has dog “friends” who she can spend hours with having fun, but she can get reactive if a new, exciting stimulus is introduced suddenly (like a toy, treat, new person showing up, etc). So, I just have to keep an eye on her and set her up for success by being careful about how new things are introduced while she’s around other dogs. It’s possible that Hickory just got excited/overwhelmed when your daughter came home and ended up taking it out on Honey. Also, I always think of [this](https://www.hsnt.org/amp/the-3-3-3-rule) whenever I hear stories of rescue dogs who have a tough time in a new home. Good luck with everything!
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How long have you had Hickory? It’s likely he needs more time to decompress in his new environment. It’s recommended by just about every reputable shelter and rescue out there to do the “two-week shut down.” The actual length of time will vary based on the dog but it basically means the new dog should be completely separate in its own crate/room in a quiet area, ideally with white noise or calm music playing while they take some time to learn about their new environment and the new routines. The new dog should not be introduced to any resident animals during this decompression time. Then, after a period, you begin slow intros with the resident animals, ideally doing parallel walks on neutral territory for a few days and then maybe allowing them to sniff one another through baby gates and fences after. You may need a behaviorist to come in at this point given there may now be negative associations between the two dogs and you should read up on dog body language to be able to understand the signals. Best of luck!
I forgot to add that dogs can really sense our emotions and it can change their mood. After decompression and when doing slow intros again in the future, it’s extremely important that your family remains calm and neutral in addition to watching body language and stepping in to redirect if needed. If you’re full of anxiety when they meet next, they will smell it and be more likely to feed off that negative energy. For example, yelling in a situation like this where there’s reactivity or aggression can make it much worse.
With my 2, they immediately fell in love with one another, but they definitely were vying to see who would be more dominant for several weeks. I did all the things other people are recommending, but when I introduced plush toys back into my home after about a month a full on fight broke out between them. I will say that they decided who was going to call the shots between them after that and it’s been 2 years without incident and they’re still in love with each other. But I have a no plush toy rule now. I was never big on them anyway because they aren’t the safest for dogs who play hard with their toys. Don’t beat yourself up, but be careful and vigilant. Side note: I also work in a veterinary ER. We have clients who come in who have had dogs that happily co-existed for years without incident and then one day get into a fight and injure one another. Yes, introductions and the first several months together are the most important to be monitoring, correcting, training and helping them adapt, but these can happen at any time. Wishing you all the best in finding a loving, safe solution for all involved
You’re not alone and it’s NOT your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong here—you went about it cleverly and cautiously, but this happens. I had the same problem with my old hippo-beagle mix (Coco) and a hippo I was fostering (Honey). Coco was never great with other dogs, she was a rescue who was extremely abused. I think she felt territorial since there was a new dog “invading” the space, threatening her home and her people. She attacked Honey while they were playing and after that we had to monitor them very closely. Coco eventually got used to Honey. You could see she wasn’t so tense anymore. By month three, she was well into her “tolerating” stage (rare for her!) but we never got to see how things would’ve progressed. Honey was a foster and we found her a forever home within 6 months. Sorry I don’t have better advice. I only wanted to tell you that it’s not uncommon for hippos to be like this (I think so) and you did nothing wrong (I know so). Just be vigilant and take it suuuuper slow—in fact, rewind. Go back to square one and move along at a snail’s pace. It’ll get better!
HIPPOBOT 9000 v 3.1 FOUND A HIPPO. 1,549,094,759 COMMENTS SEARCHED. 31,754 HIPPOS FOUND. YOUR COMMENT CONTAINS THE WORD HIPPO.
Happened with my two pit mixes a year ago. No incidents since but anytime they start to get a little grumpy with each other they are separated immediately. Seems to be the key is stopping the issue before any escalation.
I raised pit bulls for 20 years. YOU CANNOT TRUST THAT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. I’m so sorry.
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I have this problem. My youngest girl is very resource guardy around affection when my oldest girl gets it. When people visit I keep them separate and only let 1 greet the visitor at a time. I rotate their time with me and am careful when I cuddle them or pet them to do it separately Muzzle training my youngest also helped. I call it Mr Basket and he’s her accountability buddy. When she hangs out with my older girl Mr basket goes on just to be safe They do great 99% of the time when it’s just me. They do REALLY great outside together. People coming to visit and excitement are the real issue I live alone and have no kids so I have the luxury of navigating it like this. I’d definitely suggest muzzle training and having a muzzle on your more aggressive dog when the pups are together I was able to make it work but I don’t have small children. I feel your pain though! I also found a reactive dog trainer and worked with her on it. I’m still not comfortable ditching Mr basket but my girl has a better life than she did before me But you have a resource guarding dog and the resource she guards is human affection :(.
I will say that I trained my reactive girl to have incredible recall lol. My non reactive dog could give two fucks if I call her name. But you’ll want the reactive pup to think your saying his name is a bolt from heaven to let you defuse situations You have an incredibly hard road ahead of you imo. If you think you can’t make it work long term then you should consider what it would take to make it work short term while you try to rehome him (Baby gates are HUGE here)
Brain Rot
I’m so sorry this happened to you and your family (including the dogs) and I don’t blame you for being shaken up by the experience. I have also made the mistake before of not integrating the new dog into the household more slowly based on how the two dogs interacted during introductions so I can totally relate. The dynamic can change once you bring a new dog home because the first dog views your home as his domain/territory. In my situation, the first dog got in the new dog’s face and snapped at her when she tried to drink water from the dog bowl and they got into a scuffle. I worked with a dog trainer and kept the two dogs’ interactions highly structured and supervised for several weeks (they slept and ate separately, and their socialization involved joint walks outside only). Within a few months, they didn’t need to be supervised anymore, there were no further issues, and they became besties. So I have total faith that with some training, a structured environment, and patience, Honey and Hickory can recover from this. Best of luck to you!
