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Huggabear · 02/24/2010 6:02:52pm

I'm wondering if this can be "normal" behavior for a young dog maybe due to stress.

We brought home a female golden retriever mix from a shelter today. We think she is around 1 year old, maybe a little younger, and was just spayed yesterday. She was very timid at the shelter but warmed up to us within minutes.

We already had two dogs, a 2yr old spayed golden retriever and a 5 yr neutered queensland heeler. When we brought the new dog home we put her behind a dog gate in one of our tiled hallways with a kennel, a bed and some toys so she could feel comfy in her new space. Everything was going fine, both dogs came up to her (with the gate separting them) and sniffed her, so did our cat, and she seemed fine with it. Then all of a sudden while my golden was sitting next to me on the other side of the gate, the new dog started lunging at her and baring teeth growling....they barked at eachother through the gate and I separted them.

I'm just wondering how things could go from calm one minute to baring teeth growling all of a sudden.....I'm hoping it is because she is overwhelmed right now and not because she is dog aggresive. The sheletr said she was fine with dogs in her evaluation. But I know things a different for a dog when they are in the shelter.

I just need advice on how to handle this situation. I don't want any of the dogs to get hurt and I want the new one to feel comfortable here. I know it's only been 1/2 a day but I'm worried about her being aggresive. Thank you!

PawsitiveAttention · 03/09/2010 12:34:01am

Dog aggression isn't easy, but it can be dealt with. It is entirely possible that this is just them working out their dominance issues and that it will pass without further incident, but prepare yourself for the possibility that they may never get along.

Dogs will establish their own pecking order if you don't step in and establish it yourself.

I would never leave the dogs together alone unattended.

You may want to hire a trainer to help you establish pack dominance, and check out these sites:

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

http://www.pbrc.net/rotate.html

I also urge you to contact the shelter she was adopted from, many of them offer programs to help with behavior and training issues for their adoptees.

Huggabear · 03/09/2010 1:04:58pm

Thank you very much for your responce! Here we are almost two weeks later and things have gotton much better. Everyone is getting along together and play ALL DAY long! We actually ended up calling the SAC SPCA and took advantage of their free public service:their behavoir helpline. They gave us some great tips on integrating a new dog into our home. We take them all on walks together everyday. No more aggresion has occured but we continue to be cautious...she is kept in a crate when we need to leave and the other dogs are behind a gate.

PawsitiveAttention · 03/09/2010 1:14:57pm

Awesome news!!!!

I'm happy that it's working out for you. And it's always a good idea, even in pets that have no prior history of aggression, to keep them separated when you aren't around to supervise so it's great that you have gotten into that habit.

The SSPCA is a wonderful resource and they really care about the pets they adopt out.

Sounds like you are well on your way to having a happy and well-adjusted fur family

Huggabear · 03/09/2010 1:24:09pm

It was a very rocky first few days! We actually did not adopt her from the Sac SPCA, we adopted her from the Amador County Animal Shelter. But I had remebered from looking at the SSPCA website before that they offered this free service, whether you adopted from them or not. It was really helpful!

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#1 02/24/2010 6:02:52pm

Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice

#2 03/09/2010 12:34:01am

Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice

#3 03/09/2010 1:04:58pm

Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice

#4 03/09/2010 1:14:57pm

Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice

#5 03/09/2010 1:24:09pm

Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice

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	Tell A Friend SacPaws.com Navigation: Home Pet Advice Photos Read Events Classifieds Blogs Win Resources Find out about our site For our Community Posting Guidelines, click here Pages: 1 Sign in or register to share Index » Behavior » Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice #1 02/24/2010 6:02:52pm Huggabear Member Registered: 02/24/2010 Posts: 3 Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice I'm wondering if this can be "normal" behavior for a young dog maybe due to stress. We brought home a female golden retriever mix from a shelter today. We think she is around 1 year old, maybe a little younger, and was just spayed yesterday. She was very timid at the shelter but warmed up to us within minutes. We already had two dogs, a 2yr old spayed golden retriever and a 5 yr neutered queensland heeler. When we brought the new dog home we put her behind a dog gate in one of our tiled hallways with a kennel, a bed and some toys so she could feel comfy in her new space. Everything was going fine, both dogs came up to her (with the gate separting them) and sniffed her, so did our cat, and she seemed fine with it. Then all of a sudden while my golden was sitting next to me on the other side of the gate, the new dog started lunging at her and baring teeth growling....they barked at eachother through the gate and I separted them. I'm just wondering how things could go from calm one minute to baring teeth growling all of a sudden.....I'm hoping it is because she is overwhelmed right now and not because she is dog aggresive. The sheletr said she was fine with dogs in her evaluation. But I know things a different for a dog when they are in the shelter. I just need advice on how to handle this situation. I don't want any of the dogs to get hurt and I want the new one to feel comfortable here. I know it's only been 1/2 a day but I'm worried about her being aggresive. Thank you! Offline #2 03/09/2010 12:34:01am PawsitiveAttention Member Registered: 02/25/2010 Posts: 32 Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice Dog aggression isn't easy, but it can be dealt with. It is entirely possible that this is just them working out their dominance issues and that it will pass without further incident, but prepare yourself for the possibility that they may never get along. Dogs will establish their own pecking order if you don't step in and establish it yourself. I would never leave the dogs together alone unattended. You may want to hire a trainer to help you establish pack dominance, and check out these sites: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm http://www.pbrc.net/rotate.html I also urge you to contact the shelter she was adopted from, many of them offer programs to help with behavior and training issues for their adoptees. Offline #3 03/09/2010 1:04:58pm Huggabear Member Registered: 02/24/2010 Posts: 3 Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice Thank you very much for your responce! Here we are almost two weeks later and things have gotton much better. Everyone is getting along together and play ALL DAY long! We actually ended up calling the SAC SPCA and took advantage of their free public service:their behavoir helpline. They gave us some great tips on integrating a new dog into our home. We take them all on walks together everyday. No more aggresion has occured but we continue to be cautious...she is kept in a crate when we need to leave and the other dogs are behind a gate. Offline #4 03/09/2010 1:14:57pm PawsitiveAttention Member Registered: 02/25/2010 Posts: 32 Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice Awesome news!!!! I'm happy that it's working out for you. And it's always a good idea, even in pets that have no prior history of aggression, to keep them separated when you aren't around to supervise so it's great that you have gotten into that habit. The SSPCA is a wonderful resource and they really care about the pets they adopt out. Sounds like you are well on your way to having a happy and well-adjusted fur family Offline #5 03/09/2010 1:24:09pm Huggabear Member Registered: 02/24/2010 Posts: 3 Re: Introducing shelter dog-sudden aggression-need advice It was a very rocky first few days! We actually did not adopt her from the Sac SPCA, we adopted her from the Amador County Animal Shelter. But I had remebered from looking at the SSPCA website before that they offered this free service, whether you adopted from them or not. It was really helpful! 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