Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We recently rescued a min pin mix - bella she is so cute and very good with the girls and so mellow/chill. we had wanted to get cody a playmate (he's 6 1/2 now) and bella is approx 18 months. anyway, cody is food aggressive, but only towards dogs, not humans. it seems that their only issue is the food thing. we are feeding them in separate rooms for now, but i am wondering if this will ever get better? also, they don't seem to play too much together, not that she isn't willing, he seems to ignore her for the most part (unless she is eating or getting a treat).

Thanks for any advice!
Jen

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Our pack includes Shiba Cody (Codemeister), my husband Mike, me (Jenn)and Cody's sisters Kaylee & Emma

Hi Jenn... good seeing you again! Congrats on rescuing Bella. You don't say exactly how long you have had her? As you know from all of your years here... Shibas can be very possessive... not only with toys and things but food as well. Also the Shiba will always be the Alpha so Cody will try exert his place in the pack as leader. The food aggression will take time but it should even itself out. For now you are doing the right thing by feeding them in seperate rooms. Gradually over time begin to move the food bowls closer into one room but it would be good to still keep them on opposite sides. You could try treating them when they are together and see how that goes but caution should be used and a close eye kept on Cody. As for the playtime, this should come around the more Cody realizes Bella isn't going anywhere but it would still be a good idea to monitor them closely when they are near one another.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Cute! Bob has given you good advice, so I'll just say "hi" and welcome to Bella.

It all depends on the dogs I think. If Bella is more submissive the transition will be quicker, but still take time. The best thing you can do is have tons of patience. Best of luck keep us updated.
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David owned by Kona, Kiko & Kaia

Hello,

I hope everything works out...I also noticed your landscaping and saw that we
had a lot of ( drought resistant) plants in common... I live in So. Cal....
I was wondering, (I hope I'm not too nosy), if you were close?

Patty

As the others have said- time will tell. I certainly would not rush them dealing with food together since it's a known issue. Shibas are good at holding grudges. One of th best ways I get my dogs to deal with dogs they aren't overly fond of is to take them on nice long walks together multiple times a day. We are talking LONG walks. Get all parties very tired. Let them see eachother during the walks as well. They can postire and be stupid to a degree while "power walking" but generally when on task they are sizing eachother up in a fairly non-threatening way. They also get the peeing wars dealt with.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

Thanks everyone for the advice and hellos. More details - Bella was rescued this weekend, we've only had her for two days! Cody is still establishing his dominance, but it seems that there is a silent truce going on as long as she doesn't go near his food nor his toys. No playing together yet. We've walked together, but Bella walks a little behind Cody. She is very submissive to him. And...now, it appears she has kennel cough She has been hacking this morning and spit up clear mucus. I made an appt for her to be checked tomorrow morning. Cody is up to date on his vaccinations, but I'm concerned he may catch it as well...From what I've read, it's fairly common amongst shelter dogs. And I'm a little worried about my girls since they're young - could they catch it, too...? What should I do?

T, to answer your question, I live in NorCal, so not necessarily your neighbor, but the same state!
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Our pack includes Shiba Cody (Codemeister), my husband Mike, me (Jen) and Cody's sisters Kaylee & Emma

Hi Jen--

Nice picture of Cody and his new little sister, Bella! I checked on Google and found several reports on whether Bordatella (kennel cough) is contagious to humans. All said it is not. Here is one quote from a pet forum:

Bottom line, I don't think you have any reason to be concerned, but if it would make you feel better you could call your pediatrician for confirmation.
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Anne, Bill, and Murphy

Jen... two days is way to soon for both Cody and Bella to be getting along with one another. One other piece of advice I can give is to pick up and put away ALL of the Codemeister's toys. Only bring them out if you will be there to completely supervise. This will help with the possessive nature these dogs have and trust me... it would only take a split second for Cody to lunge into Bella for taking or even getting near one of his toys.