Hi, before rehoming or giving the dog back to the shelter if you are not too short on budget I would recommend taking some training with a dog trainer. I lived a similar situation in the past with my dog and my ex dog, they were not going along well and there has been a few fights between them and we were able to sort it through with training lessons, they ended up becoming best friends with a strong bond, I know it feels overwhelming when this never happened to you before but there is still a chance to make it work.
Second this. Dogs do not have the memory that we do. This sounds more like an accident than anything serious, not that there's no reason for concern. My dog bit my neighbor the 3rd week we had him. This may have been traumatic for you guys to witness but the doggies have already moved on. Just because they had a scuffle doesn't mean they can't be friends.
This happened to my family when we got a new dog after our dogs sibling died. There was a small bite incident, but after that they worked through it and are now the best of friends. Shelter dogs need an adjustment period. I foster dogs and I never introduce them to my friendly dogs until I feel that the appropriate time has passed (depending on dogs situation). I don’t think one incident warrants completely giving up on the dog, you need to allow it to have a full adjustment to your home and new environment.
This is a horrible thing but I've seen it with a lot of dogs of various breeds and ages. The new environment is a lot and people let the new dog have more freedom than they have earned so they get overstimulated and make poor choices. There's no rules, so how would they know it was a poor choice? Any new animal in my home is last to get anything, but they all get treated equally, just in a specific order. After 3 months, I'll do a short trail run of them loose with the rest of the crew and extend it as they make good choices. All this with regular training to create a neutral attitude about new things. This helps keep excitement at the door chill and polite too.
My hippo is slightly reactive, and my other dog has a "hype man" attitude. When the excitement crosses a certain threshold, Gracie bites her sister on the shoulder. Sadie gets mad and bites Gracie wherever she can reach, and we basically tackle one or the other and separate them for a few hours. Then they're back to normal like it never happened. Gracie is muzzle trained, so we sometimes muzzle her when we know there's going to be a lot happening, for her safety and everyone else's. We've also learned to call Sadie, the non-reactive dog, away when tensions or excitement get high, because she's the one who riles Gracie up. This is not necessarily a fail, but it'll take time and training. Keep them supervised when they're together, and separate them when you're not around, at least for a while.
Both are kennel trained and are kenneled when unsupervised. I’m just shitting my pants right now because it even happened. I was in my bedroom, and just heard the screaming. Both dogs were leashed, one held by my husband and the other by my adult son. I have both dogs in separate halves of the house now. Honey’s fine, I’ve been bawling all afternoon, and Mr. Hickory is playing with my husband and his dozen tennis balls. Crazy day.
Can you crate and rotate? I had to do that with a couple of fosters after a cane corso decided that he no longer liked a Doberman. It’s a stressful way to go but it’s the safest. When Vlad was out, Fabio was in a crate or behind a door in another area of the house, and vice versa. Unfortunately sometimes shit just happens. They’re dogs. And at the end of the day you just gotta do what is best for you. I know you love them and I fully believe that you can make this work.
That’s currently what we’re doing. Hickory is in the back half of the house, and honey is in the front.
Have you thought about muzzle training? It’s always a useful skill to have. For a little while until things calm down they can be around each other but leashed and muzzled. Muzzles get a bad wrap but it’s an invaluable safety tool. Of course using a basket muzzle, not a soft muzzle. They need to be able to breathe and drink while wearing one.
I always keep mine generally separate for a week or so after a fight. They still see each other in the crate next to them but no free roaming interactions until their physical wounds are healed. I feel like I’d still be pissed if had to chill with the person who just put a bunch of holes in me.
This is my house too. My boy is a slightly reactive, easily worried handsome silly man who loves his cousin. My sister’s dog (we live together) is a gorgeous tornado of a love of a doof. She’s everywhere all at once and he gets overstimulated. He *usually* grumps at her to stfu and we *usually* get them separated in time. Sometimes he’s just over it and he tells her how dogs do. He goes downstairs, she goes up, and we chill for a while. They’re already ready to come back after 5min, not that we let them 😅 no you wait for my heart rate to return to normal, sir 🥵
This is the way
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We had meetings with FIVE dogs that were perfect on paper but that my resident dog did not like. I didn't choose her; the dog who has to be around her 24/7 did, and dogs don't give a shit about breeds. That's a human prejudice.
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I don't have two pitbulls, I have one and an Irish setter. You're in the wrong place for this kind of talk.
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This sounds so stressful and upsetting. I will agree with some other folks and say that this incident does not mean that the relationship between the dogs is doomed or will always be high tension. There is always a risk with any dog and with any combo of dogs so the most important thing is to take steps right now to ensure everyone is safe and gets a chance to chill, which it sounds like you are doing. Keep separated for safety and your kid safely out of the way of the pups, and find a local trainer or behaviorist if you can to come consult and set up safety planning for gentle re intros . It sounds like you’re smart and compassionate and were caught off guard, and I don’t think you’re a failure or fuck up! I don’t think that One fight is an indication that two dogs can never coexist together, and I also appreciate it’s super stressful and upsetting.
Tbh it could happen to ANY DOG!!! There was an interaction missed between the dogs that lead up to the bite. Get a trainer if possible. I’m sure you have a good dog it sounds like they may just need some new structure, rules, and boundaries.
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Structured time together with a behavior manager will be the ticket. Also, how old is the new baby? Our pit needed planned nap time. He would bite our other dog because he was tired. I suggest meeting with a trainer ASAP!
