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I have a 10 year old Golden Retriever and a 3 year old Australian Shepherd. They love each other but I introduced the Aussie when she was a puppy. My husband was just given a 7 month old full blooded male Australian shepherd and he and my golden absolutely hate each other. Roger (the new Aussie) is not neutered yet. We have an appointment set up to take him next week. Hopefully this will take care of it.
When I say they fight I mean it is not just a growl, they are viscous to each other to the point where it is quite terrifying to watch. I really think if left to it one of them would end up dead. Right now we are keeping them totally separated until Roger is neutered. I should have introduced them in a neutral place but didn't and now it is too late. I cannot even walk them together because being that close to each other is just too much. I told my husband that Roger may not work out, but I do want to try everything I can to welcome him into our home.
One thing to note is Roger's previous owners kept him crated all the time. He was in his crate much more than he was out and they didn't show him a lot of love and affection. Can you imagine keeping an Aussie crated all the time?????? I was horrified!!!! At this house he is loved on, trust me. lol. We have a very large fenced in back yard, plus we go on a lot of walks. I make sure he gets a lot of exercise every single day. We also own a 200 acre farm that we go to on many weekends, and the dogs come along and have free reign to run. It would be a shame to have to leave one of them out of the fun.
I wish I could take him to a very good dog trainer but honestly cannot afford it.
Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they may never get along. I would not assume that the neutering will take care of it especially since you have a female in the mix. You're golden and female aussie may be a bonded pair and the golden may not ever take to a new male. Since the mail aussie was not treated well in his prior home he may have other issues that not make him a good fit for your house.
PLEASE keep them separated or one of them could be killed.
I'm not saying you're there yet but you may need to rehome the male aussie if you can't keep them separated 24/7. Honestly, I absolutely would recommend a trainer to help with this but you said you can't afford one. If you can't afford a dog trainer I'm guessing you won't be able to afford the vet bills if one gets seriously injured. You might think about contacting an aussie rescue near you as a back up if things don't calm down after he's neutered.
Since hes 7 months old neutering Will help! His main problem is hes Not been around other dogs....bet they even got him too young so that his mom & siblings didn't teach him manners. For now keep them apart. after hes healed I would find an Obedience CLASS! That away he learning to listen to You while being around other dogs. It will also help him bond with you. & he look to you as Boss. Don't push them After class end 6 weeks or so introduce the 2 dogs again. NEVER let them out of your sight! What will happen Esp since he IS a puppy & he feels your the boss the fight should go out of him. But you need to watch them at least for a few weeks Remember you don't let them together till YOU have control & they will still be in the same house getting to know each other. You might be able to let the pup play with the female. Just don't include the other male. She will help teach him Manners
Well, I have found some obedience classes that I can afford. The ones I was looking at were like $50 an hour! That is way too high. I have found a trainer that teaches dogs for something like $200 for 6 weeks or something like that. I can afford that with no problem and as far as the vet bills yes we can afford those. I guess the trainers I was looking at were training champion blood lines. One even charged $2000 dollars for a 6 week training course. As far as letting them together alone - NEVER!! At least right now. I know one of them would end up dead. I have already said we should rehome him but my husband wants to try to work it out. Myself I do not have my hopes up but he does so.....Oh and you may be misunderstanding. My two dogs are both females and Roger is the only male. He is at the vet right now getting checked out and she may tell my husband to rehome him - who knows. Curious to see what she tells him about it. Thanks everyone. I will let you know how everything ends up
Rare for a Male to fight with females! He Really needs to learn manners doggie style. Is the older Female Very Bossy with the other female? Female to Female fights Are common till they work it out Rarely do Females Fight to death.
That is what I thought! My golden is kind of bossy lol. She is 10 and as she has gotten older she has gotten gripier. I joke that she is in menopause lol.
My golden has always been the dominant one over the Aussie but it is not in a bad way at all. You just know who the boss is. They have always gotten along and played well together. I really think Dixie (my female aussie) is keeping my golden younger.
Roger gets neutered on Monday and the vet told my husband that we should wait and see how it plays itself out. She did say Roger needs obedience classes for sure. That along with neutering may work but she said it is going to take weeks until they can start getting along, if they ever do. She also said it was rare for males to fight with females but they are likely fighting over who is the boss of this house. Since Bridgett (my golden) has been the boss for 10 years I do not think she will give that up easily if at all. Will just have to see what happens.
Have the vet check the old girl out I betting she in Pain! Most likely Arthris That's whats making her grumpy!! They may not get along if she in pain He don't have manners!! Giving her something for the pain might allow her enough relief to tolerate him more. Your younger girl can teach him some dogging manners.
I don't think sex matters but what does is the dominant dog will be challenged by the newcomer. Usually, the ones I have had come to an understanding at some point. The two females I have tolerate one another like a brother and sister but they are really friends which is fine.
What do you do when they get into a fight? You said it was difficult to watch. Aussies are pretty obedient so won't they stop when you tell them "No."?
I have two seniors dogs and they have been together for 3 years. Just like older people, they can fed up with "kids" since they require more rest. Puppies are rather tiring except for the very young.
When they got into that bad fight it took a lot of yelling to get them to stop. The aussie stepped down first. I actually got bit by the aussie in the middle of it. I know he didn't do it on purpose. Didn't break skin but I have two large bruises on my leg. They were just going at it with each other so bad that it scared me. When the second fight happened I had the aussie on a leash and was just testing them to see. At first they seemed okay. They sniffed each other and then started to ignore each other. The aussie came back first and started it. That time I was able to pull the aussie back.
Oh and my golden does have arthritis and is on medication already. She was in a lot of pain but the meds have made a huge difference so I don't think that is the problem. Could have something to do with it though.
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