I let the dogs out to go potty and hear dogs fighting... jump up and look outside and see Dakota (new rescue) standing over Bella (very shy rescue) biting her face. I yell no and he let go and she got up and ran off shaking her head and hair flying all over. He at least stopped. Looked close at her and she doesn't have any punctures or anything. I am wondering if it happened because he tried to hump her and she got tired of it because he has been trying and she sits down and kind of nips and Chase just lets him do it and walks so he falls off. Do you think that's what this was? What if it happens and I'm not home? Do you think he'd actually hurt her? He's HUGE compared to her! Any advice!?!?!?!

I don't have much experience with it at all but I'd keep them crated when you can't watch them.

Fights are very typical in the beginning. You just got him so i'd make sure that anytime they are together you are with them so you can pull him off Bella when he humps her and remove him so he gets it. Bella is shy as is- you don't need him bullying her. With all my new dogs (foster or otherwise) I never leave them alone unattended. If you go out or leave the room he should be put up or they should follow you.

Something as stupid as letting them out to go potty can turn into something like this in the beginning.

We do not let Blaze and Kerian out with out one of us outside watching over their play to make sure it doesn't get aggressive.

They do play rought but no blood has been shedd.

We have only had Kerian 3 weeks now they do play rought but I think that is Huskie play.

I never had to deal with that with Chase and Bella so I didn't even think about it! She seems to be doing good and I am glad she stood her ground with him so he knows its not ok. Since then it has been very quiet in our house. He knows he's in trouble. They will no longer be left unattended even for 2 minutes for a bathroom break. I had just let them out and had turned around to get something inside.

It's OK Jessica, it happens!

Yeah girl, it's OK! Been there, done that! And I have a major diva on my hands. Mya is the total Alpha and have to watch her with the other 2. Took me about 4-5 months to leave her and Kody unattended for a few minutes. For exp, while doing dishes, showering, or in the yard for a few minutes while I did something inside. Now with Asia it's back to step one. I don't leave them alone unattended at all. If I shower, they go in their crates. Kody and Asia are BFF's and just the other day they actually got into a little spat when their play got too rough and Kody actually grew some balls and put Asia in her place

This was scary with us too. Delilah is a very dominant dog and this was her house first. She is a rescue and we knew a puppy was the best option for her, thus we got Cato. The first week was torture. She refused to share anything with him, she wouldn't lay within 3 feet of him, and she tried to nip at him whenever he had a meal.

All you can do is supervise everything. Don't blame yourself if they do get into it, and give it time. Thankfully Huskies are pack driven, because eventually they catch on, even Delilah the Butthead.

You can do it!

As they have said, it happens and it will be okay it just takes time. Each of us must learn about our dogs, I have learned with my girls that there is no standard when it comes to this breed. The dogs need to figure out who is who in the pack is where it seems to start at least in my girls. After a few days of disagreements among the girls- things have really settled down. It takes time and I wish you the best of luck.

I just took them all out to potty and was breaking up the humping sessions between Dakota and Chase and I decided to sit down. The boys came over and Bella actually wondered over and he turned and bared his teeth at her! I immediately said no and turned his face towards me. He did it multiple times he even did it just now as I was typing this in the house. Outside it was almost like he was claiming Chase, he laid his head on Chase's back.

He's trying to guard you. When he did that I would have immediately given a verbal correction and removed him from the area and put him away for a few minutes. And then bring him back out.

This is how I integrate new dogs:

They are the bottom of the totem pole. 100% the BOTTOM. They get everything last and must earn it just like the others.

They follow the exact same rules. They WILL sit before they eat, they WILL wait for me to serve them (after the others,) they will not hump, they will not get on the couch... ect. ect.

They are basically ignored. This may sound mean or harsh but I basically treat them like furniture which needs to be walked and fed. They are interacted with positively when they've done something positive. Such as play well with the other dogs, waits appropriately for whatever, doesn't push their way to the front... ect. ect.

If they do something inappropriate it is immediately verbally corrected with an ah-ah as well as body blocked if that so applies. If it's nastiness towards another dog they are corrected verbally and immediately removed from the situation no fuss. Timeout is in the laundry room and they stay in there for a few minutes or until I can see they are calm (no pacing, barking)

I keep a leash on them at all times. I know it's a serious pain in the butt, especially with multiple pets but when I need to redirect their attention or remove them I need to do it as quickly and effectively as I can.

Dakota just sounds like a typical young male Sibe who has had no real training or direction. There will be bumps. But you need to be consistent firm and on top of him immediately and he will learn, they aren't dumb

Thank you everyone for the quick replies! Kristina that's what I will be doing from now on! Looks like I will be investing in a crate and doing some crate training as well. We let the others sleep in the bedroom next to my side of the bed and last night the boys were in there and when Bella came to lay down he hopped up and bared his teeth at her and wouldn't let her come lay down. I corrected it of course. He ended up getting removed from the bedroom. After several times of this he then decided he would be nice and they could all sleep in the bedroom together He has been nice this morning yay!

colby and jinx play real rough and sometimes it turns nasty. maybe thats what happened?

Today while we were at work Chase and Dakota stayed outside and Bella stayed in the house (she did great by the way) got home and had them all out together and was brushing the boys when Bella came over and he growled and bared his teeth. Corrected him and he's been fine with her since. He's been doing better with humping Chase since yesterday afternoon... When he starts trying most of the time I can just say his name (he already knows it!!!!!) Or tell him no and he stops - I don't have to physically remove him. Hopefully this gets over with because if he remains aggressive with her idk what to do.