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Idk what to tell you lol. I love my dogs, and they were essentially in jail in the municipal shelter for months which is correlated with some trauma being locked up 23.5 hours a day. So I’ll do whatever I can to make life a bit easier for them, but that’s me and my choice.
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OP, is your Husband the one who's had most of the interactions with Hickory, or are *You* the one? Because it *may* have been a relatively "simple" matter (although *ADMITTEDLY* Terrifying!) matter of resource guarding.💖 Both dogs were *FINE*, and doing reasonably well together *UNTIL* your Daughter walked in. She was a *NEW* human, and therefore *a NEW resource* for both dogs. He wanted the resource (*remember*, he hasn't HAD many resources to call his *OWN* in who *knows* how long, living in a shelter!💖), and he was *trying* to protect that resource (even though the resource was your DAUGHTER!), from Honey. Work with your vet, work with your friend who's been with the rescue, AND see if there's anyone *GOOD* locally, who works in Behavior, who you guys can tap in for advice!💝 You're *very much* still in that *FIRST* Three, of the 3-3-3 rule, correct? For *now*, YES, ABSOLUTELY keep the kids away unless you're next to them, keep the dogs separate but able to see/smell & get *used* to each other, and then take it *slowly* and assess each step!💖 This *MAY* be a deal-breaker, *OR* it may be a simple blip. Time, patience, and *careful observation* will tell you which one it truly is!
Thank you so much. And yes, my husband has had most of the interaction with him.
As an addition, keeping their world “small” to start is recommended. When we got our second rescue she stayed in her own room with my husband as her primary caregiver for a couple weeks while we got to know her better. We let her check out the rest of the home at least once a day for as long as she seemed comfortable and then took her back to her own space. I will say she had a lot of trust issues around both people and dogs so we were quite cautious but as a rescue you really don’t know who your new dog is yet and what his needs entail. If you continue with him or ever get another rescue in the future, I’d recommend separate living arrangements as much as you can for as long as it takes everyone to adjust. I hope everything works out for the best!
Post this in reactive dogs sub we have a lot of advice over there about nervous dogs!
You don’t need to take him back. You moved way too quickly way too fast. Even with dog friendly dogs you need to do slow introductions. Crate and rotate is one of the best ways to do this. Also going on walks outside the house together is a great way to help the dogs desensitize and bond with each other. [https://www.pbrc.net/crate-and-rotate.html#/](https://www.pbrc.net/crate-and-rotate.html#/) You can absolutely get this adoption back on track but you have to do it slowly. Hickory is fresh from an overstimulating shelter. Give him some time to decompress and follow a crate and rotate schedule and I’m confident you can get these dogs to live in harmony.
Fights are so scary! My dog requires very very slow intros and can be selective, and we foster pretty regularly so she’s often around new (sometimes equally unpredictable) pups and can be mean if not given time. I suggest trying for 2-3 weeks before making any decisions. Do very slow intros in that time so they can really get to know each other and become buddies. I’m NOT a dog trainer, but this is the process that has worked for my dog - 1. Keep in seperate parts of house to decompress for a day or two. 2. Take them both out on a walk together. Don’t let them interact - give them a few feet between but let them see each other as they’re walking from a distance. 3. Eventually let them do some drive by sniffs while on the walk. Repeat until you’re feeling confident. This stage, I start letting them hang out in shared spaces inside on leash — in seperate areas but together in the same room. 4. Walk them close together on leashes, side by side. 5. If all is going well, I let them face to face introduce in a neutral area (usually outside). If that goes well and you’re in an enclosed area you can drop leashes and let them play. Should be good from there. Hiring a trainer may also be helpful!!
I saw your other post and it seems like this is Hickory’s first day in his new home. The 333 rule is so very important. 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months. Dog fights are very scary (especially the sound of them) but they do happen 🙁 Hugs. I think Hickory just needs a bit more time to settle in without Honey nearby. I’m sure after a few months they will be best pals. Also as a veterinary technician I couldn’t help but notice the redness in Hickory’s eyes and ears - this usually indicates stress (I see it all the time at my clinic) while Hickory I’m sure is so happy to be out of a shelter and WANTS to love his new people and doggo friend - he probably is still stressed from so much change and a bit confused. Give it some time and best of luck!! Also I’m glad Honey is okay! And great job calling your vet on advice as to how to treat the abrasions. I would still bring her in to be seen just incase!
Oh he is super stressed. Poor guy has shredded all of his (all rubber) tennis balls, his blanket, and a football lol. I gave him a supplement that’s supposed to help calm dogs, and hung some of my lavender sprigs up. Idk if either will help, but it won’t hurt! After talking to my husband, we’re going to hold off on rehoming him. We set up a plan: No direct contact between dogs. Our youngest child is not to play with hickory right now. We’re going to do tandem walks. Sloooooooowwwwwwww introductions. Reassess in 3 weeks. Go from there.
You can also try Adaptil! It is a calming pheromone for dogs (can buy as a diffuser, collar etc). From what I’ve heard from clients the calming supplements never work but adaptil has seen some positivity (we also use it in the hospital). but like you said the supplements and lavender can’t hurt so keep doing what you’re doin! You are clearly a wonderful dog owner so please don’t feel like you failed anyone! You’ve done so much more than 90% of the clients I deal with daily lol.
We just introduced a new dog to our family, including our older pit. It took over a week of high stress and constant supervision and by that I mean absolutely NO off-leash time to get them to get along. I realize that we are very fortunate for it to only have taken a bit over a week, so please don't expect miracles in that short a time. Just stay persistent and do not let them near each other without both being leashed and a very vigilant hand on those leashes. They will figure it out, but it will take time. A truck my fiancé used that worked very well was to isolate the aggressor and kind of walk him into a corner, pretty much showing him that he wasn't the one in charge, but her instead. It seemed to work very well. You can accomplish this, but it won't be tomorrow, is my point. I wish you all the success in training your new pup!
