Hello, I'm new here and I've come looking for advice. I have a full stock, 8 year old, spayed wooly husky female named Zoe. Last week we adopted a full stock 7 year old spayed husky female named Tasha. (In my avatar pic, Zoe is standing next to my husband in the background and Tasha is standing in front of my daughter). Zoe hasn't been around another dog for some time, but Tasha lived with her 2 year old puppy in her previous home and was not aggressive with her. We arranged a neutral Territory for them to meet and they were immediately aggressive with one another (instigated by Zoe). We separated them and have been keeping them apart but trying to socialize them by walking them together. When we are walking, they are wonderful together and do not attempt to fight with one another at all. Last night we had beautiful weather and took them on a long walk together. They got along beautifully. Then as soon as we went into our driveway, Tasha instigated a fight with Zoe and in the process of separating them, I got bit (not sure which one got me, but it did break skin).

These are both outside only dogs. Zoe has a 7000 square foot fenced in yard and we hope to be able to put Tasha in there as well so they can be companions with one another, but I've got to figure out some way to put a stop to the aggression between these two. Do you have any suggestions?

They were aggressive to each other at the first meet and greet and you still brought the new dog home? Maybe some other members can help nut personally I would have not commited to the new dog if there are known issues with them not getting along.

Yea their first meeting was a red flag, IMO. There are different types of aggression (territorial, dominance, redirected, fearful, possessive, etc.) It sounds more dominance to me, and they may be juxing for position. Also, sometimes having two females, or two males can cause a problem as well. A lot of people mix up the sexes for that reason. I've never had a problem with that, but I know some people that have (two female Jack Russells). If your really attached to her, try contacting a trainer and have a consultation with him/her. That would be my first step if it were me. Your doing the right thing by having them walk together. Also, if your feeling tense about a situation, the dogs will pick up on it and react to it, so on the next meeting try doing some breathing exercises and slow your heart-rate and relax I wish you all the best with your new addition! Hopefully someone with more experience will give you more in depth advise.

Well actually, the first meeting was after we brought her home. The dogs did not meet prior to us adopting her. Unfortunately, we live in rural Kentucky, and finding a trainer is not an option for us because there are none anywhere close by.. I'm not tense about the situation, in fact I was very calm and happy after the walk because they had gotten along so beautifully. When the fight occurred, my husband helped me to separate them and neither of us went into hysterics or anything like that. We just stepped in quickly to prevent them from hurting one another.

Our dogs got along fine until we get in our truck - and our boy was super territorial at home. But I'm not sure about the first meeting being bad...

Ok - first question - what do you mean by aggressive. What exactly happened, step by step?

Our rescue advised us to allow the boy to establish his territory and teach the new one the house rules for 2 days - but to stop any full on fights. Spats were ok - and stopped by yelling and spraying them with a water spray bottle. We did have a few bad bite-y episodes with bloodshed (a puncture of two) - and would pull them apart by pulling on their back legs (like a wheelbarrow). Don't get your hands in between them (learned the hard way!). We were advised they would just got more and more time without fights, until they got along all the time. First three weeks were rough (and we still have to keep them separated while eating) and now it's fine with an occasional spat.

Oh! And where they on leash at the first meeting? Tight leash? Is the new one fighting back?

During the first meeting, they were both on leashes but not tight. We let them see each other from a distance by walking on opposite sides of the path and gradually became closer to one another. When we got close enough that they could touch we thought they would sniff each other and make up. They did sniff each other, but all of a sudden Zoe became very alert and growled at Tasha and then Tasha was on alert and then they just lunged at each other, growling, snarling, and biting at each other's faces. After we separated them, we put Zoe back in the main kennel and put Tasha in a smaller kennel that is about 20 feet away from the main kennel so they could see each other and become accustomed to another dog being around. We walked the separately, and then after a few days of this we began walking them together. The first walk we walked them together but on opposite sides of the path without ever letting them get close enough to touch or sniff each other up close. Yesterday we walked them and after the first lap we allowed them to get closer and closer to one another until they could sniff and walk beside one another. They did very well and got along beautifully. They took turns sniffing each other and we gave them each a treat for being so good. There was no food jealousy and they didn't try to nip at each other or anything. We walked 3 more laps and they both acted well. They weren't actively playing with each other or anything like that, but they were tolerating each other with some indifference. Then when we went into our driveway, Zoe stepped off the path and began sniffing the ground and suddenly Tasha ran up on her and nipped at her nose and then they were growling, snarling, lunging/ biting again. My husband grabbed Zoe (by the collar) and I grabbed Tasha and I tried to turn her around to lead her away and that's when she inadvertently bit me on the thigh. We immediately took them back to their respective kennels.

Was Tasha playing with the nip? was it an invitation to play and Zoe didn't understand it because she's not soclalized with other big dogs?

I'm not sure if she was inviting her to play or not. When it happened, she looked very on-alert and not relaxed at all. If it was and Zoe just misunderstood, how would I go about helping her to socialize?

Oh wow this one hurts to read. Last year Sept 2010, I brought a female Malamute (Tinola) home hoping to be Adobo's playmate, lasted all of 3 days before Tinola flat out would have killed Adobo if I hadn't intercepted the action. Also got bit breaking up the fight, if thats what it was to be called. Adobo was on extreme high alert from the moment Tinola arrived. What really caught my eye is that you mention they walked together just find. That was exactly how Adobo & Tinola were, you would have thought they were best friends, but at home Tinola became a total bitch. It turned into a total over whelming defeat in my eyes for trying to give a dog a great home

I really can't offer any advice other then keep a very watchful eye on the two of them. With both of them entering their senior years I'm sure they both are rather set in their ways

We're still working on it. Sometimes they are great together (always supervised) and other times they are at each others throats. I don't know what sets them off, and I won't kennel them together because I am afraid if I do that one of them will get hurt.

