Any Way To Introduce Dog-aggressive Dog To A Puppy?

[tigerlily46514]

Our best friends just got a baby puppy, 10 weeks old. Buddy dislikes almost all puppies, and feels disgust about them. Typically, if Buddy meets a puppy, he will step towards the puppy, bark loudly towards the puppy's space,
and then step away, on his own, and ignores puppy.
At that point, we always leave away together.

Occasionally, Buddy gives a pass to female puppies, and has loved some female puppies, even rude female puppies, get a pass from Buddy...usually.

Buddy is dog-aggressive, but can and will get to like *most* dogs IF he gets enough chances to get to know a dog. (he dislikes all shy type of dogs, no matter what i do)

Some dogs he previously hated as puppies, are now his best pals. Buddy does have many canine pals now.

I can and have got Buddy to like *most* dogs i have access to, but i've never ever ever tried getting Buddy to like a puppy.

Buddy goes with us to this home, 2-3 times a week, or more. If Buddy does not like the puppy, that is the end of that.

I want Buddy to "like" this puppy, but I also do not want to traumatize any puppy by having Buddy yell at them.

Should i just quit bringing Buddy over there til puppy grows up?
Should i even try to desensitize Buddy to a male puppy?
I've never even tried to, not once, out of fear of scaring a puppy.

What is best way to solve this? Just wait a year til puppy grows up?

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Someone else might post with a better idea, but I'm thinking maybe let puppy socialize with other dogs/puppies first, before introducing Buddy. I wouldn't want Buddy to be his/her first socialization experience aside from his/her mum and littermates. That way, puppy has plenty of good socializaion experiences behind him already.
If all Buddy does is bark at the puppy a little, I wouldn't be too terribly concerned with pup's welfare.
For the first view visits though, you might not actually attempt any greeting or contact between the two--maybe let him see puppy across the room, but that's all--whatever you need to do so that he is aware of puppy but is not close enough to threshold that he barks at pup. The first few visits, make sure he sees pup and then the most amazing wonderful things happen--massage, favorite treat, toy, whatever. That way he starts to think, "This puppy is the sign of all things wonderful and magnificent!!!" So he might be happy to see the puppy. See how his reaction is to the pup after that and maybe bring pup a little closer and again, Buddy gets something wonderful, but still no contact between the two. And so on...

This way both dogs are safe and happy.

Somebody else might come along with a better idea but so far that's what I've got...

 

[tigerlily46514]

THANK YOU TX! This makes great sense to me! Thank you!

 

[tx_cowgirl]

You're welcome! Let me know how it goes. Good luck.

 

[Anneke]

Well, My friend kept a male pup from her litter and she really wanted Cooper to get along with Cross. We decided this meeting would not be on grounds they know. So we took them out for a walk. We let them out of our cars, didn't let them sniff at eachother.
I had it all planned out, just walking at a distance from each other and gradually moving in closer.
But... We had all the other dogs with us. Meaning: Jinx, Brit(Cross his mum), Donja and Shira. The lines got tangled up and somehow all of a sudden Cross was right next to Cooper....
Cooperwas a little annoyed, but he was calm and tried to ignore this little monster.
The walk went great, Cooper accepted Cross to be near him, but didn't interact with him.
If I had gone through with this, maybe they would now be friends, but my friend(Cross his owner) has MS, so she can't walk much anymore. Cross is now 8 moths old and we haven't had them together again.
So I guess my advice would be, to walk them together so they can get used to eachothers company. If that goes ok, I would take them in the house, keep them on leash and see hw that goes.

What I am afraid of with Cooper and Cross, is that Cooper might have a problem with him now, because he(Cross) is becoming a real male now(8 months old, just starting to lift his leg while peeing) . I don't want Cross to have a bad experience with another dog, because he is in training to become a servicedog.

 

[running_dog]

LOL I'm not sure whether I should be disqualified from commenting as I've been struggling with Zac and Gus. Gus (9 weeks old) was parachuted into our family with no chance of proper introductions.

I don't know if pups are as sensitive as we think they are. I was really worried about how unpleasant Zac was to Gus but to be honest it seems like water off a ducks back as far as Gus is concerned. Though Zac has been very careful never to touch Gus he has certainly told him that he doesn't like him near him... in fact that he simply doesn't like him AT ALL.
Maybe puppies get more sensitive to grumpiness in other dogs as they get older? People would certainly have us believe that what Gus has experienced this last few days would turn him dog aggressive but the stupid mutt still actually LIKES Zac. From the feedback I've had this doesn't seem to just be a Zac&Gus phenomenon. I don't know for sure but I'd think that...

As long as the puppy isn't easily frightened (No point trying if he's shy any way)...
As long as you keep Buddy from reaching the puppy....
As long as you keep the puppy from reaching Buddy (Zac got off to a very bad start when the pup thought he was a new milk provider )...

... maybe you could have Buddy in the next room with a baby gate in between. Do NOT carry the puppy. What about just walking Buddy into the room letting him see the pup and walking straight out again? And then repeating this and extending the times when Buddy is able to cope. I'm only just trying to figure things out (with lots of DTA help )with Zac and Gus so I may be utterly wrong...

I think I made the mistake of thinking that Gus was a defenceless little puppy, and of course he is... sort of. But as far as Zac is concerned he's also pushy, bad mannered and in your face. You'll need to protect Buddy from feeling threatened by the pup. Remember that dogs may feel threatened in one position but not another - 90% of Zac's growls are when Gus approaches him when he's laid down.

I think based on a rather sudden puppy learning curve that I'd let them see each other (and like TX says have wonderful things happen when they see each other) but not approach until you ALL feel comfortable.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Thank you, Rdog! This makes sense! For now, the puppy is being treated for some multiple infections/ is sick,
so for now, any meeting is off for now.
But i am feeling a little less nervous about the whole situation than i was a few days ago. I have been following Zac's progress with his new puppy housemate closely, and how you are doing it, so it is great timing that i can learn from Zac and Gus.