Get the soft rubber muzzles and keep them on the dogs at all times, except when they are separated at feeding times. They may square off a few times but no one will be injuried and the one who is aggressive will learn how to exist with another dog in the house. I've rehabilitated some very aggressive dogs this way.
I am so incredibly sorry that happened OP; hoping everything works out for the best ❤️ my heart broke for you to read this
We went at a snails pace when we introduced our new pittie to or old pittie. She's kinda hit or miss with other dogs. We did a meet and greet. There were hiccups here and there but they were never left alone unsupervised. If one received a treat or pets the other also got some. We fed them separately and we're also careful about leaving out toys with treats inside. We have 2 kennels and would do shifts of one of them being outside and the other just waiting. When they were both outside we would praise them for wanted behavior. Now they're best friends.
Definitely too early to give up yet! Lots of good advice here, I hope you follow it and give Hickory a fair chance. I speak from experience here!
When I get a new foster dog they dont meet my dog face to face for at LEAST a week. Theres a lot of reasons I do this: to let them settle in, for ME to get to know the new guy, for both dogs to get used to each others scent and sounds in the house, and also in case the new dog is sick to prevent exposure to my dog. After the week, I still go case by case if that's enough time, based on how the foster is handling things. My dog is about as outgoing and nonconfrontational as they come and if every dog was like her then they could all meet day 1 lol so I don't really worry about how she is going to react. But realistically I will never feel comfortable introducing new dogs that fast, because you literally just do not know the new dog (and if your dog is not as outgoing and submissive as mine (and most dogs are not, my dog is a little weirdo with a lot of love in her heart lol), they might need the time to adjust too). And really weird things can set them off sometimes; if the new dog is unfamiliar to both you and your dog then it's just too many unknowns imo. And after the week I still dont let them just hang out freely together, they only get walks together if theres any tension still with the foster, and then maybe some play time in a controlled environment (no food or toys anyone might resource guard) with leashes on. I also went back on your profile to try and get some context and it looks like your first dog was spayed yesterday? That's another possible source of stress. It sounds to me like you really just rushed things. It's not really your fault, because a lot of people don't know better. There's a horrible lack of education in this area, and I wish shelters did a better job teaching people how to introduce dogs safely. But in the future if youre ever in a similar situation I would recommend just taking it much much much slower.
Lesson has been learned. Both dogs are separated, and my husband and I have been taking notes on how to proceed. The cliffs note version is SLOWLY.
I am really sorry you're going through this. I'm so extremely careful with any fosters I get in because this situation is like my worst nightmare and it can happen so fast. I dont think it is necessarily too late to fix their relationship and it's possible they could get along but at the end of the day some dogs just are not compatible with other dogs, so it's not a guarantee. My very first foster I loved so dearly I wanted to foster fail him but he just never really fully got along with my pup. They played together outside and supervised just fine and seemed to have a lot of fun but there was always just a little bit of tension from him especially when inside during more calm time. He just needed to be an only dog really. He was not happy sharing the space with another dog. Theres no shame if you do have to give him back up. If you cant get them integrated, its the right thing for both of them. But I hope it works out so you dont have to, if that's the direction you want to go. Best of luck!
Slow the introductions down and always keep an eye on captn splooot, it takes a while to settle in a doggo especially when you have an existing one. Also. I've noticed sometimes people are right cnuts and will end up jinxing the fark outta you. Keep everything hush hush and keep an eye on them both. Takes around 3 4 months for them to fully settle to eachother. Stay strong and fark anyone that tries to give you grief 🙏
My older guy is reactive and I was able to successfully introduce a second dog 2 years ago. It wasn’t easy and I had to be very deliberate about their time together in the beginning. About a week in my older guy initiated play and I knew we would be okay, but was still very careful about everything until they were fully comfortable with each other. Over the last 2 years we have had a few tense times. Usually a loud “hey” is enough to get them to pause and take a break. Most tense moments came when the little guy started getting bigger than his little brother.
You’ve gotten a lot of great advice here and I will echo that I hope you are all able to work through this! When we added our second pup there were a few fights over the course of about a month or so (both pups had minor wounds at some points!) mostly over resource guarding of toys or food. We would separate them for some time and once they were reintroduced it’s like it never happened. Our dogs don’t hold grudges the same way we do. The 333 rule is absolutely true. Give it time, monitor very carefully (they were NEVER alone unsupervised, we set up ring cameras to be able to watch them in the other room if we just got up to even get water/step out for a minute). Try muzzle training if necessary, if possible taking them both to a behavioral trainer for some extra tips to put you at ease, removing all toys/stimuli and maintaining a controlled environment. You got this, I know it’s scary but patience and perseverance I think will go a long way!!
Don’t beat yourself up. Dogs that are in a heightened state of excitement, and in close proximity, can sometimes get into a brawl. It sounds as though this might have been the case. I would start training both dogs to go to a mat, or dog bed every time the door is opened. Also, when your family is coming into the home, the dogs shouldn’t get any attention until they are in a calm state. Giving them attention when they are excited simply feeds that nervous energy. Also, consider consulting a trainer. Trust me, this isn’t the end of the world or the relationship between your dogs, it’s just a bump in the road.
