For Those Who've Added Another

[Guest RMarie]

How long did you give it before you knew whether to keep or return #2? We were doing pretty well with James and Moneypenny. We've had a few growls and barks between the two of them but not a lot. We just had our first fight with blood. I don't know who started it but James now has a small chunk of forehead missing. It doesn't need stitches, but he was so visibly shaken by it. Moneypenny seems upset, but I'm not sure. I feel terrible. James was here first. I don't like thinking his life is now miserable with Moneypenny.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

So sorry this happened. I've been fortunate in that when I've added another, my pups have coexisted well......however I admit to watching them like a hawk for quite a while. There are still things that they never do unsupervised - eat (they're both very food motivated) and play, especially with toys as Maya tends to resource guard. And, for my own peace of mind, it was well over a year before I left them alone together without muzzling.

 

Others here will have better advice for you, but I'm glad that neither pup was hurt badly.

[Guest RMarie]

I was only 6 feet away. I had just walked by the two of them so they were behind me when it happened. Moneypenny was lying down on the floor, James was right beside her standing up. I don't know if she laid back and James stepped on her or what. Moneypenny does seem upset. She just crated herself and she HATES the crate. I think she can sense she screwed up. It's so sad, though, because she is so hard on herself. She's a rather troubled soul it seems like. We want to help her but at the same time we don't want to put James at risk. He was here first.

[Riverhound]

Muzzles on both dogs. Whenever they'e together, whether you're in the room or not.

 

Bringing Brees into the family was rough. It was at least a month before muzzles came off for any length of time, and only if one dog was with me on the sofa. If they got up, muzzles went back on. Probably 3 months before muzzles were off on a regular basis. Muzzles were on for car rides for over a year. We left them in the hotel in Dewey unmuzzled this year -- Brees has been with us for just under 2 years.

 

Don't rush it.

 

I think Joe is happier with her than he was before her, and I know he isn't as horribly bored as he was. They play in the yard, but don't share toys in the house. We still have space issues, but we all understand each other pretty well now.

[TheFullHouse]

Just minor squabbling between two dogs who are adjusting to living together. Use your muzzles, especially outside or when left alone. Unless you are really having issues with aggression I'd give them some time to work things out. If they were really serious you would have had an all out fight.

[Guest RMarie]

Is an all out fight what it takes to decide things aren't going to work? Naturally, we don't want that to happen. DH is worried that we'll get even more attached to her than we already are and giving her back later will be that much harder.

 

She is different than James in positive and negative ways. She is very affectionate and loves to be petted. On the other hand, she is a lot more brazen than James ever was. And, we discovered yesterday that she doesn't like other bitches, at least not young ones. She got very growly with them and had to be separated. I think the main reason we haven't had any really bad incidences is b/c James is so mellow and lets her boss him around. But that makes me feel like James is in prison in his own house.

[Batmom]

Give it some time, use muzzles where you need to, and see if/how they interact with each other and with you. If they aren't snarling and trying to go after each other at every opportunity, they'll probably do fine.

 

We went through a snippy/resource-guarding period with our latest addition. With time, a little management, and some easy training exercises, we got past that. There was a week or two when I wasn't sure we would, but life is full of little uncertainties and we did. We did muzzle a lot more often and longer than with other additions but that let us people relax a bit and gave the new and old dog more contact with each other. The newer dog is also the first I've had who, in the first couple weeks here, really needed and benefitted from a crate nap or two each day. There was just too much New Stuff for her to be able to relax otherwise. YMMV, but hopefully the pups will settle nicely together.

[greysmom]

Muzzles are your best friend right now. This isn't a case of unprovoked and unworkable aggression on her part. They're just working things out. James has to adjust, even though he's been there longer, just as she needs to learn a few things. They aren't going to learn unless you let them do some maneuvering. Muzzle and monitor. All the time. Until you're sure they're settled together.

 

It's hard to hear and watch happen, but it's really just nothing much to them. If you or your husband yelled at her - which is a normal reaction - and there was commotion and upheaval, that's what she feels bad about. Not about biting him. And as someone said, if this had been *serious* aggression, the outcome would have been a lot worse.

