Subject:  Re: Need Help!!! |
Author:
Rosey & Mel
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Date Posted: 19:30:47 07/19/04 Mon
In reply to:
Amy (american staff owner of Maxwell, former rescued dog)
's message, "Re: Need Help!!!" on 13:33:40 07/18/04 Sun
Thank you Amy for your support, and if anyone else is interested, we have brought home Ladybird the pitXchoc lab. She just adores my husband and I and follows us everywhere. She is great with the kids, cats, and she and the doberman are really starting to enjoy each others company. However she and the old dog are having difficulties. Yesterday the old girl growled at Lady during the "get aquainted" sniff, but as both were on leashes, that was all it amounted to. Last night they slept in the same room, with Lady on a leash and the old girl in her own spot. No problems. In our house when the kids start to stir the dogs come in to say good morning. Lady was in with the kids and the other two came in and without provocation that we could hear, Lady grabbed the old dog by the back of the neck and put her on the floor. There was no fight to speak of, and Lady let her go of her own choice before my husband could even get down the hall, but now we are worried. We understand that Lady is trying to establish herself as Alpha and we are trying to get the message across that the old girl is Alpha, as she was here first. We are not allowing her to push past the old girl coming through the door, and making her wait her turn. We are not allowing her on the furniture yet as that is the old girls place. We give them both affection sometimes together but we will pet the old dog first. Are we making the problem worse by doing these things? Are there any practical suggestions anyone could give us? As far as the Staffordshire at the shelter, he is still there, but we have promised to bring Lady by to visit often, as we are concerned about him. We have thought that by adopting them both we would be asking for trouble as dogs are a pack animal, and they would be their own pack and have no need to assimilate into our "family pack". We are keeping the door open to the idea of bringing him into our family as well, and would like to build a relationship while he is still at the shelter, as he is not as social and we have learned that he has seen some abuse and violence. Is this a good idea or are we going about this the wrong way? Any advice from people who have been through this before with rescue dogs would be appreciated. Please remember we have never owned this breed before and also need to understand their behaviors. Thank you for your advice and concerns.
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