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  1. #1
    Puppy Courtney's Avatar
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    Meeting a new dog

    My best friend and I are trying to introduce our dogs. She just got a 2 year old rescue pit bull mix and I have an 8 year old black lab. Both dogs are boys. My dog LOVES other dogs and just wants them to chase him everywhere or play tug of war. When they met, the pitbull took after my dog and my dog fought back. We finally pulled them off each other. We introduced them at her house. We don't want to give up on them playing together because we do a lot with each other and own a business together. Her dog has attacked another dog at the dog park so she won't go there anymore.

    My biggest fear is that the other dog with teach my pup how to be aggressive. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do to get them not to fight but play?

    Thank you!!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    My worry would be that your dog gets hurt, if they've already fought and her dog has fought with dogs at the dog park. Neither of you really know what her dog's background is and why he was given to a rescue. I would hope that if he had a history of fighting with other dogs, they'd have told her that during the adoption process but a 2 year old given up to a rescue sounds like someone couldn't handle him in the past. It sounds like she needs to spend some time getting to know him, taking him for obedience training and working with a trainer around other dogs before you guys just put your dogs together and hope they become friends.

    Generally it's recommended that dogs be introduced on neutral ground, not your house, not her house. That way there's less chance of one dog feeling territorial about the location. You could try taking both dogs to a park where you can both walk the dogs together, keeping them on leashes at all times. I'd try this repeatedly, take a walk with the dogs on leash, then each of you go to your own homes with your own dogs, end of the walk. I'd do this several times so the dogs get to know each other but you're walking and both have control of your dogs. See if you can get them to walk with each other without one trying to "get" the other. Once they can walk together neutrally, you could try letting them out together into a fenced yard, off their leashes, with no toys, no balls, no bones, no ropes, nothing that might trigger a possessive response from either dog. You and your friend would both need to be there keeping an eye on things and ready to step in if things got nasty. I'd take it very slow. Your boy depends on you to protect him and not all dogs are going to be pals with all other dogs.
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  4. #3
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Any dog that goes after my dogs unprovoked or has a history of aggressively going after other dogs, is not a dog that I would ever feel comfortable with my dogs being around. Has nothing to do with breed, I just would not chance it.

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Your friend has a pitbull mix in Toronto? How in the world did that dog get past the ban? Though I have heard labelling mixes as something else might work.

    Anyway, do you ever watch the TV show, Pitbulls and Parolees? They often take the two dogs for a walk on leash together in neutral territory, even meeting up as if by chance. If that goes well then they take them to the house of what is usually a resident dog. Or let them play in the yard. In your case I might start out with the leashed walk, and do a couple in hopes of overcoming the bad first encounter. Then maybe off leash in a neutral place before trying the house of one again.

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  7. #5
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    How bad was the incident when he went after your dog at her house? If it was clear aggression, I wouldn't try again, especially since he already attacked another dog at the dog park. Maybe he just doesn't like other dogs? My dog was attacked by another dog and had to have surgery. Not only was it expensive and a pain in the a** but my dog was crying in pain and it was a really really horrible experience. I'm just lucky that there wasn't any impact on his personality. If your friend's dog did attack your dog to that extent, it would probably put a real strain on your relationship (which it sounds like is important in your life).
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  8. #6
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Please don't think me harsh. But I feel rather passionate about this:

    It's our job to nurture and protect our dogs. It's not our job to be their social director and make sure they all have a big circle of doggy friends. I have a dog that just cannot deal well with strange dogs. We have worked hard on the problem (much of it detailed on this forum) and we've made a lot of exciting progress. But mercy sakes... I don't want my friends to feel like they have to expose their dogs to her. A bunch of things can happen when a dog fight starts and they're all bad. (1) Your dog might win. (2) Your dog might lose. (3) A human may get injured. (4) A human and a dog... or two... can get hurt.

    I was in my favorite park today and a guy came up to talk to me about my training set up. I did NOT see his fawn-colored Doby running around completely unleashed. (I mean... the guy didn't even have a leash on his person!) I was grabbing Rocket Dog and throwing myself in front of her, yelling at the guy "Yeah... my dog's not good with other dogs." And I got the usual "Oh, but my dog is friendly. He just wanted to say hello" (I swear... that's what people ALWAYS say. I've heard it over and over.) NO! Your dog is not entitled to get in my dog's grill. (I feel it was my responsibility to protect Rocket Dog from a Doby I did not know, one whose nose was up her butt before I noticed him, that outweighed RD, and was totally unknown to me.)

    Just don't let bad sh1t happen to your dog. You are in control. You don't have to let it happen again. Why risk it?
    Last edited by TuMicks; 04-20-2016 at 09:17 PM.

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  10. #7
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Disclaimer: Ideally your friend should work with a trainer/behaviorist (qualified, educated, experienced - remember the industry is COMPLETELY unregulated) to have the dog evaluated and get a more firm plan. This is really above and beyond advice from a pet board really because as mentioned in the posts above - there is risk to both dogs. not knowing what signs to look for and my not knowing the dog's history and exactly how "bad" he is with other dogs makes it hard to provide safe adaquate advice.

    so first you need to review your end goal. i don't see these two being play buddies. but you could get to the point where they can safely be together so you can spend time together. But it will mean baby steps. Not all dogs like to play. So even if this dog were not aggressive there is a good possibility they will never actually play just learn to co-exist in the same space and ignore each other. This would be the goal I would set for now.