It's kind of funny, i rarely if ever feel nervous nowadays about desensitizing Buddy to dogs,
it's just old hat by now for us,
some days we win, some days we lose,
but the worst that can happen is Buddy begins to react and we leave----how bad is that? so what?


but THIS puppy, being so central in our world, well, it matters a lot. So i feel kind of nervous, both cuz i've never ever done this before,
and because Buddy getting along with this dog will matter a lot to Buddy's life. Besides the frequent house visiting, we go on all types of outdoor outings with this other couple, out in the woods, on the lake and beaches, fishing, hunting mushrooms, bonfires in the woods, just lots of things that Buddy thinks are great, etc etc, and Buddy would get left out of allllll of that is he acts a fool about the other dog.

But, since usually i CAN desensitize Buddy to most any dogs if i have regular access to the dog, i am feeling hopeful,
that even if Buddy doesn't like the puppy right off, that overtime, i hope that Buddy WILL someday "like" the new puppy. Especially also since you said Zac is now finding his way with the new puppy, this is also encouraging news.

If, however, IF this new puppy is a 'shy' or even just a super-submissive dog, i won't be able to successfully desensitize Buddy to it, though..... i've never ever ever once, not ever, got Buddy to "like" a shy dog, well, not yet anyway.

Slightly off topic, but I'm stoked though, that i was able to convince them that their puppy shouldn't be eating Iams dog food(is crappy dog food).

 

[tigerlily46514]

I SO SO SO APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP
FROM EVERYONE
NO detail or story too small to interest me,
as i know nothing about best way to approach this matter,
so i am very grateful for all advice or tips,
even from ppl who learned it the hard way.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

So just curious, what is this new pup?? Breed(s), boy/girl, etc?

 

[tigerlily46514]

Oh, it's freakin adorable, just couldn't be any cuter. It is a rescue pup, from the dog pound. They'd been wanting a pointer, and tried to go through some Pointer Rescue orgs, but balked at turning over their social security numbers and tons of personal info req'd, as they've already had to struggle through one Identity theft already, and are very wary of having their ID info in computers now.

I've been through the same thing, of the overwhelming paperwork involved in adopting from a rescue org....
It's one of the reasons i chose a dog-pound dog. Some rescue orgs are awesome, but some are like dog-nazi's, and even rude and start off very suspicious. I think it is fine to be suspicous, but to openly convey they think we might be dropping $250 for a dog to do medical experiments on him IS insulting...

We got blackballed from having a border collie as we are in our 50s...although very fit and lively, and someone is home most of the time here, and we are outdoors a lot, and have great lifestyles and large fenced yard for a dog, and many woods all around our home, and we are the kind, "if you see US, you see our dog, too" types, (our dog is ALWAYS with us)
but-----
based on our age, they wanted to give us an older, low energy dog, which my guy, who is a super active guy, who can run circles around ppl half his age, found insulting. But, 90% of this was done over the phone and via paperwork, so, the orgs can't really get to know a potential adopter really well.
We did have a 4 hour home visit, too, but almost flunked as one family member couldn't be home on that day, although all our references and vet said we are good to dogs.

One of my best gal pals is a lawyer who specializes in adoptions (of humans) and she laughed at the months of paperwork we went through to qualify for a homeless dog, and said she can facilitate adoptions of humans faster than that!! That was another turn off, was how they never returned calls or emails, almost never.
We had to be sooooooo persistent, with weekly emails to get ANY response....oh well. I realize they are understaffed and working for free, in their spare time, and each rescue org is different.

and by then, i'd become more committed and more interested in dogs no one else would want. So did my guy. The more we searched, the more compelled we felt to rescue the most desperate dog we could find....

i do see both sides, i see the rescue org needing to do background checks on potential owners,
but i also understand the skepticism of those not wanting to have their personal info into more computer banks than we already have to. I do see both sides of that issue.

HERE IT IS!
They suspect, being from a dog pound, it is probably "a mix", but, wow, looks very
"pointer-y" doesn't it? They live on our local lake, and the pup is already pointing at the ducks! They named it "Maui" after their favorite vacation spot, that name has a nice sound to it, doesn't it? Maui is a male pup, and they will get him neutered when he is old enough.

I wonder if this pup will develop spots as it ages. Many breeds get their spots as they mature. Some pointers get few if any spots, though....
So far, Maui is a good lil puppy, and already sleeping through the night! However, the guy--who wanted an ADULT dog, is already tiring of stepping in lil poopies all over his house...

I also wonder, if living on a lake, if they will often find their dog jumping in the lake to get a duck going by.....over and over and over....
Here is Maui's "dog pound picture" : (how CUTE is this puppy?!!)

 

[tigerlily46514]

^so hopefully, this pup will become one of Buddy's best pals.
i hope
i hope
i hope.........cuz their "dads" are best pals........

 

[tigerlily46514]

<----has already sent the new "dad and mom" a few kikopup videos on housetraining, crate training and puppy biting. hee hee!!
AND links for dog food analysis, too.

 

[tigerlily46514]

lol, Maui's new home also has a cat in it,
and Maui DID chase the cat for his first day or two,
but the cat has taught Maui to stop that.....hee hee.

and now, Maui is leaving the cat alone...mostly.

 

[Anneke]

He is adorable!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

MAUI IS NOT A SHY DOG! YESssssssssss! Yay, and whew! Buddy always has trouble with shy dogs, so i'm so relieved, that Maui calmly approaches strangers and enjoys petting.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Maui is adorable!!!!!