You may not remember me as I became a member back in June & then promptly stopped posting . I was the mommy to my Vladimir, who was 15yo on July 4th, and I was awaiting birth of a puppy at the end of the summer & was looking for advice, since it'd been so long since I'd had one. Everyone was more than welcoming with support, anecdotes, and of course, good, solid advice. Unfortunately, life became rather hectic throughout the rest of the summer, as I'm also a mom to 5 kids, ages 15-27, and I was seeing doctors for some severe neurological problems I was having, in which I was finally diagnosed as having long-term Lyme disease, and am now on home IV antibiotic therapy.

My daughter, Kristin, also became a member at the same time I did and shared pictures of her 9 yo husky, Mariah, whom she adopted 2 years ago from a breeder in Ohio. Kristin lived in OH at the time she posted, but then she and Mariah moved in with me and my new husband here in MD 2 months ago when she got a job. Mariah, who had also been a show dog and the alpha at her kennel, did initially show signs of aggression towards Vladimir, who is the antithesis of aggression, and had even bit him in an argument over territory (family room vs living room). It wasn't until Vladimir fought back that she backed off and they began living in a tentative peace. Kristin looked for apartments that would take dogs, but any that she found were out of her price range or too far away from her job. My husband and I told Kristin that, based on Mariah's behavior with the new puppy, we would keep her with us.

Fast forward to this past Monday when Kristin and I drove to OH to pick up our new little pupster, Damian, who was born on 8/8. His breeder is my friend and I spent the weekend at her house playing and sleeping with my new little pile of fluff & stuff. We were somewhat anxious when we brought him home, not so much about Vladimir but about Mariah, and so we introduced all the dogs outside the home. However, upon entering the home, Mariah began to give warning signs that Damian was not welcome near her. We all decided we had to watch them extra carefully and hoped that as time wore on, she would come to accept her new "pack member."

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Wednesday, after dinner, I took Damian into the family room with me and we let the big dogs out to eat. There was a lot of commotion and the next thing I knew, Damian went running into the kitchen. Mariah immediately bit him on what appeared to be his neck. It was awful. I immediately applied pressure and my husband and I rushed him, both of us barefoot and covered in blood, to the vet hospital. By the time we got there, the bleeding had stopped and we were relieved to learn that the actual puncture mark was behind his ear and looked worse than it was. After a shave and a cleaning (he looks like a rodent now from the neck up), a shot of antibiotics and pain meds, he was good to go home. But we were traumatized and consumed with guilt, and we knew this meant we could not adopt Mariah from my daughter, as we could not trust her again around the puppy.

We are in search for a home for her now. We have a couple of potential homes, and hopefully something local will pan out. We reached out to the breeder from whom my daughter adopted her, but were astounded when she refused help and advised us to just "put her down," as she claimed it would be easier on Mariah than trying to find a "9 yo dog" a suitable home. She also implied that we were just trying to "get rid" of a healthy, older dog in favor of a new puppy, which is not the case at all.

I have considered "aggression training", but with my illness now, money issues (I am not working), trying to look after a puppy, helping my daughter move, and doing my best to support my new blended family, I do not feel I have the energy in me to add another iron to my fire. Mariah was not my dog when I pre-paid for my puppy before he was even born, and my daughter was never expecting to not be able to find a reasonably priced apartment that would take dogs (they ALL take cats!). And Mariah's too big to be able to hide in a tiny apartment, or use a litter box! ( trying to throw some humor in a totally non-humorous situation... )

I have also contacted a Siberian Rescue group in my area, a dog rescue, and we were thinking of advertizing her on petfinder.com. The only problem I have with that is that I am not sure exactly who would get her, as at least with rescues, they often times know that the homes they are placing the animals in are good homes.

For us, the joy in having our new puppy is now tempered by the very realization that we'll be losing another family member. We would really appreciate any positive thoughts, prayers or advice you might be able to give us.

Thank you.

So sorry to hear this happen I know it's a difficult situation, and I hate to sound overstepping, but I hope that your daughter is a more active part in trying to find Mariah a home (from your post it sounds like it's just you, but if that is a misinterpretation, please ignore this comment). It is not your responsibility to care for Mariah, but your daughter's.

As for re-homing her, I think rescues will be your best bet and that is what I would do.

Koda doesn't get along great with other dogs besides Hailey. When we visit family, we keep him baby gated off from my parent's dog, for example. Until you can find her a forever home, I would invest in baby gates and keep Mariah separated from the pack.

If you want to try and work with them while they are both in your home, I would start walking them together. Eddy has a great thread in here about how he introduces new dogs. Until she is gone from your home, I would suggest doing these things to ensure a happy existence for both of you.