    What exactly is the background on this dog? Where did she get him? Has she muzzled trained him (disagree with the law all one wants, the law is that pitties are to be muzzled in public)? Can you describe the fights, was there any injuries? She needs to be VERY careful if she has an aggressive pit bull mix. While most cities ignore the ban, if the dog gets into ANY trouble, the law may come down much harder due to his breed. She needs to be 1000% vigiliant and aware at all times and keep her dog safe. that's her job. Again i by no means agree with the breed ban but IT EXISTS AND IS LAW. so anyone knowingly taking in a pit bull (mix) or any dog possibly labeled as so needs to be SOOOOO careful and vigilant (even if most cities don't enforce it day to day).

    I would start with meeting with space in between on neutral territory. Generally I recommend a leashed walk BUT I will note to be careful as some dogs can be leash aggressive. If this is the case you may need to rethink the whole thing. But if he is ok, and maybe start walking farther apart so they cannot reach and get closer. Your friend needs to be VERy aware of her dog's body language at all times so she can redirect at the first inkling (not correcting the dog, but redirect and reward) BEFORE the dog gets too frustrated and acts out. Eventually if you can get to a few walks side by side and they ignore each other I would try maybe your house with baby gates seperating them or both on leash. YOu want to set the stage so there is no risk and they get used to one another and don't see each other as a threat.

    Go slow. Short successful sessions even if it's just 2-5 minutes and build up. Do not allow free access to one another. read your friend's dog's body language at all times. read your own dogs body language and don't allow HIM to dwell of focus too much on the other dog. safety first.

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  12. #8
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
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    For any dog that has attacked another dog twice, regardless of breed, I would not allow my dog to be around them. NOT worth the risk. That's great if you and your friend do a lot together, but trust me your dogs don't have the same desire to do things together. A social life and friends is a human thing. Sure some dogs genuinely enjoy playing with other dogs occasionally, but they don't have a desire to socialize like people do. If you and your friend do a lot of activities together that would be considered dog friendly, and want to include your dogs, I would just alternate who is bringing their dog along each time. Your friend might also want to evaluate whether her dog should be present in situations where other dogs might be present that could possibly try to interact with hers. Another thing for her to look into would be muzzle training. A dog wearing a muzzle does not mean the dog is bad, it is a safety thing. Cabo is muzzle trained b/c he is very other dog reactive, though he doesn't actually wear it when we are out b/c I don't take him out in situations where there is a strong chance he might be approached by another dog. But it is a good tool to have. But again that is more something she should talk to a trainer about instead of listening to advice from a chat board. Just wanted to throw that out there as an option to look into.

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  14. #9
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shellbell View Post
    For any dog that has attacked another dog twice, regardless of breed, I would not allow my dog to be around them. NOT worth the risk. That's great if you and your friend do a lot together, but trust me your dogs don't have the same desire to do things together. A social life and friends is a human thing. Sure some dogs genuinely enjoy playing with other dogs occasionally, but they don't have a desire to socialize like people do. If you and your friend do a lot of activities together that would be considered dog friendly, and want to include your dogs, I would just alternate who is bringing their dog along each time. Your friend might also want to evaluate whether her dog should be present in situations where other dogs might be present that could possibly try to interact with hers. Another thing for her to look into would be muzzle training. A dog wearing a muzzle does not mean the dog is bad, it is a safety thing. Cabo is muzzle trained b/c he is very other dog reactive, though he doesn't actually wear it when we are out b/c I don't take him out in situations where there is a strong chance he might be approached by another dog. But it is a good tool to have. But again that is more something she should talk to a trainer about instead of listening to advice from a chat board. Just wanted to throw that out there as an option to look into.
    some good options here. another is crate and rotate so if you are together one dog is crated (maybe in a separate room) and can chill and the other loose with you. then switch. so each dog has some human time but is safe. or use baby gates (ensuring they are solid and don't can't jump over). Switch the dog that comes out on the outing.

    Either way you will need to careful MANAGE the situation even if you choose to take baby steps to try and integrate. Many fosters separates the new dog for their dogs for a few weeks. using crate rotate and baby gates. full separation at first then slowly limited and highly supervised interactions using muzzles and other safety precautions as needed.

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  16. #10
    Puppy Courtney's Avatar
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    Thank you Everyone for your opinions and suggestions!! We just moved back to the States from Toronto. We just have too many rescue dogs down here. I've only had labs and extremely friendly ones. I think I'm being selfish wanting the 2 dogs to play together and of course wanting my friend to bring her dogs with her when we go to dog events. We just started a dog toy business so we do a lot around dogs. We are going to try the small walks. If it doesn't work, I'll pull the plug. My dog is the ultimate goofy lab. I know putting him in a harmful situation is cruel. He was very confused last time. Why wouldn't someone want to play with him!! Thank you and we'll see what happens!!

 



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