If all goes well with the visit we'll bring her home.

Have you requested that the foster hold Koda Bear for you? That way they'll know you are more then merely interested.

Congrats!!! Small world - I saw Five Sibes post her on Facebook and showed her to hubby thinking she's soooooooooooo adorable!!!!!!! We're no where near Florida but I love seeing cute huskies! I hope you get her! Yes - tell them you're VERY interested and will get her if the meet and greet goes well!

It's funny - no matter which dog we were interested in on the rescue website - Chili got to choose the dog in the end! We even named the other girl he didn't chose! He ignored Frosti when they met and they just walked well together, instead of growling at the other girls he did some "speed dating" with. I think we tried all the females at the rescue that day - incl the 140 lb mal girl (omg - that went badly).

And Frosti went against all of our requirements : she was under 2 (we didn't want a crazy puppy), she had separation anxiety, she escaped regularly. But in the end - we got a super cute, girly girl (yet tomboyish) husky that brings a smile to our face every time we see her!

Best of luck and I can't wait to see the pics!

The foster knows that we're very interested, so I don't think that will be a problem. She realizes if the home visit goes well we want to take her home. I wish that we could take Drake with us, but it's a 3 hour drive (one way) and I think it would traumatize him and not be worth the trouble. At least he is young and loves EVERY dog he meets, so I'm not anticipating any issues.

The foster seems to think she'll be a good match, she described her as sweet, cuddly, playful, and extremely affectionate, but she just needs reassurance that it's okay to do certain things, i.e. jump on the couch, etc. She thinks she came from an abusive situation and that's why she eats up their affection, but also makes sure she has their approval before trying something new.

I get the impression that the lady from the rescue, however, thinks that Nicky would be a better match for us because she is SO confident and outgoing and hyper to the max. She thinks that a dog like that would be better for Drake but I have my doubts, and my husband isn't crazy about her. Since he is the one allowing us to even get a 2nd dog, which a few days ago was out of the question, I think I need to at least allow him to get one he really likes. And for some reason he doesn't really like Nicky.

I tend to think that a sweet and affectionate dog will be just as good for him as a hyper and super confident dog. And honestly I'm kind of scared about Nicky rubbing off on him because I think if he was completely comfortable he could be a little crazy himself. I don't want two psycho huskies running around and being more than I can handle!

What do you all think of the situation? What warning signs should I look for and what are things that I should and should not take into consideration??

Just see how the visit goes, but if something seems off, like she's too scared of things, don't feel bad about not bringing her home. I honestly think a slightly older sibe who's confident, friendly, and a little bit more mellow would be best, but there are young ones who act the same.

I think the best match is a sweet, friendly, well-behaved husky. Drake will learn behaviours from copying him/her, so if you get an over-the-top hyper husky I don't think that would be such a good match. Besides, you will still need to do a lot of work with Drake, so it's better if the new husky already knows (mostly) how to behave, that way you don't have too much on your plate at once. I think Koda Bear sounds like a really good match. Your husband's opinion is important too, and gut feeling matters. Good luck with the visit.

Have you decided if you're going today to go look at her?? I can't wait to hear the news!!

We can't go today. She has to get her microchip in this week, so we will be driving down first thing Saturday morning!

I can hardly wait either, my husband and I are both very anxious to meet her and bring her home with us!!

I'm sure! I'm excited just to hear the news, i can only imagine how y'all are feeling hehe

Congrats!!

Well, we've had a little bit of drama with Koda Bear, but we've decided to go ahead and bring her home and give her a chance anyway.

Basically Koda Bear has had some altercations with the foster's other dogs. Both are older females who she said are spoiled and think Koda Bear is a nuisance. That already doesn't make for a very good relationship, but she's said that it's become apparent that Koda Bear is an alpha female. Apparently she's nipped both females, but not drawn blood or anything, just asserting herself. They wanted to let me know in case we were uncomfortable with that.

Chris and I discussed this together, as well as with Janet from the rescue and the foster mom. All of us were in agreement that we will go ahead with a trial run for Drake and Koda Bear. We think that our situation is different in several aspects and that she will probably get along with drake much better.

