My boyfriend and I have a 4 year old Husky named Z. Two nights ago, my boyfriend brought home a stray and we fell in love with him. We believe he is either a full grown (though small) Husky or a Malamute pup. (We are leaning toward Malamute.) The two dogs get along the majority of the time, but are going though some dominance issues. Z has developed a protection over food and the house, while the pup has now developed a protection over me and does not like Z near me. They are both great dogs and I am worried for their protection and being as we would like to be able to keep both, (as long as we cannot find the pup's owner,) I would like them to shake and be friends!

We tried to keep their food separate, however we now need to feed them at separate times. We have been giving them both a lot of love and attention. Both dogs have some minor battle scars; the last thing we want is for things to get worse. As I said before, they do get along the majority of the time; in fact they sleep outside curled next to each other.

If anyone has any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

First, welcome! Two nights isn't that long for a missing Husky/Malamute. He might be 15 miles from home or more. Or he destroyed someone's couch and they set him free.

I never let my dogs get protective over me. The one acting that way should be removed from the situation (by voice and actions, not force). That's the number one starter of fights around here. Which brings up how long it took to really get the fighting under control, somewhere around six months. Then things really stabilized after one year. My system of new dog integration is not for everyone. It involves much physical exertion on your part. I simply run them until they nearly drop. Being mindful of their joints and paws (running on dirt and grass) because most pet dogs haven't built up any toughness or endurance. But if you suspect he's under two years old I wouldn't run, just jog lightly. We went through a lot of gauze when we brought our Husky aboard.

Post some pics of them too!

Hi Angela! Welcome to the forum

We experienced some similar situations when we first brought Hailey home. A little bit of "arguing" is pretty normal when you bring a new dog into the home... even those scary scuffles that leave battle scars. Koda and Hailey definitely gave each other bleeders and I had a scare where I thought Koda's eye was scratched, but they were fine.

The important thing is how do they act around each other when you are able to get them apart and sufficiently distracted? Are they panting and "smiling" or are they still intent on each other? My guess is that they're panting and smiling

You have to remember that the pup has come into a brand new home filled with strangers, strange smells, another dog and an entire house that smells like him. He's going to be scared, defensive, and at times aggressive about his feelings. It took Hailey a good few weeks to warm up to Koda enough that I wasn't on edge whenever they were around me together.

Make sure you still spend some quality time with both dogs on their own as well as together. That one-on-one bonding is very important, and will probably help alleviate some of the possessiveness over you. Take them on walks together too. Get them to walk side-by-side, which acts as a bonding experience for both of them.

I'm sure Eddy will have some more advice, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head. All-in-all, fights are normal and Hailey and Koda still get into "arguments" as we call them. It'll take about a good 6 months for them to really fall in line, but kudos to you for taking in a rescue and you've come to the right place for help and advice!

I have nothing to add as our 2 fell right in line and we have never had any blood drawn, but we also had Sierra for only a month before we got Jack so she was not settled in yet and I think that is what helped us. there are a lot of good people on here that can help you out with any issues you have. have you taken the pup to the vet yet to see if it is chipped or put up flyers around the area? you need to make sure you do all you can to see if you can find this pups home before claiming him as yours there might be a sad family out there looking for him, also try Craig's list as well. but if no one comes up they congrates on your new addition

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got any pics of this lil guy?