 

FWIW, my husband is always taking the muzzles off too soon when we bring a new dog home. It always seems to involve blood on the first or second day! But things work out in the end. They might end up ignoring each other, or they might become good friends. It's too soon to tell yet.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Your situation sounds somewhat similar to mine here with Mirage and Maya. My pups are also very different, and much like James, Mirage is very....I don't want to say mellow, but more non-confrontational. I'm not sure if he's a wuss, or just a very smart boy, but if there's anything going on, Mirage is fast to remove himself from the situation.....which I've come to realize is a very good thing here with Maya. She's a very "touchy" pup, there are really no little things with her - they're all *big* things, and she's got lots of quirks. She's not always other dog friendly, but there has never been any big issues with Mirage. Maya's been here for almost 2 years, and she and Mirage have come to do fine together. They're not play buddies or snuggle buddies, but as I said, they coexist well.

 

It's too bad that you didn't see what happened......if James stepped on her, well, no one likes to be stepped on. If he just looked at her the "wrong" way, I'd be a little more concerned, but I agree that muzzles are your best bet while they're still trying to get to know and get comfortable with each other. I know you probably hate to muzzle James - Mirage hadn't worn a muzzle for several years when Maya came here - but he got used to it.

Edited October 22, 2013 by PiagetsMom

[Brandiandwe]

We recently added our third. For a week or so I really thought it wasn't going to work. Get good at watching your dogs closely. We have a dominant bitch and Hermon is pretty laid back but also very confident. There was regular growling, grumbling and huffs. We even had snarling. We made an effort not to interfere too much beyond removing toys and treats,feeding separately and muzzling. What we saw was ongoing calming signals and efforts by the dogs to sort things out. It was very hard to watch but it did work out well.

 

Brandi, who was our first grey, is at the bottom of the pecking order. Hermon I would say is at the top except that Paige does get what she wants.

 

Hermon and Paige and Hermon and Brandi have shared beds (very very carefully). Try to stay relaxed. Some altercations are probably inevitable but not all out fights.

[rascalsmom]

Nothing to really add, since I never had an issue adding a dog--each dog adjusted seamlessly, and there were no problems--but just wanted to say that I hope James and MP work it out.

 

My friend had a foster dog who bit one of her dogs a couple of times, and she ended up adopting the foster dog. Never really had any more issues. Like others have said, it probably means a lot more to US than it does to THEM.

[winnie]

Celeste has bitten and given Darcy stitches TWICE! Both times it was when they were running in the yard. It turns out that Celeste was retired from racing due to her roller derby antics. We finally muzzled them. Both incidents happened within the first year. We've now had them both for nearly seven years. We no longer muzzle, and they still aren't the best of buddies, but they are both very happy and content dogs.

[mom2four]

Hi there. When we added Master, he and Diego got into a huge fight outside. I don't know who started it, but my guess is that our little alpha b*tch Tosca was somehow involved and got out of there when they started fighting. Our fault should have used muzzles and now do, all the time. But, my point is that now they are best buddies. I wondered too, what we should do, but once this was over we have had no more problems. I'm not saying that this will happen with you, I'm just letting you know what happened with us.

 

Good luck!

[Sambuca]

Even if James didn't step on Money, he could have been intimidating to her since he was standing over her. I would be intimidated if some guy I didn't know well was standing over me while I was in bed. She doesn't understand yet that you and James are family. It takes time. Of course she and James are going to be different. You already know and love James, why would you need his clone? This is new individual melding with your family, stumbling blocks are sure to happen. It sounds normal to me so far.

[Guest RMarie]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I know we need to give her time. It's just...I've never seen James so upset. I've never even seen him snarl before. All of his fur was standing straight up and he was shaking. And I thought his neck was broken. He was holding his head in a really weird way and went to shake but had trouble. Then he started gagging. I started inspecting him and all I could find was that one little gash. I felt like I'd failed him as a mom.

[Sambuca]

Give him a spoonful of peanut butter. I'm sure he'll feel better.

[vjgrey]

Barring some really extreme, unforeseeable circumstances, I see adoptions as permanent, so I don't approach it as deciding "whether to keep or return #2." If I adopted them, they're staying. That's not to say we haven't had some rough starts. Diamond HATED Lucy for the first few weeks (demonstrated by hiding in her crate and refusing to eat). Now they're best buds. Cash acted like a labrador on crack for the first few weeks, but now he's pretty close to perfect. The new dog settles in, the other dogs adjust. Just takes time and patience (and vigilance/muzzles, when needed).

