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IF you Do leave this dog with your sister You best get a Crate NOW for her to get use to staying in it. That will be her SAFE Place in your sisters home at Nite & When No one is home to watch the dogs.
IF you Do leave this dog with your sister You best get a Crate NOW for her to get use to staying in it. That will be her SAFE Place in your sisters home at Nite & When No one is home to watch the dogs.
He already sleeps in a crate every night and is totally accustomed to it. We also put him in it when there will be no one home during the day to watch him. Since we're both retired, that doesn't happen often.
I didn't condemn you. I can only go by what you say in your posts. I do get the distinct sense that you are putting the "burden of friendliness" on Frederick which is simply not fair to him.
You said "He had a run-in with another dog tonight in the park.... They started chasing one another around in circles, but within seconds their leashes became tangled and Frederik became aggressive towards the other dog." Just to be clear: a dog who gets his leash tangled up with another (unknown) dog's leash such that he is in close proximity to the other dog and can't get away to gain space then snaps at the other dog is NOT showing aggression; he is simply reacting to the situation. And quite reasonably because while he snapped a warning, he did NOT bite or attack; he communicated his discomfort.
You also said that "The thing is, these other dogs are super friendly. I'm hoping that Frederik will be able to sense that" as if because you know they are so friendly that it is up to Frederick to sense that and if something happens it will be on him because "they are so friendly".
And: "For this reason, I'm not sure how to handle him when he meets my sister's dogs. I don't think he'd attack any of them, especially because I don't think he'd sense any aggression in them, but I can't be 100% positive." It sounds like you are going into this meeting with your sister's dogs feeling that he might make a mis-step without taking into account that it is just as likely that your sister's "very friendly" dogs might not take to him.
All this adds up to my getting the sense that you feel that if there is a problem, it will be because Frederick didn't read that your sister's dogs are friendly or that you feel he may sense aggression in them. This is an entirely inaccurate reading of dog-dog interactions which I find worrisome and unfair to him.
I do think you have some unrealistic expectations for this dog, and I fear that because of this you are potentially on track to push this dog into a situation it can't handle. It doesn't matter what the rescue said. What does matter is that at this point you begin to set Frederick up for success with other dogs.
Not all dogs get along with other dogs. I am going to reiterate what I said before. You need to ensure that Frederick's interactions with dogs going forward are positive. You may wish to work with a CPDT-KA certified trainer who can accurately asses his comfort level with other dogs and ideally set him up for some managed positive play time with other dogs.
Just a heads up- dogs will correct other dogs for rude behavior. This can look problematic, but a dog looking like it is going to bite another dog is frequently not an issue, it is usually a correction. If a dog wants to bite or otherwise attack another dog it will happen in the blink of an eye before your brain can even process what you think you saw.
Well, it looks like dogs and humans have something in common, doesn't it? Not all humans get along with other humans. That is apparently the case with you and me. Your sense of what I'm saying is way, way, way off base. At any rate, our discussion is going nowhere fast and I have no desire to prolong it.
I talked to my sister this morning. Her husband (my brother-in-law) has 20 years experience as a zookeeper and has introduced more truly wild animals to one another in captivity than you can imagine. He knows one hell of a lot about animal behavior (dogs and otherwise). After talking to her, I felt reassured that everything's going to go fine. It's their house and yard and I'm going to allow them to set the ground rules as they have new dogs visiting their place all the time, and there has never been a time when there's been a problem.
I would let Frederik meet one dog at a time at your sister's. Perhaps take him into their backyard on a leash and let the friendliest dog out first for a controlled meeting. Get them playing. Then introduce the other dogs one at a time the same way.
Yeah, that's pretty much what she has suggested we do.
You really need to get Fredrick some obedience training. A dog that can loose leash walk and behave restrained will not be as likely to elicit a response from other dogs.
Oh, I absolutely intend to do so. I'm just going to wait until we get back from our short (3-day) trip, so there are no gaps in either the training or the practice. That has always been the plan.
Yeah, that's pretty much what she has suggested we do.
