Since we before we picked Isis up we've had plans of being a two dog household, and now we seem to have found a possible match.

We're looking at a 1 year old, Male, 54lb, fixed, Red/white, blue eye boy to hopefully be friends with our 1 year old, female, 35lb, fixed, black/white, blue eye girl.

Isis seems more curious and excited to play with other dogs, but so far, we've only had one "play" experience. She doesn't have very good manners, but then again, most of the time her "other dog" experience has been with dogs half her size or less.

We will certainly have the dogs meet at a neutral area well before we make a decision on bringing him home, but are there any red flags we should look out for right away? The rescue seems to be very dedicated to making sure they place a dog in the right home, and that everyone will get along, but it will help my peace of mind to know what I'm looking for as well.

Well if your doing it with a rescue that personee should be trained to see red flags right away.if you meeting at a dog park maybe show up 10 or so min eairly so isis can run out some engery. Clearly a stright for the neck lunge is not a good sign, since she has had some play dates think back to how she was then. Watch body movement is the tail tucked under on either dog, are the hackles up, teeth showing? Those are signs to look for. Have you looked at some of our videos to see what rought husky play looks like, that will show you what is normal.

Oh I can't wait to see pics and see how it goes! Thanks for adopting!

I'm sure they'll know, since it's a Husky rescue, I'm sure they're well versed in what is normal husky play and what isn't. I guess I'm just being the concerned parent here. I'm more worried about the poor manners of Isis honestly, since she's still early in her socializing, but as I said, she's never shown outright aggression toward any other dog.

Going early is a good idea, even more so because it will be a long car ride to get there. Speaking of which, a trainer at petsmart told us that they have herbal calming pills for car rides, since Isis tends to whine in the car. I don't really want to do anything to alter her mood before meeting the other dog, but I also don't want her stressed when she gets there. Would a 10 minute jog around the block be enough to get her back to normal after the stress of the car ride? Would it be a big mistake to give her an herbal calming pill for the ride, when we know she's meeting another dog?

With the other dog (a bulldog), he mostly ignored her and wanted our attention. She nipped at his ears and neck some, but not hard bites. There were a few times that things got a little heated but a loud "hey" quickly calmed them down.

When Ginger plays with Storm, her hackles are standing straight up, so that may not necessarily be an indication. Since you are more in tune with Isis's signs, you almost need to rely on the volunteer's knowledge of the other husky to watch so that any aggressions can be stopped right away.

When I do adoptions for the husky rescue I volunteer for, I will always suggest that we bring the adoptable husky to the potential adopter's home. This way, you can see how both dogs will react in the environment they will ultimately be in majority of the time together. Of course, have the two meet outside of your home first, suggest to go for a walk around the block, and see how they do on the walk. If they're OK, then bring them into your home and see how they do in your home. If you go to a dog park and there are other dogs, they maybe interested in the other dogs at the park and you won't get to see how they do together. I've had meet/greets at a dog park where they seem to be OK with each other, but they didn't really pay attention to each other at the dog park, and once they got home, it didn't go as well, so we had to take the husky back.

Isis has only freely played with another dog once, and has never been aggressive toward anyone/anything while in our care. The closest thing I've seen so far was a rock that for some reason offended her and caused her to raise her hackles and stare it down.

I know that the rescue is going to have us come to them for the first meeting, mainly because they are an hour away, and want us to have the chance to meet other dogs if the first color choice isn't the best fit for our family. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to do a second meeting in our house, to make sure that the dogs get along there as well, once we've seen that they can be friendly in public (or at the foster parents house).

The rescue that's has the dog is sending a local rescue's volunteer out to do our home inspection tomorrow, so I know cost is an issue as well.

what rescue are you adopting from?

Also, for a picture of the "little" guy.

snrose wrote:

what rescue are you adopting from?

Pet Harbor Rescue and Referral Inc.
http://www.petharbor.org/

he is so handsome!!

oh yeah ive heard of that one. there is one in fredericksburg too i think..

snrose wrote:

he is so handsome!!

oh yeah ive heard of that one. there is one in fredericksburg too i think..

Petfinder lists Saint as located in Fredericksburg.

I agree with Claudia, I always try and have them "meet" at a dog park or other place where there's no leashes and no pressure. Then we do a walk together and usually at that point it's clear if there's an issue or not. I'll then bring them into the backyard together and my dogs are OK with other dogs being in the yard/house but if they were unsure i'd allow the new dog to walk around and sniff first and then let my own dog follow behind after a few minutes to adjust.

must be where i've heard of them then, haha. fredericksburg is about 45 minutes away from my parents house

Saint looks like a big boy for being one! and you know me and reds... hes a cutie! hope it works out!

Thanks, we're crossing our fingers!

We have our home tour tomorrow, and hopefully we'll be able to set up a dog meeting for sometime next week.

He's sooo cute! good luck!!

He's adorable! Good luck!

I'm with Claudia. Kody's hackle's are always up when playing with Mya, but he means no harm whatsoever. If anything she would be the one to cause an "issue", but her hackles are always down


He always does the lunging thing, but he just wants to play. He just gets so excited! He's one and almost 4 months old.

Anyways, good luck!!! Fingers crossed for you and Isis!

Thanks for the luck!

Today is the house inspection. Can anyone give me a heads up of what they might be looking for?

clean home, TALL fence with NO holes, no junk in the yard to cause harm to the dogs, good area for the dogs to be in. how you interact with isis and how she seems in the home.

Well, we don't have a fence yet, but we did put that in the application. We've gotten a few estimates on fences, but we'll only be able to build it 6' tall anyway.

This is the part I'm most worried about. I'm a pretty private person, and I don't even let my friends explore every part of the house. Will they just need to see where the dog hangs out, or the every room in the house?

i have never done a visit i just know what we were told to look for so im not sure if they will go in every room. do you have tie outs in the back for isis? can you tell them your daily routine of taking her out and such to show she gets plenty of exercise and potty breaks. that fact that you are making it work for one should show you can make it work for 2. again, got to sell yourself when they are there also 6" should be great on the height that is what we look for. make sure you tell them you will be building the fence shortly.

Well, the home visit went well! Hopefully the rest will go well.

awesome news!

We got our approval to adopt pending a meeting with Saint!

Yay everyone! Good luck!

That's great news!