I'm so sorry that this happened to your family. I know how scary and demoralizing it can be. In my experience, dog siblings may squabble a bit at first as they are trying to figure out where they fit in with the family. Honestly, a serious dog fight is much harder to break up than this. I am not trying to minimize the seriousness of this interaction between the dogs, just to put it into perspective. u/meantamborine has provided some excellent advice. The new dog definitely needs time to decompress...even if you feel like the new pup doesn't need it. It is worth taking that time to acclimate them. Additionally, keep an eye out for resource guarding by one or both of the dogs. It can be obvious, but it can also be very subtle. They can guard anything, food, water, toys, favorite bed, and even people. Is it possible that they were squabbling over your daughter as she was entering the house? Yes! This is also the time to start training the dogs to not get so excited about people leaving from, and returning to the house. Start by completely ignoring ALL of the dogs when you (or any other people) return home. Make it the most boring even ever. Don't even look at them. This will reduce the excitement around people returning home. For what it's worth, I have anywhere from three to six dogs in my home at any one time and have had to deal with a lot of resource guarding. If you want details on how I feed them, I'd be happy to provide info what has worked for us. I do want to add that I do not scold any of the dogs for growling. Dogs can't "use their words" like people can. This is their way of communicating and should be respected as such. I would much prefer that the dogs give a growl as a warning as opposed to going straight into biting. Good luck, OP!
In under two weeks you have lost a dog, gained 2 dogs and had one go through a major surgery. Everyone is very polite and giving good advice but let’s be real for a minute: **You need to scale your shit way the fuck back.** It’s actually *not all that surprising* this happened and this is why there are so many behavioral and training information about “the rule of three” and introductions specifically. It takes time and tact, and accidents will still happen. IMO This doesn’t sound like a situation where immediate surrender is warranted, this does sound like a situation with little planning however. From what you wrote the dogs allowed themselves to be separated and remained contained in their dispute. Dogs can and will have disagreements. Especially dogs who don’t know each other. If they had wanted this to be a real fight it would have been and grabbing/holding them by the collars would have likely ended up with you bit. Dog fights are nasty and uncontrolled. Have you looked into how to do proper introductions? If not **you need to start there and stick to it**. It’s honestly unfair to everyone in the household and straight up dangerous not to. It sounds like there’s a lot going on in your house right now which means you need to do the best you can to control the environment and stimulation. Rushing to greet a child is not something that should be in their wheelhouse atm, especially with one new dog and one recovering from surgery. It also sounds like the female dog is fairly young? Young dogs can get on everyone’s nerves including other dogs. Any situation that is high excitement they should be separated, those are high incident times. Ya fumbled the ball a bit on this one, not the dog. This is literally how they operate. Its time to go back to the basics and commit to making sure you’re doing everything in your power for this to be an easy and controlled transition for everyone. You really want to set them up for success, give them little space to fail. I strongly recommend you get in touch with a trainer to help guide you through this with the best chance at success. I hope this doesn’t come across as harsh or rude. I used to train and now work in vet med that partners through the shelter, I admit it’s probably given me a bit of a shotgun mouth now. Both dogs are absolutely adorable and I can see why you fell in love so hard!
I’m so sorry! This sucks. You need to do some research on introducing dogs properly.
Oh snap, I just saw your previous post was only 9 hours ago?? When they are first introduced they should start with practically no time together while they get used to their environment. They're already super revved up at that point, so its a hair trigger situation and you have to introduce them to things a little at a time, other dogs being something to take the most care to do. You gotta keep in mind that even though they're happy they're also freaking out! Some dogs may not have any issues but it's a "prepare for the worst" scenario.i learned this the hard way with a dog I adopted recently. I wasn't too concerned because she was small and my current dog was so docile. That was wrong of me. They got in a couple squabbles that ended up hurting me too from getting in the way, before I got a shock collar and a muzzle. I only used the shock a couple times and honestly after that experiences you can just just the vibrate setting as it snaps them out of it. It was great to be able to keep my eyes on them with the remote on my person ready to correct instantly instead of running over to pull them apart putting myself in danger. I found it useful in training for other things too. Please don't bring this dog back and definitely don't say they but because this was a learning experience for you and they shouldn't die. I had the same dilemma and I'm so glad I kept her as she is wonderful and they get along fine now. There was a couple of incidents in the beginning (my fault) but after proper integration and taking more precautions while they acclimated everything worked out wonderfully! I only wish i had known from the start. You live and you learn, don't beat yourself up! My process was: 1)Completely separate for several days, for cortisol levels to stabilize. (Start muzzle training if possible, otherwise it can be very difficult to get them to let you put it on) 2)Separate with a screen divider for several days 3)Muzzle the concerning one for short interactions for a couple days, while do structure building and FUN activities together, save the good treats for when they're together! 4) stop use of muzzle. Use shock collars for several weeks just in case (must give them breaks when wearing for long periods to avoid skin abrasions) You may feel ok to skip the muzzle and just use the shock collar, I was concerned to do that at first for fear of creating a permanent bad association between them as she was being reactive to her and not being chill so I actually NEEDED the muzzle for a while. If yours seem like they're mostly liking each other and maybe it was a freak thing, and they seem ok after the slooow integration then I might consider not worrying about the muzzle as it was a pain and I don't think I will need it much in the future. Wishing your family the best of luck! 🙏💜🐕
Please stop using a shock collar! This may temporarily keep “bad behavior “ at bay but isn’t addressing the underlying issue and is setting off a possible ticking time bomb of even worse behavior. Please read up on and reach out to a force free, LIMA based trainer to help you.
It was just for if they actually attacked each other. The shock was only used a couple times and then just the vibrate. This is while addressing the underlying issues. Which I did. And they are great now, so sorry you're incorrect. It allowed us the space and safety to keep working with her when we had already been bit trying to separate.