Our thoughts are with you and your family and I hope Mariah can find a forever home soon.

Tori, thank you so much for your post. And no, you were not overstepping. Kristin is trying to find a home too, and one of the potentials was her find. However, she works and I'm not, and even though Mariah was not my dog, I still love her and was willing to "make her" mine. And so I also feel invested in making sure she is happy and cared for in her life.

We do have Mariah separated from Damian. My stepson's room is in our small, finished basement and he is down there almost all the time, so she has human contact and seems content there. I also go down often to do laundry and make time to love on her. Also, when Damian is asleep in his crate, we let Mariah up and watch TV with us in another room. The weather is cooler now, too, so she sits outside on her lead, and my son continues to take her for long walks as soon as he gets home from school (she gained quite a bit of weight after being spayed and looks more like a polar bear than a husky!)

She is wonderful with humans, but not so much with other animals (she also tried to bite the cat once, too). When I place her, I will not lie to her potential owners as we were lied to (told that she was great with other dogs but that she might have a problem with cats) and make clear that without training, she should only be the only dog in the household.

She is still my lovey and this hasn't changed my feelings for her one bit. I don't believe she meant to hurt Damian. If she had wanted to, she could have easily killed him. However, it's obvious she doesn't know her own strength.

Thank you for your thoughts.

I'm so sorry to hear this You've only had Damian for a few days, right? When we first brought Kody home Mya (our 5yr old female) hated him! She attacked him twice and the first time drew a lot of blood from his nose. My suggestion would be to give Mariah time to adjust to him. It took us MONTHS (Tori knows how worried I was about them never getting along), but now they definitely get along. Given that Mya is the TOTAL Alpha and Kody really respects her. He's a sweetie and I know that's part of why it works.

Did Vladimir cross over the rainbow bridge? If so, I'm so so so sorry

Oh no, Melissa, our Vladimir is still with us, although his hips are starting to really give him trouble. He is on meds now and it seems to help, but I still have to pick him up from time to time as he has difficulty on slippery floors sometimes. He is very tolerant of Damian and only sends up a bark if Damian jumps on his lower back while he's laying. We discipline Damian not to do that, but Damian loves the old fart =) and loves to lay next to him.

My other issue is my husband. We were just married in January and he has never had a dog and really didn't want one (he was a cat person lol). However, he loved Vladimir and because my stepson joined with me to beg dad for a new puppy, he succumbed. Mariah, he never really liked because of her possesiveness over her toys (she growls if you get near them) and her treatment of Vladimir. However, she grew on him and when it looked like Mariah needed a home, he relented and said she could stay, so long as she was good with the new puppy.

When Mariah bit Damian, I had never seen my husband more freaked out and upset. He drove like a maniac to the vet hospital and was shaking like a leaf when we finally gave him to the techs and sat down. He is a VERY sensitive and very GOOD man, and after they told us Damian would be fine, he told me that he just couldn't have Mariah in the house to live anymore and that he had been so worried something like this might happen. He has been more than agreeable regarding the animals I've brought to our blended family while expressing his concerns up to now, and so I feel more than compelled to respect his wishes.

I am so glad that Mya and Kody are getting on well now. They are such beautiful dogs, and look like so much fun.

indigochild wrote:

Oh no, Melissa, our Vladimir is still with us, although his hips are starting to really give him trouble. He is on meds now and it seems to help, but I still have to pick him up from time to time as he has difficulty on slippery floors sometimes. He is very tolerant of Damian and only sends up a bark if Damian jumps on his lower back while he's laying. We discipline Damian not to do that, but Damian loves the old fart =) and loves to lay next to him.

My other issue is my husband. We were just married in January and he has never had a dog and really didn't want one (he was a cat person lol). However, he loved Vladimir and because my stepson joined with me to beg dad for a new puppy, he succumbed. Mariah, he never really liked because of her possesiveness over her toys (she growls if you get near them) and her treatment of Vladimir. However, she grew on him and when it looked like Mariah needed a home, he relented and said she could stay, so long as she was good with the new puppy.

When Mariah bit Damian, I had never seen my husband more freaked out and upset. He drove like a maniac to the vet hospital and was shaking like a leaf when we finally gave him to the techs and sat down. He is a VERY sensitive and very GOOD man, and after they told us Damian would be fine, he told me that he just couldn't have Mariah in the house to live anymore and that he had been so worried something like this might happen. He has been more than agreeable regarding the animals I've brought to our blended family while expressing his concerns up to now, and so I feel more than compelled to respect his wishes.

I am so glad that Mya and Kody are getting on well now. They are such beautiful dogs, and look like so much fun.