Put the girls together in the big kennel today. They are treating each other with a high level of indifference, so not acting like the best of friends, but are not fighting at all! I feel like this is a success, and hopefully they will make up with each other more the more time they spend with each other.

I think your well on the good path. Once they realize they can't keep kicking each others butt they learn to accept each other.

I guess I spoke too soon. When my husband and I went out to feed them, before we even got to the kennel, Tasha jumped Zoe and they had the worst fight they've ever had. Zoe has bite marks on her nose and a long place on her forehead where she was grazed by a tooth. This is the first time blood was drawn. It took me and my husband a few minutes to separate them because they were both so riled up.

We had both gone out there so that we could take each to opposite ends of the kennel and feed them separately, but I guess Tasha smelled the food and acted before we even had a chance to get in there with them. Tasha's former owners said that she never showed food aggression with their other dog

I'm really at wits end here. How do you deal with food aggression?

Have you been able to work out the cause of the aggression? The reason I'm asking is that it doesn't sound like food aggression/resource guarding from your post, because the fight started before you even got to them with the food. And the previous time, when returning from the walk, there wasn't any food around? Is that correct? I'm just wondering because if you can identify the source of the problem then that will help with finding a strategy to deal with it.

Is Tasha a fearful dog? I am not sure if you can trust what the previous owner said because sometimes people are not honest when rehoming dogs.

I suppose it is always an option to keep them in their separate kennels, but it would be much nicer if they can learn to be friends with each other. It's a pity there aren't any trainers nearby, because that would be the best option, but there are lots of dog training videos on the internet these days so maybe there will be one out there to help you. I think a good rule of thumb to begin with is to reward any positive interactions between them (setting a high threshold to start with so that even being at a distance and behaving nicely gets a reward). I would be wary of using any negative reinforcement-type training as it risks making the situation worse.

It may just take time. The rescue told us that they would fight with less and less frequency as time went on - until they got along all the time. It's been over 6 months now and they're right. It's 1000 times better now. There's still tension over food and some toys but we can verbally control them in those situations now. Seems like the biting turned into snapping farther and farther away - now it's just a warning to remind his sister who's top dog!

I just figured that it was the food because he and I had been outside to check on them several other times and they were fine, but when we came out with the bowl of food, Tasha immediately jumped her. The last time, there wasn't any food around, either.

Tasha isn't fearful at all, she and Zoe both have similar temperaments when they are separate. They are both really sweet and happy dogs. Tasha is very submissive to my kids, rolls over and wants her belly petted anytime any human is around her. She's obedient and follows my commands. We interacted with Tasha and her previous owners for about an hour before we brought her home, and they seemed to have a strong bond with her and were really sweet people.

Zoe is extremely sweet and playful by herself. She's anything but obedient, but she's really good with my kids and doesn't try to jump on them or anything like that. She's a little overweight and doesn't have as high energy as Tasha does, but we're hoping that as she slims down, she will regain her energy level.

When separate, both dogs are very submissive to me and the rest of my family.

It sounds like they are both very sweet dogs. Like Sam said, I think you have to expect it to take time. Tasha has just come to a new home that she has to get used to. Zoe isn't used to sharing her space and her people with another dog. Maybe neither of them is used to spending time around a dog that they didn't already know, so they need to re-learn their doggy manners. They both have to adjust to their new circumstances. A few minor issues are to be expected; the blood on the last fight is a concern since it's the first time blood was drawn.

Make sure that you praise them whenever they are being good around each other (a 'good girl', affection or treats, whatever works best for you). That way they will learn that good things happen when they are near the other dog. I know you are keeping a close eye on them while they get to know each other; if you keep breaking up the fights then it doesn't give them a chance for it to become habit that they are aggressive with each other.

If you feel like doing some training with the dogs, on any commands or tricks that you feel like, that might help too because it will get the dogs used to listening to you. It will eventually carry over so that when they are not behaving, they are still more likely to listen. You will have to train them separately though because it's impossible to train two dogs at once!

I'm not willing to give up yet. I just don't want to see one of them get seriously hurt in a scuffle. Zoe's poor nose is all swollen up today around her eyes because of the bite yesterday. We took them on a long walk today but never allowed them to get close enough to touch one another. Zoe acted like she was afraid of Tasha and would try to walk in the ditch anytime she thought Tasha was getting too close. I kept Tasha on a shorter leash and tried using the leash higher on her neck under her ears because she has a bad habit of pulling during the walk anyway, and that seemed to help her to stay beside me and not pull, and also didn't give her the chance to go after Zoe, but if we got close, Zoe showed definite avoidance. There was one point when my husband was walking ahead of us with Zoe and Tasha tried to dart at her and I corrected her quickly.

The only advice I can give has already been given. Scuffles and SLIGHT aggression can be normal (see my stories on Koda and Hailey) and I normally say to let them work it out on their own. However, this situation seems to be a little more than "slight". I would then suggest the advice of a trainer.

Are you SURE there are none in your area? I would call local shelters. They almost ALWAYS have a trainer or behaviorist on call or on their staff and they might be able to suggest one near you. In areas like yours, trainers might travel an hour or so for a client.

Don't give up on them or the search for a professional. Good luck.