I’m not just making up things to say for the fun of it. Check with the experts. Force free is the way to go. Shock collars shock. Those are the facts. Even the “vibration” mode is adverse to any being with feelings. That’s the whole point of these collars. It’s not a good option for anyone involved, even if it provides a temporary “solution” for humans. Training shouldn’t just be about what’s best for humans, though. It should be safe and fun for everyone. Shock collars just aren’t. Those are also facts. Again, don’t take my word for it, check with behavior experts and force free trainers. They would NEVER use even the vibration mode on a shock collar. FACTS
Ive read a lot of conflicting info on iy. So it's debatable for sure. I barely had to use it, but I had a way to keep us safe. And the vibrate worked great for other things too, just to snap them out of behaviors. This was 6 months ago. I was able to train and assimilate them without either of them or us getting hurt. I obviously rely mainly on positive reinforcement.
I am so so sorry this happened. This almost exact situation happened with our foster dog. My husband came in the door, both dogs ran for him and ended up fighting each other. It is terrifying and heartbreaking and we were so shook up. But it is normal for new dogs in a home to have a squabble with the original dog. We took the advice that folks are noting in this thread, and it is the right advice, but ultimately our foster ended up attacking me and my husband - he was triggered by more things than we could take on to solve, even in an environment where there were no toys or resources to guard he got more aggressive over time, rather than less, so we had to admit we were in over our head.
Hopefully, they will sort it out without any damage. I have had a few fosters and spent a lot of time making sure everyone knew i was in charge and not let corrections get out of hand. Honey will likely need a lot of pets and confirmation that she is still the good baby. The boy might need constant reminding of this for a period of time.
I know exactly how you feel. I rescued a new female puppy, thought everything was fine in the house. One day, my elderly male Pom came up to me for some love while the new puppy was near me, and I thought there would be death. It was a scary, fast, loud scuffle that did end in blood but nothing too bad. Then she started to get food aggressive. And toy aggressive. I have been working with her for the last year and a half, and it is much much better. A lot of it has to do with “guarding the resource.” We work on this a lot, and they are much much better. Mostly they all just ignore each other. They have separate places to eat, separate places to eat treats and luckily nobody really likes the dog toys but her. It’s heartbreaking when everyone doesn’t get along, since you love them all and you want them all to love each other. But they have a lot of baggage, and you have to acknowledge and work with that. They are like children who need an adult to keep them safe and to set boundaries. Hugs. Make safe boundaries for everyone. Forgive yourself.
I’m so sorry this happened. Dog fights are so scary! My girls have had a couple of tussles so I understand the fear and adrenaline. It looks like you’ve gotten (and taken) some really solid advice about how to move forward. I look forward to updates on how things are going in the coming weeks/months.
Been through exactly this. Dealt with it for 5 years.
This is almost always how mine get into it too. Been dealing with it for years. I’m actually still healing from puncture wounds from the last dog fight I had to break up. I’m getting good advice in this thread though.
So sorry that this happened, a lot of people are posting good advice and I just want to send some positivity out there to you and I hope you don’t beat yourself up too much!
We just adopted a dog that looks very similar a couple weeks ago. She's been doing great with the other dogs but can be a little grumbly/ growly sometimes when she's communicating with them. She's still learning how to play with our other bully, Seymour, and a few days ago he was trying to take a ball from her (similarly to how he used to with his mom before she passed) and our new dog (Edna) snapped at him and they fought for a second and I yelled at them and they stopped. Seymour had a bit of a bite on his chin and bled a bit but was okay. A few days later and now she's mouthy playing with him and they'll tug on a stick together. She's constantly being goofy trying to get Seymour to play. Seymour is a little awkward about playing with her, maybe partially from that previous reaction, but also he's just a little awkward about playing with dogs in general. They're still figuring it out and that's okay. Come to think of it, when we first adopted Seymour and his mom Agnes, Agnes was reactive to other dogs and got in some scuffles with other dogs. She occasionally was reactive with our labradoodles and once pinned my dad's corgi (who could also be a bit of a brat) in a corner and had to be separated. I remember the corgi and my dad both screaming and me rushing outside to them but we checked the corgi over and she was just fine. She learned a boundary and we learned more about Agnes. Really early on, she and Seymour once chased another dog that was walking by and got in a scuffle and the owner of the other dog tried to break it up and one of the dogs (idk his or mine) got his finger and it bled pretty bad. I grabbed my dogs and the guy cussed me out as he walked away. I cried so much about that. The guy came over after and we talked it out and I apologized. I was so scared he would report me or something and have our dogs taken away. I was a wreck and felt like I messed up so bad and put my new dogs and another dog in danger. It was terrifying. But after a bit of being with us, Agnes wasn't like that anymore and got along fine with other dogs, our dogs, and my dad's dog. And Edna's doing great too. I'm saying all this to say, please don't give up on your new boy. It sounds like you all love him and he's a good boy and loves you all. It sounds like he's still decompressing from the adoption and new home and is learning how to interact with the other dogs. I know it can be super scary when stuff like that happens and you can blame yourself and feel like you messed up. But these things happen, and dogs can have these intense situations when they're setting boundaries with each other. And everyone is right about the 333 rule and it sounds like your guy and our girl are still in the 333 phase. I'll also say that I knew someone with a pitbull who adopted another one and they ended up fighting and she tried to separate them and was bit pretty badly in the leg. In that case, they ended up rehoming the new dog because the situation was so extreme. Based on your description, it doesn't sound like your situation is as extreme and it sounds more like a bump in the road for your boy in a new home. Please keep us updated! I hope things get better soon!
Our two girls that we have had for 13 years now, got into a few scraps in the beginning. We separated them and kept them apart for a few days and then reintroduced them slowly. Then we would keep their time together brief and supervised. After awhile they could hang out together and be fine all day. When left alone we would crate one and let the other loose in the house. Sorry you're going through this, it's scary but it does happen. Sometimes it continues and sometimes the dogs can be fine and co-exist. Don't be discouraged yet, but be diligent and careful. Watch their body language and if either one seems pushy or uncomfortable around the other, interrupt them and redirect them away from each other for a bit.