I hate to say this, but I think that you're being a little naive. Dogs, especially rescues, are going to fight. Growling, baring teeth, fights, and even minor injuries are ALL to be expected. Just because you got lucky with adding your second doesn't make that the norm.

Don't get wary, punish your dogs, or say that you "don't know what you're going to do" just because your new rescue doesn't mesh as well as quickly as your other. Take responsibility for what is going on. Separate them. Walk them together. Train them. Do whatever it takes to make sure that they get along.

Koda and Hailey would fight CONSTANTLY when I first got them. Hailey wouldn't let Koda near her. But as she got comfortable, daily fights turned into weekly fights, which turned into monthly fights and so on.

What you're going through is normal. Acting like it isn't is doing a disservice to all your dogs.

Tori, Thanks for the words of wisdom.. I needed to heard that also with Blaze and Kerian we have fights but they also get along alot of the time. They are working thru things we do not leave them unsupervised in the back yard yet one of us sits out there and watchs the play and some flighting that takes place.

They also get together and dig for snakes or moles I think. lol

The other thing that you need to learn, Jessica, is that it's not him being aggressive. They are communicating with each other. They are teaching each other where the boundaries are and what happens when they cross them. Dogs communicate in a way that people don't and in a way that we don't always understand. What we take as violence, they take as small talk, if you will You need to learn to let them speak their own language without taking it as aggression and learning when that language DOES turn to aggression.

What you describe sounds totally normal. If you're not willing to give it MONTHS to work through though, then you should reconsider adding more to your pack.

Koda wrote:

What we take as violence, they take as small talk, if you will You need to learn to let them speak their own language without taking it as aggression and learning when that language DOES turn to aggression.

While I agree, it is them communicating... It doesn't mean what they're communicating is appropriate. Which is why you need to intervene and be firm showing him where his place is and what is/is not acceptable. Bullying a resident dog to the point of baring teeth and growling simply by approaching is 100% inappropriate. What you need to convey is that he has a place in your family, you decide where that place is, and he needs to respect that.

It's still early stages but these are important times. It's easier to set rules and boundaries clearly from the beginning. Perhaps calling him over and only proving positive interaction on your terms when Bella is near you would be a good step. That's what I would do.

arooroomom wrote:

Koda wrote:

What we take as violence, they take as small talk, if you will You need to learn to let them speak their own language without taking it as aggression and learning when that language DOES turn to aggression.

While I agree, it is them communicating... It doesn't mean what they're communicating is appropriate. Which is why you need to intervene and be firm showing him where his place is and what is/is not acceptable. Bullying a resident dog to the point of baring teeth and growling simply by approaching is 100% inappropriate. What you need to convey is that he has a place in your family, you decide where that place is, and he needs to respect that.

It's still early stages but these are important times. It's easier to set rules and boundaries clearly from the beginning. Perhaps calling him over and only proving positive interaction on your terms when Bella is near you would be a good step. That's what I would do.

I think we agree. I don't mean to imply that fights are okay. I do think that baring teeth when another dog walks by that they are uncomfortable with is okay to a certain extent. We can calm them, reassure them, and reinforce that being together is okay and a positive thing. However, the OP seems to suggest that she is uncomfortable with these things happening at this point in the game. IMHO, they are okay, they just need to be redirected and taught that both dogs have a place in the home and belong without being bullied.

I do know things like this can happen and I am willing to do everything I can for these dogs. If I wasn't I would not have been the type of person to take on Bella to begin with. Sorry my feelings kind of got hurt with this one. Thank you everyone with all the input. Glad to say so far things have gone better today. He listens well to his name and commands as well as my other two so that makes things easier.

Quote :

Hopefully this gets over with because if he remains aggressive with her idk what to do.

This is the line that had me concerned. These things takes months to work out and you've not had her nearly that long. I know it can be daunting, overwhelming and scary at times, but you can't let yourself think that a) he's being aggressive and b) this isn't normal and something that will be worked through.

I didn't mean it in the way you took it I think! I just meant I needed tips! Which you gave me some great tips (everyone did). I would never just give up on him!! I was just really worried about him beating up on Bella because she is so skittish. But I was proud of her for standing up for herself and not letting him run all over her (which is what I was afraid she would do).

My apologies if I misinterpreted, but the written word isn't great at conveying tone

Bottom line is it's a delicate balance between letting them work it out on their own and setting up boundaries in your home.

True! That's why at first when he was humping Chase and Chase wasn't bothered by it I was just letting him do it (I had been reading other peoples threads about humping on here) because I knew it was him trying to set his place in the household. When he did it to Bella she set down and growled at him and he stopped. Tried it a few times and he stopped. After that is when he started baring his teeth and growling at her when she would walk by. So I know it's a dominance thing and I know it just has to be worked through but it's knowing how far to let it go before a fight breaks out. He's a good 55-60 lbs and she's very petite and weighs maybe 40 lbs. After I put my foot down last night and she came into the bedroom everyone was fine all night long. Even after she left the bedroom and came back he let her come back over and join them.

Some changes I made as of today that I got from reading this site:
-I had been letting Bella and Chase free feed but as of today we are doing the 15 minutes to eat and it goes up. I gave Chase his food, Bella her food, and him his food. I made them all sit before I fed them. If they didn't get it I put it up.
-There will be no more unsupervised time.
-I made them all sit before I let them outside and made them do it again before I let them back in.

Question:
-Do I need to try to walk them together or do I need to keep them separate right now?

Walking is a fabulous pack bonding activity and was the only way I was able to socialize my dads dog to accept mine.