Help with behaviour problems

[nedim]

Hope I'm posting this in the right spot..

I adopted an APBT puppy yesterday and I have a 5 year old corgi already living at home. Peanut; the corgi, is pretty territorial when it comes to other dogs coming over if she hasn't met them somewhere away from the house beforehand. I wanted to introduce her to Cooper away from the house at a dog park but because he isn't fully vaccinated we couldn't take the chance. The problem is, as you probably guessed, that Peanut is being aggressive towards him. He is completely submissive and hes only playful. Peanut will snarl, bark and lunge at him if they get face to face. She also follows him around though and when we're walking them together, she'll want to keep sniffing him. What do I do to nip this in the bud while Cooper is still young (11 weeks)?

 

[Renee750il]

Nedim, you'll probably get some excellent, professional advice that you should really take, far and away over mine, but to get you started, what's always worked for me is to step in when the one is getting snarky and have one of those nose to snout talks and let them know that the new dog is FAMILY and we do not treat family this way! Then I'll often sit down with one dog on each side of me and we stay there, being petted and talked to calmly until both dogs have relaxed and are sniffing at each other curiously and CALMLY.

And I also watch and make sure -- as best I can -- not to let the pup drive the older dog TOO batty.

 

[nedim]

Thats pretty much what I've been doing Renee, and it works to some extent.

I mean look at this pic, you wouldn't guess that she was aggressive towards him.

I'm thinking I should take them both to a neutral location in separate cars and give the introduction a second try. Sound like a good thing to do?

 

[Renee750il]

You can tell Peanut's stressed some if you look at her eyes and facial muscles.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to take them in separate cars. Use crates -- or pup crated and Peanut riding if that's how she's used to riding -- and go to someplace neutral where they can run around and have plenty of space.

Of course, Peanut will be horribly disappointed when you bring the pup back home again

Ordinarily I'd say to pass out treats for playing nice, but with two chow hounds like a Corgi and an APBT that could potentially cause more problems.

 

[nedim]

I'll take them to a neutral spot tomorrow and I'll post up how it goes. Coopers doing great with socialization so far btw. Thanks for the quick replies Renee!

 

[Renee750il]

You're welcome APBTs are easy to socialize, lol. They LOVE to schmooze.

You may find you need to protect him from people to some extent, though. So many would come up to Tallulah and pet her and go on and on about how cute and sweet and cuddly and friendly she is . . . then they'd ask me what kind of dog she is; I'd tell them and they'd jump back in horror and tell me she was a man eating monster.

Now she pretty much ignores most people unless we're someplace like a weight pull where she's around people who know what she is and love her for it. Everywhere else she pretty much pretends she doesn't even see anyone.

 

[Maura]

I would have a large crate for Cooper and routinely put him in it throughout the day for his puppy naps. This will not only acquaint Cooper with being stuck in the crate, but it will give Peanut her own space again. It will also give Cooper a place where he isn't being harassed. When you see Peanut harassing Cooper, going beyond normal dog stuff, send her to a corner. She is allowed to sniff, but not allowed to be a B***.

If you are bringing Cooper onto the furniture with you, this will often trigger a negative response from the other dog. Keep them both on the floor. Feed Peanut first, treat Peanut first.

 

[nedim]

Coops already great about being in his crate, he whined a bit this morning then calmed down after a minute. I really have to say, hes **** near perfect and catches on to commands in no time. That being said, I'll move the crate to a more central location (its in my room ATM) and see how they both react. I don't want Coop getting too stressed out and associating his crate with that