Introducing Bamm to another dog- Need help

skittledoo

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#1
Ok... pretty much everyone knows that Bamm is reactive with other dogs. He's ok for the most part once he knows a dog, but it's getting him to the point where he realizes that the other dog is fine without anyone getting injured.

My friend's Tim and Devon have been bringing me to work since I got in the accident. Yesterday on the way home they mentioned that they have to spend tonight at Tim's mom's house to dog sit for a night. The only issue... If I want to get to work tomorrow I'm going to have to spend the night with them. Yay for advanced notice... *sarcasm*

Here's my issue. I can't leave Bamm at home. I'd have to bring him with me. I'll have his crate with me since it easily folds up. The other dog is a chihuahua mix though no one would be able to tell just by looking at him. He's such an overweight dog that he looks like a footstool quite literally. Winnie gets along fine with other dogs, but I'm just worried about Bamm.

I'm honestly thinking about completely trying to keep them seperated, especially since Bamm is so much bigger. I wonder if that will make it a more stressful situation though since Bamm will know the dog is there but not be able to see Winnie. I want to try and keep this a positive experience for Bamm. He may be fine, but I don't want him to be too stressed out. If I pen him up in a room in his crate he's going to be super stressed since it's in an unfamiliar place. So... I'd like to keep him with me... but then there's Winnie. No matter what route I go he's going to know there's another dog in the house and he's either going to freak out and possibly get snappy or react for a little bit and then want to play.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Would he be better off crated or is there a way I can use this to my advantage and work on his training? There's the chance he may not see any threat in Winnie at all since Winnie is so passive and more like a cat then a dog. Bamm loves cats... but then Winnie is still a dog. I know he's gotten along with a Jack Russel pretty easily and that was a smaller dog.

I'm just really stressed about this. Unfortunatly no one at home is able to take care of him so I can't leave him at home. I really just wish my stupid car situation was fixed by now but alas it's not. I'm really annoyed that I have to stay the night with them in order to ride to work.

I need all the advice I can get in order to try and make this whole experience less stressful for these dogs. Help.
 
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#2
First and foremost, YOU need to calm down and chill out about it. Bamm's going to pick up on that, which will heighten his reactivity.

You may find that since Bamm is going to be coming into Winnie's turf, he's not quite as contentious as he is when he's in familiar surroundings. I'd definitely take the opportunity to work with him though.

You should get some good advice here in the training forum :)
 

skittledoo

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#3
thanks. I'll definitely try and work on calming myself down first and foremost. I know he's likely to pick up on that. *takes a breather*
 

darkchild16

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#4
have you tried clicker training watch me? Or maybe trying jsut basic obedience with a leash? SO that he is concentrated on you, practices his ob and has a good interaction with another dog near by.
 

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#5
Random question: is Bamm reactive to all other dogs? Voodoo can be DA towards strange males, but he loves the ladies.

I agree with Reneee. Try to relax tonight. And if you need to keep Bamm near you, keep him on a leash. But it might not be a bad idea to just let him relax in his crate---it's only for one night. If he gets that stressed around another dog, he would probably be happier and more comfortable in his "safe place".
 

skittledoo

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he knows watch me. I use that cue whenever he sees a bird or squirrel since that's a smaller distraction. He does well with that. He has a harder time when he sees dogs though. To explain how he reacts...

He sees the dog in the distance. His head perks up. He puts all focus on the dog and tunes you out. If the dog comes too close... usually about 100 yards away that's when he reacts. When he reacts his hackles go up and he'll usually attempt to lunge forward. He'll then start barking like crazy.

I've been trying the click and treat method to help him understand that when he sees a dog that means he gets a treat. I don't think that's helping him calm down though. Seems like he grabs the treat quickly and turns his head back to the other dog right away.
 

skittledoo

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#7
Random question: is Bamm reactive to all other dogs? Voodoo can be DA towards strange males, but he loves the ladies.
It seems to be all other dogs. He was fine with the dogs at his foster home. He apparently was fine with a JRT that he met as well. I think if introduced right and slowly he's fine. If he sees them in a distance and they get close he starts to react.
 

darkchild16

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#8
Sounds like my buttmunch with some males. I usually make him pay attention to me. I know I am not in any harm of being bit when hes barking so i take my hand put it under the bottom oh his muzzle and push in up until his moouth is shut hold it and try and pull his head to me so he is looking at me. So far I have seen some improvment I also cue when he is starting to react and make a specific noise like ahah but its more like shh and it catches him and he stops most of the time.
 

jess2416

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#9
It seems to be all other dogs. He was fine with the dogs at his foster home. He apparently was fine with a JRT that he met as well. I think if introduced right and slowly he's fine. If he sees them in a distance and they get close he starts to react.
Could you call the previous foster, and ask how they introduced him to the other dogs ?? Maybe....
 

skittledoo

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#11
Thanks for moving this thread... why do I keep freaking posting these things in the wrong section??? I seriously must love the fire hydrant... lol
 

Gempress

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#12
Hmm. It's odd that he got along with strange dogs just fine in his foster home, and suddenly doesn't like them.

Another thought: is he on-leash whenever he starts acting like this? Some dogs tend to get reactive when they're on-leash.
 

RD

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#13
I, too, think it's a possibility that he's just leash aggressive and not necessarily "DA". Do you have a muzzle for Bamm? I wonder if he would be calmer in the house if introduced to Winnie off-lead (or dragging a leash) but muzzled for safety.

Eve, for example, is very friendly but will snap and bite at other dogs if they charge towards her or tower over her while she's leashed. Dogs naturally feel much more defensive when they're on a lead since their option to flee is taken away.
 

vanillasugar

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#14
he knows watch me. I use that cue whenever he sees a bird or squirrel since that's a smaller distraction. He does well with that. He has a harder time when he sees dogs though. To explain how he reacts...

He sees the dog in the distance. His head perks up. He puts all focus on the dog and tunes you out. If the dog comes too close... usually about 100 yards away that's when he reacts. When he reacts his hackles go up and he'll usually attempt to lunge forward. He'll then start barking like crazy.

I've been trying the click and treat method to help him understand that when he sees a dog that means he gets a treat. I don't think that's helping him calm down though. Seems like he grabs the treat quickly and turns his head back to the other dog right away.
This is Sierra EXACTLY! To the last detail.

If she gets to sniff the dog, there's a bit of snarly snappy behaviour, and (since I've had her around dogs at work who's owners trust me I've been able to see where it goes from there) usually after an initial snarl or two, she's perfectly fine, and will play, play, play.

I might take this oppurtunity to work with him. Keep him on leash and near you though.
 
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#15
How long was he with the foster? If he was there for only a short time that may explain why he 'got along fine' with the other dogs. He may have been overwhelmed upon moving in with them. This would be especially true if he was moved from an unstable situation into a foster home.

Good luck, but if it was me (I have a VERY dog reactive dog) I would just crate my dog away from the other dog and not allow any contact. You can always get a mild sedative from your vet just for the night.
 

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#16
This is really getting old. Why don't you find a forum full of idiots to try your spam attacks out on?
 
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Buddy'sParents

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#17
This is really getting old. Why don't you find a forum full of idiots to try your spam attacks out on?
Next time, please report the spam instead of feeding the troll further. ;)

-----
Skittle- I don't have any advice to give, but do wish you luck! :)
 

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