6 years old rescue with fear issues

[madinha1]

Hi everyone,

I just helped rescuing a 6 year old GSD from a very high kill shelter.
This dog suffered some abuse at the shelter (go figure) and it's very sensitive and scared.
At the shelter he was caged with a big dog and a medium size dog and he does not seem to mind other dogs.
I don't usually foster big dogs, but felt compelled to help this guy.
I own/foster cocker spaniels and wonder, if any of you have a tip to introduce this big guy to smaller dogs.
For now, I'm keeping them separate, but it would make my life a lot easier, if I could have them all together.
Thanks!

[Elaine]

Take them for a walk. A side by side intro is much less threatening than a face to face meeting plus they have other things to look at than each other. This will give you a better idea if they will get along or not.

When I bring new fosters in, they are crated when I'm not home for at least a month before I will leave them loose in the house with my dogs. Partly so they don't have the opportunity to destroy my house and so they have plenty of time to get used to each other and I don't come home to a blood bath. Even then, I slowly ease into leaving them loose to minimize the damage should something happen.

[valb]

Walk sounds pretty good. Or you can have a big ol' treat
party, you know, see the other dog get a tasty treat.
If you do beware the food aggression issues, I'd still keep
them apart except for a "view" for a while.