First of all, Drake will be THRILLED to see her. He loves other dogs and will not treat her as an intruder or an annoyance. He is also a submissive dog, so they won't be fighting over who is the alpha. And also, the fact that they're opposite sex should help as female dogs have a harder time establishing a pecking order (that's at least what I've read). Anyway, the foster just emphasized how sweet and loving she is, said she doesn't show any aggression to dogs on walks, etc. I just wondered what you guys thought.

I think you said she's young, right? A younger female coming into an already established pack of 2 older females... You're going to see some problems. Nothing that would last too long... I'm sure if that was supposed to be her forever home things would work out or be worked out.

She may be a bit pushy with drake, perhaps pushing him out of the way for affection from you. Or not, really can't tell much about her from just reading posts. I think the most important thing would be to keep working with Drake individually and using her as a leverage to get to him. I think what the fosters were originally thinking with Drake is that he should be an only dog in fear that others would steal the attention from him and give less time for the new owners to spend working with him. Personally I think that can be accomplished as long as said person is committed to working with the dog.

SaraB wrote:

Just see how the visit goes, but if something seems off, like she's too scared of things, don't feel bad about not bringing her home. I honestly think a slightly older sibe who's confident, friendly, and a little bit more mellow would be best, but there are young ones who act the same.

Oh my goodness, isn't that the truth! Haha, our foster Bodhi is like the golden dog around here compared to the puppies.

rnelsen wrote:

First of all, Drake will be THRILLED to see her. He loves other dogs and will not treat her as an intruder or an annoyance. He is also a submissive dog, so they won't be fighting over who is the alpha. And also, the fact that they're opposite sex should help as female dogs have a harder time establishing a pecking order (that's at least what I've read). Anyway, the foster just emphasized how sweet and loving she is, said she doesn't show any aggression to dogs on walks, etc. I just wondered what you guys thought.

I think everyone else had good points too. And Rachel, I think you're right, I think Drake will do great with her. I don't think he would mind having an alpha female around. Probably just what he needs!

Neptune is definitely an alpha male, so it's a bit humorous to see a 4 month old puppy not back down from an older dog. Bodhi doesn't seem to care less about his rank, as long as he gets his own dish of food handed to him.

Keep us posted on Koda Bear! (And her new name! heehee)

Oh my goodness!! How exciting!! Congrats on the new addition!!!!

good luck with her hope it goes well with Drake.

we had a foster female for a few days, young, sierra was NOT happy and they got into it a few times till the last time blood was almost drawn, we knew then it was not a good fit for either girl and since we were not keeping the foster we found another foster to take her in. but when we dog sit our friends male jack is as happy as a clam and sierra "puts up" with him for the time he is with us. so we know we can bring in other males but not females.

Well, I will start off by saying...towards people, Koda Bear is a lover. Oh my goodness, this girl is pure sweetness. 30 minutes into the car ride home she was lying in my husbands lap, when we got home she was licking us both in the face and is asleep on the couch with my husband. She is PRECIOUS.

Towards other dogs....well, let's just say she's a bit of a fighter.
I knew this was a possibility, as the foster warned me about her initial aggression towards her older female dogs. I had been HOPING that this was due to them being older, female, and not very friendly. When we got home, we first introduced Drake and Koda outside, on leashes. He was immediately happy to see her, they licked each other and sniffed, and then all of a sudden, SNARLING. Scary snarling, and not from Drake but from her lol. We eventually brought them inside, Drake immediately wanted to play. He was jumping around, they were pawing at each other, at first it looked like they were participating in typical husky wrestle...until the snarling started again. This sweet girl bares her teeth and makes a noise you wouldn't think such a pretty little thing could make. We weren't really sure if she was playing (and maybe raised with a pack of pitbulls to explain the growling?!) or if she was upset and didn't like him. Both of their tails were wagging and it was hard to tell. They would fight a little, and then just walk around, and when Drake would go up to her to sniff she's turn around and snap/snarl. We ended up just crating them one at a time to eat and now Drake is in his crate in the living room and we're letting Koda explore and she's sleeping on the couch.

I am trying not to be too concerned too soon about this. We would both be DEVASTATED if we had to give her back. We're already in love with her and want this to work between them SO badly. I'm sure they just need some time to acclimate and get used to each other. I don't think this is some general aggression towards dogs...we took her to Petco before coming home to pick out a new collar, etc. And she was an angel towards all the other dogs in there. She sniffed, licked them in the face, wagged her tail, nothing aggressive at all. And we walked her here and encountered several different dogs. Even when they were barking their heads off at her, she seemed completely unphased. I don't know if it's a territorial thing or what, but does anyone have some advice?!?