On the other hand... I would have advised that you kept Bella in a crate for a week or more while unsupervised. This would keep her safe but still let Cody get near her without fear of a possible attack. For now if Cody appears to tolerate her let things stand... but keep a sharp on them and in a week or two things should start to even out a little.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Wow...we have just been hit with an onslaught of things, but this takes the cake! Her "kennel cough" situation turned out much worse than I thought! The vet checked her out and the first thing she said was that she had a high fever. Then she said that her lungs sounded congested and advised to get some chest x-rays to see if she had pneumonia and how aggressively she should treat it. well, it came back bad and now she being observed overnight with IV fluids/antibiotics/nebulizers, the works! She needs to be in isolation since it is highly contagious to other dogs/cats/etc! and she will be staying at least 24-48 hrs. It broke my heart to leave without her, but I know she is in the best care possible. In any case, now I have to keep a close eye on Cody! The vet said that if he has a strong immune system, he is probably ok, but still... It's basically a waiting game to see if he catches it or not! Please keep positive thoughts for us! Thank you!!
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Our pack includes Shiba Cody (Codemeister), my husband Mike, me (Jen) and Cody's sisters Kaylee & Emma

A 300% amount of positive energy, thoughts, and best wishes are coming your way from Beni, Kari, and me..... We'll replenish tonight and send another 300% tomorrow morning....Try to have a restful night...

Patty

Thanks for the positive energy! It has already helped. I called the hospital and the vet said that her temp has come down to an acceptable range and she is resting well. I hope the meds she is receiving helps her feel better quickly!
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Our pack includes Shiba Cody (Codemeister), my husband Mike, me (Jen) and Cody's sisters Kaylee & Emma

Oh my, Jen, you're getting off to a rough start with your new little girl! I'll be keeping all of you in my prayers! You sure have your hands full, right now!
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Anne, Bill, and Murphy

I hope she's better soon!

Thanks again for all your positive thoughts. I went to check on Bella today at lunchtime and she looked good. She still coughs (which is actually a good thing), and she was very happy to see me and wagged her tail. She had an e-collar on to prevent her from taking the IV out. When I got back to work, the vet called to let me know she is ok to go home today. She will need daily steam treatments to get the mucus out of her lungs and will be on antibiotics for at least 3 weeks. I will need to take her back in 2 weeks to get x-rays done again to see if the pneumonia is gone and she will get 1-2 more weeks of antibiotics. I tell you, in all the time we've had Cody (6 years), we have not spent this much money on him (vet visits, vaccinations, food, etc)! But, we want to give her a fighting chance and wouldn't have it any other way! Please keep the positive thoughts coming as we are going to have a challenging month!
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Our pack includes Shiba Cody (Codemeister), my husband Mike, me (Jen) and Cody's sisters Kaylee & Emma

Thoughts are with you, Jen. I'm happy to hear Bella is recovering quickly and glad that she was excited to see you. Seems like she knows already that you are her forever mom!

There are most likely good lessons here for the girls.......in learning that caring for our fur-kids is important, even if expensive!
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Anne, Bill, and Murphy

Another 300% of positive energy, thoughts, and best wishes are being sent your way...
We"ll send another 300% tomorrow a.m.

Beni, Kari, and Me (Patty)

Jen the updates sound good for Bella. The most important thing was to get that fever down. Sounds like she is on her way back to good health. Hang in there and do the best you can her... I know all to well about those vet bills but it's what we do for our dogs.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Bella is doing much better and has become quite a peppy puppy! Good sign, but I have to keep her activity level at a minimum since I don't want her to exhaust herself. I've been giving her nebulizing treatments and antibiotics 2x/day. I e-mailed the rescue group to notify them of her condition out of concern for the other dogs she was around since our vet says she is highly contagious. They wrote back very concerned and surprised, saying that she came from a highly respected vet clinic where she was spayed and the staff gave her extra attention and did a thorough check up before and after surgery and before releasing her to the rescue. They somewhat implied that Cody must have been a carrier and that is how she caught it, but my vet made it clear that she could not have progressed to the severe nature of the disease in just 24-48 hours of being exposed to Cody. They asked me to fax her medical records over so they can bring it to their vet and have him review in order to decide what to do with the other dogs that she was in contact with. I believe they are meeting today to look at her records. Anyway, just thought I'd give an update.
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Our pack includes Shiba Cody (Codemeister), my husband Mike, me (Jen) and Cody's sisters Kaylee & Emma

Thanks for the update Jen. Sounds like Bella is on the road to recovery. It doesn't really surprise me that the rescue group was trying to shift the cause back to Cody. I think we all agree that they do their absolute best and we all thank them for their efforts but what they do can also work against them. At any rate I think it's great they asked for the records and will follow up with their vet. Let us know of any additional outcome.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.