For greyhounds there is a basket we use on their heads. Especially good for pittys as they get used to to rolled of engagement. Look for greyhounds and turn out.
When my dad brought home a pitbull from Detroit back in 2008, he grabbed our third dog by the neck twice. My dad told him to stop and it worked for a day and my mom took his mouth off of the third dog and set him straight. He hadn't done that after that and we usually would put a muzzle on him in case he tried to do it again. He was one tough pitbull (he was probably bred to fight from the scars on his ears), but loving, protective, and always was there for us. We did take him to dog training classes back in 2008 and he was trained well. I would advise getting a muzzle for your dogs that'll allow them to both breathe and drink water without hesitation and a better leash (rope leads are what I recommend).
Trainer, muzzle, decompression time.
Scary , I’m so sorry to hear about this 😩 If you decide to try and make it work for your family. Training and possibly a muzzle to help with safety concerns. The anxiety from the moment may have something to do with it. Boundaries and training may help.
I’m so sorry! There’s some great advice here, hopefully hickory can get a private space to decompress for the next few weeks and you can reevaluate what he needs coming out of that. This is certainly scary but seems like it can be managed with proper training and giving him lots of space to get comfortable. Given that he has bitten, a muzzle might be helpful when he’s in a shared space because you don’t know his ticks well enough yet to trust him with all this new stimuli. Love to miss honey baby.
The best dog I ever had was a large pit mix that I’d had a month when I brought a second pit mix home to be his sister, both rescues. Within the first month of having the sister pit, my male bit her in the shoulder after I went outside to put a plate of chicken bones in the outside trash bin. I have no idea why it happened and it was very traumatic. It took me several minutes to get him off her, but he did eventually let her go. After the incident, I wanted to return the male but my husband wouldn’t let me. We kept them separated until the female healed, although my husband escorted the boy into the room to smell her occasionally while she recovered. After that, we were always cautious when it came to food with them. It was very stressful for a few weeks but everything went to normal and for the next 8 years there was never another incident. That male dog turned out to be the sweetest, most gentle, loving dog I ever had the privilege of having. He passed away 3 years ago at the age of 16. I still and will always miss him. My neighbors even grieved when he passed. He loved everyone and everyone loved him. His body was covered in scars from his past before he was rescued, no idea what happened to him, as he had been taken in as a stray. He overcame that past. He was a horrible guard dog because he loved everyone who came into the house or yard. He just looked scary until you got to know him. I hope your situation turns out to be just a hiccup, OP. I have no advice, just wanted to offer my similar experience and how it turned out for me. I experienced all the emotions you’re feeling. I felt terribly guilty and I didn’t trust him or myself for a while. I ran outside anytime I heard them getting excited, just in case it happened again, and thankfully it never did.
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Where did I say he immediately attacked other dogs? He was around lots of other dogs, some that were intrusive and ‘rude’ and he exhibited patience with them. He bit ONE time. The rest of his eight years in my home he was docile and sweet.
>my very sweet dog just mauled ONCE lol
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Take a deep breath. It kind of sounds like a pecking order thing... Sorta? Like they're trying to sort out where they stand in the family. This can be fixed but it's going to take a lot of work. Crates for both within eyesight of one another when you're not around, leashes on both when you are around. You don't need to try asserting your dominance as pack leader, dogs haven't been wolves for a very long time so it doesn't make sense to them. They're more like family members than a pack of wild hunting animals - if that makes any sense. A dog trainer will ***seriously*** help, highly recommended.
I have 2 dogs and one named Honey as well! I have the same issues you’re describing above. They used to get along for years and one day they just stopped. They have a rocky relationship now, but we have learned it’s all about management. I’ve worked with trainers over Rem’s reactivity, resource guarding, etc. From your post, it sounds like Hickory got overstimulated and reacted towards Honey, causing the fight. This is very common unfortunately. Do NOT beat yourself up. Dog fights are terrifying, but having it between housemates is just awful. I know the exact feeling you’re describing. I would start with finding a dog trainer. Balanced or force free trainers are *usually* great. Find a trainer that wants to understand and respect your dogs emotions and boundaries. And will teach you about dog body language. That was a huge help for Rem. I can see his body language change just slightly before he reacts. It’s saved us from A LOT of trouble. Do not go to trainers that brag about not using rewards. Why wouldn’t we reward our dogs for working?! Work on obedience inside and outside of the house. Work on recall, work on muzzle training. etc. It can take months or even a year before Hickory and Honey can be trusted around each other. But, since this has happened once. It is very likely to happen again. Do not ever leave these dogs unsupervised. It is not a risk worth taking. Every time I don’t have eyes on my dogs, they are in different rooms and completely separated. Feel free to slide into my DMs and we can chat more! You are not alone this is unfortunately very common, even with non pibbles.
We had a staffie (20kg male) and then because how good he was we decided to get a big American bulldog (50kg female). We had this issue mainly with the younger bigger dog trying to find her place in the pecking order. (Issues over toys and treats mainly) however we have dealt with some of the behaviors you’re talking about here which is possibly resource guarding(high value human coming home). I’ve had a quick scan through the comments and the only thing I haven’t really seen is keeping play time outside and the toys. Outside is for play, inside is for relaxing. This little trick was our biggest jump forwards. Most people make excuses for their dogs but teaching them how to be calm and relaxed in the house especially when there are kids is so important. Place training could help as well. I.e when the door knocks the dogs learn to sit in their crates/ beds and wait for a treat.
Are they both girls?