Can you get a video? That would really help. Crating and rotating may be the best bet now and walking them together as often as possible (maybe Drake won't be so nervous to walk with another dog?)

I took a couple when they were first together today, I'll try to upload them....but she just bit Drake.
He'd been leaving her alone for the most part, she was laying on the floor and every time he would walk by (not even paying attention to her) she would bare her teeth and start a low growl. Chris and I would say, "Koda, No!" firmly every time. I had Drake in the kitchen and was feeding him some turkey. Koda got up and came in there and sat next to him. I fed her a piece, him a piece, etc. Drake backed out of the kitchen and then came back in a few seconds later to get a piece from me. As soon as he walked up beside her (again, not even paying attention to her just walking by), she turned around and bit him on the side of the face. It didn't draw blood, but it scared me to death. I told her no, bad girl, and put her in her crate. Poor, Drake. I'm crying right now because it scared me so much, I feel like a bad mommy for putting him through this.

well you needed to diffuse the situation, Its alot to take on with a new addition to the family. wish you the best of luck. I like to see updates on Drake and home both turn out to be a great family there! Do what you need to asses situation and take it slowly. What I have learned with "Miss Thang" Cali is she has to be fed away from all dogs no matter if its treats or food.

Rachel! Don't cry, it's OK! This is the first day home, there are going to be issues. You need to look at the positives, she didn't break skin. And you now also know food/treats are a trigger for her. Odin was like her in the begging. Would get downright nasty over food, he has done what you just described many times in the beginning. What I did was give a big loud deep NO and out they went into the laundry room or bathroom. No other interaction than the big NO and being put away. After 10 minutes or so they would come back out, as long as they aren't fussing.

Well, the thing is I'm not sure if it was purely "food" triggered, just because she would bare her teeth at him any time he so much as walked by her (when there wasn't food or treats). I don't know if it was a combination of the food and the fact that he walked up next to her...

Sara suggested that I put them in a room together with their crates closed and facing each other...they've been in there about 30 minutes and I haven't heard a peep.

Chris and I have talked about this a lot tonight, and here are our concerns we just discussed.

The foster warned us that Koda had bitten (snapped at) her other dogs, and that she snarled and growled at them her first day. My husband had said he was comfortable still giving it a trial run since that's common for dogs to work that sort of thing out on their own. He has had a bit of a change of heart tonight though, because he said Drake is different than most dogs. Other dogs are about the ONLY thing he isn't already afraid of, so he doesn't want Koda to make him scared of something else, and just about the only thing that actually helps him.

Also, we are both concerned that this will be an ongoing process. We don't want to be scared to take her to a park, have her around my parents' dog, etc and be constantly worried she's going to bite them. My parents treat their dog like a child and I know it would be AWFUL if Koda were to attack her.

Did the foster say she eventually warmed up to their dogs after the initial growling and snapping?

Well, apparently the greyhound (who was a 12-year old female) was terrified of her after the biting incident...so they stayed separated for the most part. Sitka was the other husky, and she said that the next day they seemed better. They would kind of keep an eye on each other, but no fighting (Sitka didn't fight back either). But one thing they did together that Drake and Koda can't are taking walks. She took Sitka and Koda on long walks several times a day, and Drake isn't at the point where he can do that. ESPECIALLY if he's become scared of Koda. I was hoping he would be able to walk with her after they bonded and became "friends".

But it's hard to tell because Koda was only with the foster for one week. She was picked up last Wednesday from the shelter.

Have you tried walking with them both? I don't think he'd be as nervous with another dog... Perhaps do a 3 husky walk with your neighbor? Unless Drake has socalization issues, one snap from Koda isn't going to make him terrified of her. Mishka was very scared of dogs when I got her, we worked through it and she's fine. Her and my dads dog have gotten into it a few times and theyre fine, and she's fine. It's mostly about the human handling their emotions and being strong, less about the dog.

arooroomom wrote:

Have you tried walking with them both?

I would try a 1:1 Ratio of human to husky. I would have someone walk Drake while you walk the new husky.