I must be insane...going to resuce a dog tomorrow!

Jerry Lyda said:

I have a very good feeling about this.

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So do I, Jerry!

I've never (yet) had a dog who wasn't adopted/rescued. Not saying I never will, because I think I will, but I am saying I don't think you're crazy!

There was a good thread when Mike S. was introducing Lyka to Cujo, about good ways to do the intro.

Two dogs in a house v. three is a big difference.......the whole ganging up thing. But I believe that if you have your pack leader skills polished up and honed, you will prevent any of that!

This site has some links, besides its own suggestions:
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Introducing.html
and here's one I haven't read yet:
http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-behaviour/introducing-new-dogs.shtml

I think neutral-territory introductions are a good idea.

And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think it's a really good idea to take the new dog for a walk before she ever enters your home.

Congratulations, Stacia! I hope you will keep us posted. I am excited for you.

I'm excited, too, Connie! Achilles is my first "purchased" dog: I'd always rescued up until then. I'm just nervous about intro's and how this new dog will adapt. I've never rescued a large breed, and this GSD sure is no beagle LOL.

She's smiling for the camera though:

Bob Scott said:

The dinamics of a third dog can be very interesting. I've had no less then 3-4 dogs for the last 35-40 yrs. New dogs here have always been puppys. Even so, it always seems to change their social structure within 6-8 months.
Then again, consider that I've had terriers for those yrs. Those little b^$+^rds seldome march to anyone's drums but their own.
The GSD is much more pack oriented.

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What do you make of our situation then:

My 8 yo beagle mix rescue does NOT interact with 13 mth old Achilles. At all. The most he gets from her is a show of teeth. She made it clear from day one that she wanted to be left alone and for the most part he's respected that and stayed clear.

He loves to play with other dogs. We figured out that having meet other dogs while on lead is a bad idea -- that's when he gets all hackly and barky. He's fine as long as he's not on leash. He does not know when another dog's had enough in the least, but he does listen when another dog puts him in his place.

This pooch is older than Achilles, and I'm not sure how submissive. Achilles doesn't seem terribly dominant -- just protective and occasionally aggressive with things he perceives as "threats." What exactly can I expect? I intend to keep Andi in the crate for most of her first week in order to let her get used to her surroundings and let my dogs get used to her. Plus she may have some issues from teh shelter we'll need to iron out.

It's a good sign, but don't count on things going that smoothly at home. Caleb and Widget both get along with all other dogs. Caleb and Widget despise each other, and Widget despises Dustin (my Peke). In the outside world, everything is just peachy. Inside the house, I have 2 dogs who ignore each other except to show teeth when passing by, and one dog who would give anything just to be included. I don't make a big deal out of it. My sister and I have a relationship that leaves something to be desired, so who am I to say they have to get along? No blood, no problem. They have learned that they're allowed to hate each other; they are NOT allowed to act like it. I've found that forcing them on eachother caused BIG problems, and it did take a few serious warnings from Caleb for Widge to take the hint that Caleb ain't no pup anymore... 8) I just try to keep them separated when eating, but I don't worry about "pack order." They are more than capable of figuring that out themselves. Good luck!

Jenni Williams said:

It's a good sign, but don't count on things going that smoothly at home. Caleb and Widget both get along with all other dogs. Caleb and Widget despise each other, and Widget despises Dustin (my Peke). In the outside world, everything is just peachy. Inside the house, I have 2 dogs who ignore each other except to show teeth when passing by, and one dog who would give anything just to be included. I don't make a big deal out of it. My sister and I have a relationship that leaves something to be desired, so who am I to say they have to get along? No blood, no problem. They have learned that they're allowed to hate each other; they are NOT allowed to act like it. I've found that forcing them on eachother caused BIG problems, and it did take a few serious warnings from Caleb for Widge to take the hint that Caleb ain't no pup anymore... 8) I just try to keep them separated when eating, but I don't worry about "pack order." They are more than capable of figuring that out themselves. Good luck!