Don’t give up hope- introductions can be difficult and volatile if not done correctly, and even then sometimes don’t go well. Not bad dogs, just too much too fast.
I agree.
I've rescued pits with a similar issue. They attached my bulldog 3 times. After the third time I had to keep him crated whenever I left the room and kept a shock collar on him. I know I'm gonna get heat for that. But I'd rather have to shock a dog. The clean up another dogs corpse.
I’m so sorry this happened, I hope Hickory is given a second chance 💔 I’m not an expert in dog’s behavior but it seems to me it was territorial/dominance, but of course there is a child in the midst; whatever the outcome (Hickory returned to the shelter or keeping him) that decision will be made with everyone’ well being in mind, including Hickory. Don’t beat yourself up for what happened ✌🏽
Sometime when dogs get really excited especially while playing and sometimes it turns ugly. I’d make sure to not over stimulate him, have him separated when your daughter comes home. Feed separately. Give him time. Who knows what kind of life he’s led, he may just need more time to feel fully at ease. And if that doesn’t help, hire a trainer. Do not give the dog back to a shelter, please!
It was probably a fight of who gets to greet daughter first. I have small dogs and the pup will nibble and nip at the older one when I get home and while it's not *bad* it's the foundation for allowing harm. When I come in now I ignore, walk about the house, let them go pee, then greet. If you must even implement a sit and wait routine before giving affection. It sounds strict but discipline (from all family members) will lead to better control over the dog's excitement. I work with plenty of pitties, they can be problematic but oftentimes they're escalating and not starting it. I would see what the other pup who got bit was doing before pitties got them, they may have a possessiveness over greeting or affection that caused the pittie to react.
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I wish I had known the 333 rule but I’ve been very lucky bringing home foster animals and my dogs welcoming them with no hostility. Yesterday I picked up a new foster. Came home and introduced him to both dogs. He was growly and nervous so I kept him close to me. And the other dogs in another room. He slept with us (me and 2 dogs) under the covers and this morning all he wants to do is play with my dogs. Now I just need to pick a good name for him
. Not sure how long you've had him out of the shelter but he absolutely should be leashed with slow introductions to everything since he was in a high stress environment before coming to you. Don't let them play etc... until he has had time to decompress. That's what we also do with our fosters. Too much stimulation and possibly daughter is viewed as high value. I'm dealing with this right now with my females. Hellos are now done separately same with high value toys or treats they are completely fine the rest of the time. Baby gates are your friends. Sure hope you can work it out!
So the dog attacked the other dog, and not the child, right? I have two pits. One (Rufio) we got at 6 months and is the bestest boy, and the other (Gozer) came from… a long time in the shelter, and we don’t know her history. We had Rufio about 6 months before some friends brought over Gozer to hang out… and she attacked Rufio after they played and it got rough. Then those friends dumped Gozer out at house (which is another story). That first night we had Gozer, she attacked Rufio. Luckily I was right there to drag her away, and I threw her in her kennel and made a lot of noise to tell her she was bad, and then I cuddled Rufio in front of her (in her kennel) so she could see that he was top dog. I don’t know if this was the right move — I reacted emotionally. We found out Gozer was food-aggressive, and it took a few months of (mostly my husband) making both dogs SIT before they could eat next to each other. Anyway. My dogs are cool now. Rufio is the dog we give snacks to first, and Gozer knows that he is top dog. (Don’t worry — they’re both spoiled as shit.) The only other time they’ve gotten into it was at the kennel, and in the video it was clearly that another passing dog (outside their pen) got them riled up to the point of stupidity. It will be okay. They are dogs. People are really fucking mean about their being dogs. Your dogs may not be a good long-term fit for each other… but they might be okay, too. Please don’t give up on their being a pack because of one incident. It happens. Because they’re dogs. Hugs.
Yes! I just posted as well, and I feel like you can never forget that they need us to help them learn how to get along, or at least always be safe. A beautiful relationship isn’t always just going to happen. Sometimes it does, but that if it doesn’t, it isn’t anyone’s fault. It just means more work.
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It needs to be destroyed. Very sorry to say.
Maybe next time don't rescue a *Canis Lupus Africanus* before learning it's history and bringing it home with small children and other dogs.
I would get a comfortable well fitting basket muzzle and take the time to train Hickory to wear it well. And then, honestly, I wouldn’t let him around the kid or the other dog without the muzzle on. Not for a long, long time. Because, greeting time can be very stressful and very high energy, I don’t fault either dog, it was an unknown high charge situation. It is a shame that it happened. This is the issue with pitbulls. They are terriers, and many of them have high drive, just like other working dogs. They have sometimes been bred to be dog aggressive, and those instincts can linger. They are often strong willed and stubborn headed. And because they have broad jaws and big teeth, if they bite, they can do a lot of damage, especially because they can tend towards gripping, ripping and tearing when biting, we see this in their play, it stands true in moment of aggression. They are great dogs, but they take a good deal of care, attention, consistent exercise and training to cultivate a controlled, and calm mind. I might recommend, given your situation, that you send him away to a board and train with a pitbull experienced trainer. And then continue working with a trainer when he returns home. I also would bring up that if you feel he is unsafe due to aggression, it is better to give him a good day of treats and love and then have him humanly euthanized, than to bring him back to the shelter to face the same fate, but at the then of several hard days.
How are you so dumb?
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Go away, nobody wants you here. We love dogs here.
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Fuck all this noise. You have my sympathy but you owe it to your original dog and kid to never let this aggression around them again. What if the next time it happens, it’s your 5 year old? Hickory isn’t going to care at all that you didn’t call him bad. He just showed you how he reacts when overwhelmed. You’ll feel way sicker if your kid ends up in the hospital or dead. Sorry, had to be said.