Again I highly suggest, after years of introducing adult dogs together, a walk not a play session. Playing is high energy and high excitement it can also make it much harder to read body language both for the dogs and the people. If Fredrick is not play bowing or showing other play inducing behaviors to other dogs he meets he likely has little interest in playing with dogs he doesn't know. Walking next to is a calming activity for most dogs. It lowers energy level, lowers excitement in balanced dogs and lowers anxiety in fearful dogs, and for a fearful dog, that extra time walking with a new dog and not having an incident will make him more confident when they do get nose to nose.
If you introduce them by playing in the yard, you have introduced them in a much more volatile, even if fun, way which is less likely to translate well in the house.
I have three well balanced dogs now. They can meet a dog anywhere and it will be fine, this is likely true for your sisters dogs as well. But I had a very fearful border collie for years. If she walked with a dog, they would be fine, but a nose to nose introduction, even with friendly dogs never ended well. Fredrick has already shown he is a little bit afraid, which is understandable;he is in a new home, after a bite by a bad foster, and now he is being brought into the territory of a pack and as far as he knows leaving his new family completely. He will likely be fearful and every little bit , even an intro with a walk, you can do to make him more comfortable will go a long way to make him a dog friendly dog.
Personally, I would let a new dog settle into a routine at my house for at least a month before I would introduce him to other dogs. He's got a lot of new things to deal with. I wouldn't add meeting new dogs into the mix right away.
Personally, I would let a new dog settle into a routine at my house for at least a month before I would introduce him to other dogs. He's got a lot of new things to deal with. I wouldn't add meeting new dogs into the mix right away.
Unfortunately, we had to do this sooner than I would have wanted. My sister is going to watch him at her house for three days, and we needed to make sure the dogs would all get along.
We took Friedrik in to see the vet today. She took out his stitches, did a wellness check, etc., and told us what a doll he was. Just what every mom wants to hear. The we took him to get a bath, and he was sooooo good for the whole thing. Next, we went over to my sister's and brother-in-law's house. They have three dogs (a German Shepherd, a Husky and a Border Collie) and two cats. Everybody got along wonderfully! Nobody bit or snapped or growled, and nobody was anxious or hostile. It couldn't have gone better. And, as an added bonus, we discovered that Friedrik is also good with cats. He was quite interested in theirs, but didn't chase them or corner them or anything. One of them gave him a quick swipe, but just to say, "Hey, dog... I'm in charge here." Anyway, I am so happy!
When we got home, I had to leave for a meeting, so my hubby was watching Friedrik. He's terrible when it comes to multi-tasking, though, and got involved in his TV show. When he noticed Friedrik was no longer in the room, he went through the house looking for him and for any signs of peeing or pooping. After checking all of the rooms in the house, he went out in the backyard to find Friedrik, not to far from a big poop. He's definitely gone out on his own.
This little dog is going to be an angel after all!
Friedrik is neither an angel nor a devil. He's a dog, and he's been through a hell of a lot in the short time you've had him. I don't know you personally, so all I can do is comment on your posts this week. And, in all honesty, I am afraid that you are pushing this dog into too much too soon, and any bad outcome is going to be blamed on him. You are not setting him up for success by leaving him with your sister and husband, human strangers, and her two dogs in their house and on their dogs' territory. He won't know what's going on. I can only imagine he might be terrified, and a fearful dog is a dangerous dog, through no fault of his own.
Would it be possible for you to board him at a local kennel someplace or to pay a dog sitter to take care of him in your home? IMO, either option would be better than what you are proposing.
I am hoping for the best, really I am, but I think your expectations in this situation are way off base, and I am dreading your post on September 16th in which you tell us all about the terrible dogfight(s) that Friedrik "started", the injuries and vet bills that were incurred, and how you've decided "angelic" Friedrik is just not the right dog for you.
I hope I'm wrong. I really, really, really do.
If I lived nearby, I would gladly take this dog into my home for the three days you plan to be gone if only to ensure he would be safe, fear and stress free.
Slam me all you want, make excuses, get defensive as you have in previous posts, back pedal, justify, whatever makes you feel good - but I only care about the well being of this dog.
Last edited by OHNot4Me; 09-08-2017 at 02:28 PM..
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