Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone-

I have a nine month old border collie/Australian Shepherd mix puppy named Sheppy. I adopted an 8 year old Pomeranian named Tessie on Saturday. We brought Sheppy to the shelter to introduce them and it went really well.

However, since then, there's been a lot of snapping and barking. No one's hurting each other but Sheppy will take the play stance with Tessie and kind of jump around, and Tessie will jump back at him and snarl at him. He'll back off for a second, but then he tries again. This goes on a couple of times and finally Shep will back off completely but he'll bark continuously, not necessarily at her, but just bark. Most of the time a toy or just taking him out of the room will curb this but as long as she's within sight, a "quiet" command doesn't work.

Is this a dominance situation or is Sheppy just not getting the message that she doesn't want to play? Does anyone have any ideas on how to improve this situation? We've been trying positive reinforcements-if they're in the room together and not going at each other, we give them lots of love and attention. If Shep sniffs Tessie and she doesn't snap at him (she might growl a little), they both get treats. We want them to associate good things with being together.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

lots of dynamices going on here. great that you adopted a snr pom. you've got lots of differences in age/size/temp. but the thing I would do at this stage would be to give each lots of seperate space for up to 7-10 days. Thats a long time, but I'd rather err on the side of caution & not have to backtrack. It would be good to know if you have crates & where Sheppy has been staying during the day, if you are home or not. Try not to vary the resident dog's rountine too much. Tessa needs to have time to adjust to all the sounds/smells & sights in your life. Remember EVERYthing is new to her. She needs to feel safe & at her own pace learn each facet of her new life. It would help if she could stay in her crate to observe your interactions with Sheppy. Her behavior towards him, is normal, the snarling is her way of communicating & the way an older dog reacts to a puppy. I wouldn't do too much actual interfering with their behavior, cos lots that you may do unknowingly sends messages to them that can increase hostility/confusion. I've only learned recently that to pick up 1 dog, sends a message to the other that the dog pickd up is 'higher' status. That is only 1 thing that sends the wrong message, & to pick up a small dog is what comes naturally. You can find books specifically on reading dog's body language in your library. Its a complex interesting study. Best wishes to you, Sheppy & Tessa.

Hi-thanks for the info. It makes a LOT of sense.

Sheppy’s crate is in our bedroom, and he’s in there when we’re at work and also at night as he is still chewing the heck out of everything and we’ve been advised to crate him up when we can’t watch him until that’s ebbed.

Tessie doesn’t have a crate of her own, but we do have an extra one. During the day she’s out and about on her own. Her pillow is also in our bedroom but out of Sheppy’s sight.

Should I go ahead and keep Tessie crated up when Sheppy is crated up, until they’re getting along better? Would it be better to keep one confined to a room with my husband and the other with me and then we can just trade off so both of them get equal time with us? Then, we can keep Tessie crated up some of the time we’re home so she can observe our behavior with Sheppy?

Thanks again-I appreciate all the help I can get!

HI! Congrats on your new Pom and many thanks for adopting an older dog.

The first thing to remember is both of your dogs have only been together for a few days so the adjustment period is still going to take a bit of time. I wish it wasn't so but these things do not happen overnight.

It has been my experience to crate the "new" dog when brought into the home. This gives the resident dog the status he deserves and also lets him be around the new dog and vice versa without them getting into any scrapes. While you are home and supervising... both dogs can be out at the same time.

Do you have any history on the Pom? Was she an alpha dog in her previous situation? Until both Sheppy and Tessie learn a pack order be sure to give Sheppy the attention first and then Tessie. If there is going to be a dominance issue, it will occur naturally.

One last thing, the Pom is a senior dog and while being a member of the Spitz class and used to being on the go...because of her age she just may not want to try to keep up with Sheppy who is combination of breeds that can go and go! lol Good Luck and please keep us updated.
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Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
PHMax
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Hi, and thank you.

I'm not sure what Tessie's status was in her previous homes. She originally belonged to a couple who were divorcing, and they were unable to find a home for her so they planned to shoot her. They finally found someone to take her, but they already had nine dogs. They got in touch with the manager of the animal shelter I volunteer at, and the rest is history. But that is all I know.

The problem I have is that Shep is crated any time we can't watch him. Being a puppy, he loves to chew on everything and until that's under control, he has to be confined when we can't watch him. So the only time I'd be able to have her crated so Shep can interact with her without being hurt is when we're home.

Would it maybe work better if we put up a baby gate between rooms? That way one dog can roam the living room and kitchen and the other can roam the bedrooms but they can still interact?

I know now that keeping them separate is the best thing-she is getting so annoyed by him that she's actually attacking him now. He's not attacking back but I don't want it to get to that. We also decided to exercise him a little more-if he's more worn out, hopefully he won't feel as much of a need to mess with her.

Any other ideas anyone has would be great. I appreciate the help!

you mentioned several options that sound equally good. pick one & go with that routine. just 'read' both dogs for signs that method is working or that you might need to make some slight adjustment. Sheppy is at a stage of adolescence, so you have your hands full, just continueing to train him. the more you can do with him the better. Tessa's needs are alot different. You might at best, gain tolerance between the 2. Each will benefit from structure/routine & you behaving with calm demeanor. It may just be me (!) but when there is a logistic situation with my 8 dogs, I write down options & devise a written plan to refer to.

Ok Ive seen this behavior and as someone else said the older pom is just stating to the youngster that I dont like what you are doing back off. The older dogs do that most of the time. My dog will do the same thing Sheppy is doing. He will shake a toy infront of the older shelti and she will stand there baring teeth and finaly give way to a short chase and a snip at him. Which usualy ends in him finding it "funny" and continuing. I let the dogs resolve it most of the time because the shelti will give up and go lay down where only she can get at since she is smaller, I suggest you have a hide away for the pom as well even if its a couch almost up against the wall but with enough space for the pom things like that can work. A kennel would be great as well but the personal space reserved just for the pom would help a lot!

other times when my dog wont stop I make him do a command like lie down and let the shelti wander away and keep his focus on me and the command. Start some training with Sheppy to keep him focused on you while the pom goes elsewhere on her own of course. Training helps with the sits and downs and if given treats Sheppy should forget about the pom and the whole ordeal. Another option is to take Sheppy else where like outside and pretend you are just taking Sheppy to potty not a bad idea for a puppy. Im not sure if too much attention should be paid to Sheppy when Sheppy is being "annoying" or so the pom sees it because then that will turn into something to do, but let it go for a bit and see if the pom lets the youngster know that : hey youre getting a bit annoying settle down!But watch them like a hawk incase it turns into a brawl! Give them both time to know each others quirks. Sheppy is young and will learn just like the youngster it may take a few snips of an older dog to learn a lesson!

Hope this helps some what!

Those are some great ideas! Thank you.

Now what’s happening is it doesn’t matter if Sheppy is trying to play or just nearby, if he gets around Tessie, she goes at him. I think she may really be trying to hurt him, although she hasn’t. Sheppy usually responds by assuming the play stance and pawing at her and barking, or he just tries to get away from her and she chases him.

We’re going to try and keep them completely separated for a couple of days, just to let things settle down. We’ll try bringing them around again and if they start at it, we’ll try distraction again. We also have a behavior specialist on standby if things don’t improve.

I know that these things can take time but sometimes I get so disillusioned. I know they may not ever become the best of friends, I just want them to get along!!