[abooot99]

I have what I thought was a dominent male 20 month old. He always plays rough at daycare and from what I've seen, he acts dominent.
Yesterday I just got a 7 month old pit/lab mix- puney little thing.
They got along then I went to pat the foster and my dog came up to us. The foster snapped at my foster (resource guard) and it scard the living **** out of me. Now, I notice, the foster walks around tail held high and is dominating the **** out of my dog. My dog is 2.5 times the size of him. The foster is toy possessive and will snap at mine- my dog backs down and doesn't persue a fight. The foster does the side body bump and his tail is high the whole time. My dog rarely reacts to the dogs aggression and just walks away. Could anyone tell me how to deal with a dominating foster. In my mind, my dog is way older than him and came first so he is next in line after me for dominence but he doesn't put this dog in his place much. So, I am afraid he will teach my dog to guard his toys/food ( he doesn't do this type of thing usually) and will take over. I allow my dog on the couch since there is no issue with this but not the foster. I practice NILIF with both and allow my dog in/out first, treats first, food first and everything else first. Is this appropriate or am I setting my dog up for more aggression toward him from the other dog getting mad about his place in line? Please, any tips would be great. Oh and I am slightly nervous to take things away from him given that I don't know him well and know his behavior around my shep. If I want to take a toy away, I give him a cookie to get him off of the toy. IS this right?
Thanks
Amanda

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

Quote:Is this appropriate or am I setting my dog up for more aggression toward him from the other dog getting mad about his place in line?

Yes - you are setting your dog up. If the foster dog wants to be in charge and your dog doesn't care - let him.

As for resource guarding - do not leave toys laying around. Only let him have toys when you can supervise.

 

[Lixx]

Who are you fostering for? How long have you had the foster dog? What is your experience with bully breeds? How much time apart, but with you do they spend? Does the mix resource guard from you or just your other dog? It sounds like you have a young dog who's being pushy and impolite. You need to teach him what is & isn't appropriate. That includes behaviours directed at you & your current dog. If you are nervous about handling this dog, you are NOT the right foster for him. I say this only for the dogs best interest. A dog like this who is easily pushing his way around will take full advantage of the situation and it will only escalate as he can easliy tell you are not confident around him.

 

[abooot99]

I have had him now since Saturday. As I am getting to know him, I am no longer nervous around him. I am fostering for a rotti/pit rescue called for the love of dog here in NH. As far as bully breeds, I don't really have specific bully breed experience other than my mothers boxer and I used to work at a huge kennel and was a vet tech for a few years. I have general dog experience which I thought would help me. As far as time apart, it depends on the day. Today, I brought my pup to a behaviorist and so I left the foster home for about 5 hours. He didn't want to go with us the other day for a ride because he wanted to stay home with the crated foster. In fact, he usually has the run of the house but the other night my fiance came home and my dog went through the trash and shredded it (the bathroom trash) and he stole the cookies on the counter and ate the whole box and shredded the box after and took his chicken jerky off the counter as well and ate most of them probably right in front of the crated foster. So, back to crating him. He has NEVER done any of the above ever! The foster resource guards but never growled at me. I really don't want to test this with food and crate him for meals. He growls at my dog only sometimes and may get into a snap/growl fest when they play too rough with a toy.
What do yo u think?
Amanda

 

[chruby]

Personally, I would not have them together. Just seems easier to me.

I would be using a crate too.

 

[Lixx]

Since you've only had him since Saturday you are giving this dog way too many freedoms. He should also be crated whenever you are not directly supervising him. You also need to spend a good amount of time with this dog away from your other dog, working with him and creating a bond. It takes a good 2 weeks for a new dog to 'settle in' and know it's place in the house hold. Did the rescue Temperment Test this dog prior to placing it with you? A dog, especially a Pit Bull x should have absolutely NO food aggression towards you what-so-ever. This is definatly something that should have been testing before pulling the dog into the rescue. If you are not confident to try it with him, contact your rescue and have someone experianced with bully breeds come and evaluate him. You may need someone experianced to help you tell the difference between aggression & him being a brat since he's gotten away with alot of crap already.
Being the foster is the new dog, you must make sure to disrupt your current dogs schedule as little as possible. Don't focus on worrying about him (the foster) liking your dog, or bonding with him. What he needs to do is see how the house works and earn his place in the group. The foster will not suffer having to spend extra time in the crate to start with. And you'll end up with a smoother transition and more balanced dog because of it.
Being that he has Pit in him, please remember -never trust a Pit Bull not to fight. This means never leaving him unsupervised with your dog ever. You should also never have him at a dog park, and most certainly never off lead until 110% reliability can be assured.
As for your dog, going back to basics is a good idea too. He's still very young himself and consistancy will be the key. Crating him when you are out will keep him safe and out of trouble. And certainly if either dog gets the slightest bit 'snappy' during play time, it's time for a time out, appropriatly correct the dog that's being rude (assuming it is rude behaviour and not a correction for the other dogs behaviour-sometimes that's hard to catch!) and put them in their crates for some 'chill' time.

 

[abooot99]

Thanks for the advice. I will start doing some of the above things to smooth over the situation and make it a constructive effort. As the days go on that we have him, he is getting better and better with all of the above complaints. We are starting to like him and appreciate his good mannors in the house (for the most part).
Thanks again

 

[Lixx]

NP. If you ever need help, just shoot me a pm