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Funnily enough if I put my two dogs outside together off leash and I'm not looking, they'll play LOL! But only for a moment. Otherwise they agree to disagree, and Achilles submits to Abbie. My beagle wasn't always like this...sort of one of those "the older I get, the less I wanna be bothered" things. She'll be less than thrilled to have another shep in the house, but it's MY house :wink: . I get to decide who or what I bring into it, not her. Then again she's been through the births of two human babies, the death of a furbaby (we had a sheltie when we rescued her and he passed in July of 2004), bringing in a cat, and then bringing home Achilles. I think she's trying to figure out what I'm going to add next :roll: . She probably tells the neighbor dogs she's stuck with a whackjob for a human.

After doing some thinkingn and talking to the lady at the rescue I think I'm going to intro the GSD's outside off leash (with a collar and drag line on Achilles). The leash tends to lead to aggression, or at least it does with him. If it's off he acts normal, if it's on he barks, sometimes hackles...very odd. Since this is a female I highly doubt there'll be any aggression.

There are lots of other dogs in teh shelter and I'm going to ask the worker (yes, there's only one) to take another dog out while I have her there to see how she does. But she honestly hasn't been making any fuss at the other dogs around her at all, and they had no problem putting her in the enclosure or going in to feed her every day. The volunteers said she seems to have a very even temperment -- however their objective is to save a dog so they sometimes sugarcoat things. We're prepared to iron out behavioral problems and to encounter some medical issues (like heartworm). And of course she'll need OB which is going to be a diffferent ball game than Achilles since she's about 2 and we started with him at 8 weeks :wink: .

Anyone have ideas for which command we should start with? Achilles was aus and sitz first, then we moved from there...

Okay, Andi is home and Achilles accidentally met her with the help of my 8 yo :evil: . How is it I say several times "don't open the living room door" and it somehow slides open just as I get this girl into the crate?????? UGH.

So of course not expecting to see another dog, let alone in the crate, Achilles goes off barking and lunging and hackling. I'm going to let poor Andi get settled and we'll try another intro in 2 days' time (after some walks). Tonight Andi's getting a bath and some snuggles. It was a long car ride and she's had a rough last couple of weeks.

Healthwise she is on the skinny side, has a cough and nasal mucous, and she either just had a litter or she's pregnant (hanging, very dark teats). No hair loss, breath doesn't smell, teeth are clean, paws are in good shape, no agulation in the rear, ears are the right size for her head. She looks to have some sable coloring...a tad grey on the flanks and tail with rings around her tail. She's within standard for a bitch, slight boned. No interest in toys or tugs, but that could just be the shelter.

She may not like men for quite a while. Turns out the inmates that run the shelter are afraid of shepherds and dont' treat them very well . She was fine when I went in the pen but the moment the guy went in to get her she ran from him and put herself in a down stay in the corner. We'll have our work cut out for us. I almost came home with teh blanket black and tan male with floppy ears they have there, too...but I KNOW Achilles wouldn't let me have a male in teh house.

I really hope she adjusts and doesn't try to take a bite out of Achilles now that he's been an ass to her. MEN.

Bob Scott said:

Has this dog had a vet check?

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She goes in on Friday, Bob. Of course I'm going to call tomorrow and recheck that our vet hasn't got any openings. That's one of the main reasons I'm containing her in one room of my house (a room which is going to be refloored on Monday LOL).

You know the story: we're a poor rural shelter blah blah blah we don't have the money to vet the animals blah blah blah we throw the dogs together without thinking blah blah blah de blah...

She is a super smart girl. I took her out to give her a bath and within 5 minutes she'd already caught onto sitz! I wasnt' even trying to do anything with her...just comes naturally to me to give the command when I'm taking collars on and off or trying to shut doors or whatever. She's also answering to her new name. I've been able to call her from all the way across the room!

Achilles is going nuts I'm afraid. He's pacing, whimpering. We've been having electrical storms so that could be why he's so on edge, but I also think it's the dog in the next room. Why does he have to make life so difficult? URGH.