First, oh THANK GOD he's still with you!!!! When you wrote "was" Vladimir's mom I was like OHHH NOOO! Major relief here!

That's totally understandable! I know how it feels to have to be on edge and always worried about the new puppy being hurt. They're so innocent and just want to play. I truly hope that you're successful in finding Mariah a good forever home.

Thanks, those are my spoiled fur-brats

Please post some pics of Damian and Vladimir when you get a minute!!!

Thanks Melissa! I just posted pictures of Vladimir, Damian and Mariah in the scrapbook section. Go ahead & take a peak =).

i'm so sorry about this situation. i could NEVER imagine having to let one of my dogs go to a new home it would just eat me up inside but you have to do what is best for you. i'm glad that vladimir and the pup are getting along great! they are all just so adorable!

I'm sorry to hear about the situation and it must be so stressful for you on top of everything else.

I read the story of how Damian got bit closely and noticed that the dogs were eating? Has Mariah shown food aggression before? While very alarming, we had a similar experience to Melissa with our dogs having to duke it out before settling into their roles in the house. I wasn't there to see what happened, but in our case it wasn't aggression but a normal battle for hierarchy in the pack. The rescue had prepped us for this and gave us advice on how to handle it, and to hang in there. The stories here also helped, knowing that it would get better. Arooroomom was especially helpful with her candid stories of patching up her dogs while they worked it out, and it was great hearing that we weren't alone and that this was normal. My husband, much like yours, freaked out - but has now forgotten those stressful times . I know how upsetting this must be to you, especially since Damian is a puppy.

I see that Mariah also established her place with Vladimir when she moved in.
What sort of other behavior did Mariah show with Damian?

I realize that you may already be set to rehome her but I did want to pipe up to give Mariah a chance.

snrose wrote:

i'm so sorry about this situation. i could NEVER imagine having to let one of my dogs go to a new home it would just eat me up inside but you have to do what is best for you. i'm glad that vladimir and the pup are getting along great! they are all just so adorable!

Hi snrose! I am so with you on this. I can't imagine having to let Mariah go, and she's my *daughter's* dog.

However, there is some good news on the horizon. Since the shock & trauma of this whole thing is wearing off a bit on my husband, my daughter and I have been (behind his back... ) trying to reintroduce Mariah & Damian outside. The first time, Kristin held Damian outside while I had Mariah tight on her lead. Mariah approached Damian, the whole time tail wagging. When she got to Damian, she began to sniff him...he, on the other hand, put both paws on her face and started to lick her! We laughed and cried at the same time.

I have been in contact with Kelly from Tails of the Tundra Siberian Rescue, and she has been invaluable with helping me with aggression training. The first time I talked to her, I totally shut her down on that as we were all too traumatized to even think about it. But she has been appropriately persistant in telling me her story and offering all kinds of support.

I also took Damian for his first vet's visit yesterday, and my vet (whom I love) and her techs (whom I love) all told me their own horror stories (which I hated, but they all, but one, , had happy endings). It took away some of my guilt about what happened, and gave me encouragement that possibly we can still be a 3 Dog Night.... LOL (I think I've just dated us... ) Also, my vet gave me the name of a very reputable aggression trainer in our area, who takes payments! I have contacted him without my husband's knowledge. If all works out but David, (my husband) still does not wish to keep Mariah, at least I can be confidant that I have done all possible, and that she will have the training on her side which may make her more desirable should she still need to be re-homed.

This has been extremely difficult for our family. For those of you who can't imagine ever having to give up your dogs, please know that the pain you feel with even the thought of it is our pain every day, every hour, every minute. THIS IS NOT EASY NOR IS IT SOMETHING WE DESIRE. As I've said, I'm willing to go *behind my husband's back* to aggression-train Mariah, knowing that I may be spending money I really don't have to keep her, but may end up having to re-home her anyway. However, David is an excellent man, husband, lover and friend, and I am not willing to give up that relationship in order to adopt my daughter's "baby." She understands this as well, and as much as we want to make our furry babies our priority, there are others in our home that do take precedence.

I want to thank all of you who have posted and expressed your concern, encouragement and support. I am hoping that through our trials and tribulations today that I will eventually be able to also become a resource to others, a source of understanding, compassion, support and education to others. I asked my Sibe Rescue friend Kelly if she'd heard of this site, and she said immediately "oh yes!". She is not a member, but reads occasionally. I think that's great! You have "angels" on the outside, as well!

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

I'm sorry to hear about the situation and it must be so stressful for you on top of everything else.

I read the story of how Damian got bit closely and noticed that the dogs were eating? Has Mariah shown food aggression before?