[Riverhound]

Give him a spoonful of peanut butter. I'm sure he'll feel better.

 

Yup. They forget pretty quickly when there's something yummy shoved in the biskie hole!

[winnie]

Barring some really extreme, unforeseeable circumstances, I see adoptions as permanent, so I don't approach it as deciding "whether to keep or return #2." If I adopted them, they're staying. That's not to say we haven't had some rough starts. Diamond HATED Lucy for the first few weeks (demonstrated by hiding in her crate and refusing to eat). Now they're best buds. Cash acted like a labrador on crack for the first few weeks, but now he's pretty close to perfect. The new dog settles in, the other dogs adjust. Just takes time and patience (and vigilance/muzzles, when needed).

 

Yup. The only "deal breaker" for us would have been if one of the dogs went after one of our cats. We've had four greys (three still living) and just added our first galgo. The adjustment period has varied for each dog depending on their personality, but all have come around. Like human siblings, they each have their little annoyances with each other. At the end of the day, they know who is part of their pack.

Edited October 22, 2013 by winnie

[greytpups]

Dogs live in the moment so I suspect they were fine with each other right after the incident. It sounds like you are attributing human emotions to the incident, plus if you are anxious, I'm not surprised one of them is acting differently, but I suspect James is picking up on your feelings.

 

"dogs live in the moment", be proactive, relax, stop attributing human emotions such as guilt to MP and enjoy them. As others have said, this can work out. All of ours are mellow, but I've heard them all snark at some point, usually when someone gets stepped on or something similar, two seconds later, they've forgotten about it and life goes on.

[dante2zoe]

I have dealt with adjustment issues almost every time a new dog has come into the fold. Zoe cost me more money in stapling the other dogs back together then vet bills for the others combined during the entire time I had her. Dante ended up with a drain in his nose when he accidently stepped on her and she latched onto him. That being said, they worked everything out and the pack grieved terribly when I lost her. Just remember, muzzles are your friends and should be used. As PhillyPups said, muzzles are like seatbelts - you put them on just in case and hope to never need them.

 

I would imagine that they will find their new normal over time. James Bond probably isn't sad, but you feel he should be because he just got hurt.

 

Good luck and I hope things progress a little more smoothly for you.

[Acadianarose]

I only have one greyhound, but I do have a lab too. For the most part they ignore each other, but a few weeks ago, they got into a bit of a fight (or the greyhound did). They were both standing at the glass door waiting for company to come inside. The lab was closer to the opening of the door trying to go out first, and I am not sure exactly what happened, but the greyhound starting snarling and barking at the lab. The lab laid down on the floor and the greyhound kind of stood over him. It seems that the greyhound was being pushy and wanted to go outside first?? I am not sure. But if the lab had fought back, it could have gotten really ugly.

 

No one was hurt, but I panicked. At first, it seemed like the greyhound attacked the lab for no reason, but after talking to our adoption group and explaining exactly what I saw, she was able to piece it together. The lab is 11 years old and the most laid back dog ever. I felt horrible for him. The crazy thing was he didn’t really seem fazed by it, other than waiting a little back at the door for a few days. He is not scared of Payton at all. I did muzzle Payton for a while and I kicked his training up some. I also stopped letting him push the lab around (although generally, I don’t get involved in doggy issues). It has gotten much better.

 

I really sympathize. It is so hard trying to decide what the right thing to do is.

[NeylasMom]

Dogs live in the moment so I suspect they were fine with each other right after the incident. It sounds like you are attributing human emotions to the incident, plus if you are anxious, I'm not surprised one of them is acting differently, but I suspect James is picking up on your feelings.

 

"dogs live in the moment", be proactive, relax, stop attributing human emotions such as guilt to MP and enjoy them. As others have said, this can work out. All of ours are mellow, but I've heard them all snark at some point, usually when someone gets stepped on or something similar, two seconds later, they've forgotten about it and life goes on.

 

Although part of me thinks that you may not be able to do that and should return Moneypenny. There are dogs out there who are more bomb proof like James and might be a better fit for your home and lifestyle, especially with your desire to be able to take your pups to the gym. Another laid back male might be a better fit for you.