Introducing A New Dog

[Miss B]

I'm after some advice about how best to handle this situation.

We have a female Siberian Husky here who we adopted from the pound as she was going to be PTS. She's almost 2 years old but other than that, I know very little of her history. I took her to work last Monday and had her spayed and since then, she's been living inside with us while she recovers.

We've got three other dogs here already - a 14-year-old entire Kelpie cross bitch (doesn't belong to us but lives here), an 8-year-old desexed male Siberian, and our 5-month-old entire Siberian bitch.

The new girl has had supervised time outside with the other dogs, for toilet breaks and to stretch her legs. She has been fairly agressive towards our 5-month-old Sibe bitch in particular, but doesn't pay too much attention to the older 2 dogs. She growls at our bitch, stands over her with hackles up and is basically very dominant. She also stands over the other two older dogs and attempts to mount the male Sibe. He is extremely tolerant of her, but our little 5-month-old Sibe bitch gets quite snappy and upset when she is challenged.

Because of this, we've been muzzling the new Sibe bitch when she is outside on supervised toilet breaks. Just this afternoon she got into quite a serious scrap with our little Sibe bitch - if she wasn't muzzled at the time I think she would have done some serious damage because she really got stuck into her, and she meant business.

Is this a dog-agression problem in the new bitch? Or is it just them sorting out their pack structure? The new Sibe bitch was just coming into season when we had her spayed last week, I'm not sure if this would have any effect on her behaviour at all? But at the moment there is no way I will leave her unsupervised or un-muzzled around my own dogs. My OH would dearly like to keep the new Sibe bitch, because other than this one problem she is an absolute sweetheart and extremely well behaved. She's wonderful with people and has not shown any signs of agression towards us - she's very submissive towards us and gets quite upset/sooky when she gets told off.

Any tips/advice/suggestions? I've never had to deal with a situation like this before and don't quite know where to start. Any input would be very much appreciated

[Miss B]

...anyone?

[ILFC]

If it were me- I would prioritise my existing dogs and rehome her. Sounds like a bad situation that would involve a lot of work and someone is going to get hurt. She sounds dominant and ill mannered- so there's work right now for you not to mention not much of a life for your young sibe. I guess if you want to persevere then you need a behaviouralist to visit. That's my opinion.

[puggy_puggy]

Sounds like they are sorting out pack stucture.

With the pugs I let them have little fights because one of them will usually back off and give up but I am not sure about what people do with bigger dogs as they can actually hurt eachother.

Did you tell her off when she started humping your male and when she got into a fight with your female?

She needs to know that according to you she is bottom of the pack because at the moment it seems like she is trying to be top of the pack.

You could possibly have her on a correctional collar and start socialising her with your other dogs and correct her when she starts her behaviour.

I am not a professional so I would say you need to contact someone who is that can come around to your house and observe how things work and her behaviour.

[Miss B]

Thanks for the input guys. I really do not know what I should do, as I would hate to unintentionally exacerbate the situation. Puggypuggy; yes, I corrected her when she started the fight with my Sibe puppy. She became very submissive/apologetic, cuddling up to me, putting her paws in my lap etc. She's an absolute angel with people, but not good with dogs. I am thinking she has probably had absolutely zero socialisation with other dogs and perhaps does not know how to behave?

I had originally thought that they would work themselves out, but it actually seems a bit worse today than it has been so far? She's had one or two very minor spats with the Sibe puppy, but this afternoon she was so worked up she was frothing at the mouth, thank god she was muzzled.

I am thinking we need to get a professional trainer in to assess the situation. This is not really something I want to attempt to tackle on my own. Does anyone have any recommendations for dog behaviourists in the Brissie area?

[huski]

Thanks for the input guys. I really do not know what I should do, as I would hate to unintentionally exacerbate the situation. Puggypuggy; yes, I corrected her when she started the fight with my Sibe puppy. She became very submissive/apologetic, cuddling up to me, putting her paws in my lap etc. She's an absolute angel with people, but not good with dogs. I am thinking she has probably had absolutely zero socialisation with other dogs and perhaps does not know how to behave?

I had originally thought that they would work themselves out, but it actually seems a bit worse today than it has been so far? She's had one or two very minor spats with the Sibe puppy, but this afternoon she was so worked up she was frothing at the mouth, thank god she was muzzled.

I am thinking we need to get a professional trainer in to assess the situation. This is not really something I want to attempt to tackle on my own. Does anyone have any recommendations for dog behaviourists in the Brissie area?

yep - will PM you

[Crest_Fallen]

Not knowing her background makes it really hard to assess. It sounds a little like she is trying to fit in to the pack and work out the hierarchy. I think getting a behaviourist in sounds like a great idea before you make any major decisions. Sorry I am in Perth so I can't recommend anyone.

Goodluck and I hope everything works out for all your furkids.

[puggy_puggy]

Well her responding to you telling her off is a good start.

I think that there is hope as she has only been with you for a very short time so yes she is still trying to find out how to fit in.

If I was in your situation I would keep her muzzled but continue to socalize her with the other dogs and repremand her when she does something wrong. Maybe try a spray water bottle as well as vocal repremand.

Do you feed them all together? Have her on a lead at this time and put down her bowl last.

And yes get in contact with the trainer you are recommended.

[Miss B]

yep - will PM you

Thanks Bec.

Not knowing her background makes it really hard to assess. It sounds a little like she is trying to fit in to the pack and work out the hierarchy. I think getting a behaviourist in sounds like a great idea before you make any major decisions. Sorry I am in Perth so I can't recommend anyone.

Goodluck and I hope everything works out for all your furkids.

Thank you. Yes it's very difficult without knowing her history. From what I can gather (I managed to track down her previous vet records) she was purchased from a Pets Paradise store and then basically dumped in someone's backyard. They didn't do any obedience with her, and she doesn't respond to her name (the one listed on her microchip). She had apparently ended up in the pound several times already.

We would dearly love to keep her as she's a gorgeous dog with a very loving and affectionate nature towards people. But I cannot risk the health and safety of my own dogs. Hopefully a trainer will be able to help us deal with this situation.

Well her responding to you telling her off is a good start.

I think that there is hope as she has only been with you for a very short time so yes she is still trying to find out how to fit in.

If I was in your situation I would keep her muzzled but continue to socalize her with the other dogs and repremand her when she does something wrong. Maybe try a spray water bottle as well as vocal repremand.

Do you feed them all together? Have her on a lead at this time and put down her bowl last.

And yes get in contact with the trainer you are recommended.

Yep she is very submissive towards people and hasn't shown even the slightest ounce of aggression towards us. As I said to my OH earlier today, if she was showing aggression towards people then this would be a whole other kettle of fish. But hopefully the dog-aggression issue is something we can resolve.

They are not fed together, no. The other dogs are fed outside, she is fed inside. They eat before she does.

I will get in touch with a trainer, and in the meantime I'll continue with the supervised play sessions.

[Nekhbet]

please tell me you have her on a leash at all times around your other dogs and not just letting her run around muzzled.

[Miss B]

please tell me you have her on a leash at all times around your other dogs and not just letting her run around muzzled.

Yes, she's on a lead when outside with the other dogs.

[Rusky]

With sibes and mals I generally would not rehome to a same sex home. There are exceptions obviously and I wish you luck that your new girl is just settling in and that this is not a serious ongoing situation.I am Hoping that huski can help you with someone and the situation is quickly sorted.