Oh, Sam, absolutely! Mariah has been *ALPHA* from day one. Not just on food, but her territory and toys. She is the woman all of us desire to be! LOL (actually, my husband says she gets it from me... )

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

While very alarming, we had a similar experience to Melissa with our dogs having to duke it out before settling into their roles in the house.

Mariah and my own husky, Vladimir (age 15), had a similar experience. Poor Vlad, he was rather a "woose" dog, but eventually, he'd had it with her melodrama & bit her back eventually. As I've said before, they now have a cautionary truce, although she seems to be mellowing out a bit more since she's been "banished" but now has "absolute power!" over our finished basement (it now also houses her toys and food).

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

Arooroomom

OMG! I love that name!!!!! Wish *I'd* have thought of it!!!!

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

My husband, much like yours, freaked out - but has now forgotten those stressful times . I know how upsetting this must be to you, especially since Damian is a puppy.

Sam, you have no idea how encouraging this is to me. As each day goes by, I hope that David will mellow some and have faith that Mariah *can* be rehabilitated! (which, of course, is by human standards - I'm sure Mariah thinks she's just fine! )

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

I realize that you may already be set to rehome her but I did want to pipe up to give Mariah a chance.

Sam, you are one of many a chorus of "pipers" who have stood up for our Mariah. Although it hurts my heart to know that keeping her may be a slim possibility, the fact that there are those who are compassionate to the families involved but are also voices for Mariah & those like her, is encouraging. I feel that the key for me was the blame-free encouragement I have found on this site, and with the excellent help I've found from Siberian Rescues and compassionate vets and their teams. I think without that, I would have never considered any other alternative. If anyone had made me feel guilty or evil for "getting 'rid' of" Mariah, I would have probably not sought help from any other source & made a decision that would not have been in Mariah's best interests nor ours, just to try to put this behind me.

Thank you so much, Sam, and all of you who had posted before her. I know that I have compassion and support here and other places, and you've know idea how much that means.

God bless "It's A Husky Thing"....!

I'm glad to hear things are going better! You seem to have things in order now. Hopefully they will all calm down and accept one another. But if you do indeed have to rehome her, ask the rescue what all they do to find homes. They usually have an application, reference checks, and home visits. You want to make sure you feel like it will be a good home. But fingers crossed you can keep her!

SaraB wrote:

I'm glad to hear things are going better! You seem to have things in order now. Hopefully they will all calm down and accept one another. But if you do indeed have to rehome her, ask the rescue what all they do to find homes. They usually have an application, reference checks, and home visits. You want to make sure you feel like it will be a good home. But fingers crossed you can keep her!

Oh, most definitely! Although I am not a fan of Ms. Palin, I have to say that I am a "Grizzly Mama," both for my children and my furbabies!

So Sara, who is who in your pack?! I have posted in "Scrapbook." Let me know!

That's great news! Hang in there! It's definitely tough, very tough. After all the drama, my husband said "I'm so glad we have 2 huskies" this weekend and I smiled remembering how exhausting and emotional the beginning was.

The puppy licking her nose and her being ok with it are great! That's the puppy showing submission and her accepting it. Very good news.

The incident may have been caused by the puppy running towards her during mealtime - she was just standing up for herself and defending her food. It's not ideal, but it is normal dog behavior. Definitely pursue the training if you're comfortable with the trainer's methods. Any additional training is going to be great for her, and help you and her bond.

Nothing in life is free (NILIF) training will help tremendously. Once she settles in and realizes you're the boss - it'll all fall into place. She's had alot of turmoil moving away from your daughter and she's in a new house. She's already stressed out. And along comes this small bouncy thing trying to take her food! If she wanted to do real harm, she would have gone for the soft part of the neck and shaken him. It was a warning. Maybe the snapping escalated into biting - or the puppy ran moved and the snapping turning into biting. Understanding the escalation of warnings in dogs allows you to watch your dogs and know when to step in.

While Chili still regularly puts his sister in her place, he does know that we're the boss and we don't tolerate him being a brat. For example, he'll be a brat and block the walkway in the kitchen. She respects that he's the boss and won't go past him - but we make him get up for us or we step over him - and call Frosti over to us. Both of them know that we're the pack leaders and will protect them, and provide for them. When we first got him, Chili definitely relaxed once he figured this out and started trusting us. He still wants to be the boss of all the dogs wherever we go - but he knows we're the boss of HIM.

Just a note about reintroducing them - do so while taking them for a walk so they're side by side. It's less of a challenge to her. It really does reinforce that they're a pack. Even during the darkest days with us, all was well during our side by side walks. Once they're tired and you're back in the yard - let them sniff each other on loose leashes. A tight leash can force a dog into a "dominant" type of pose that can be misinterpreted by the other dog.