Integrating new mastiff

[neverborn]

We picked up an 8 month old english mastiff friday. We currently have a 6 year old. We told the old owners that this is a trial, and our old girl is #1 priority. We didn't know how she would react. She's super friendly and loving to dogs that visit. The downside is that she will mess you up if you get in front of her food. Severe food aggression issues. That's not a huge problem, we just feed them in different rooms.

At first things were fine. They got along well, but the longer it goes, the more the Emma (original dog) seems to understand that it's not a visiting dog (Mia) and she's more and more annoyed. I would say her behavior towards Mia is tolerance for the most part. But then Mia puts her face into Emma's, trying to snuggle or lick her or who knows what - nothing aggressive - and Emma growls. I've never heard this dog growl at another dog. She'll bark and growl if people are walking by on the street while in protection mode, but that's mostly it.

The second night together Mia tried to get into bed with Emma, and we were woke by growling and barking - and then Emma came into our bed and nothing I could do would get her out.

I'm hoping some of you have more experience in this and can tell me if this is something that will pass? Will it get worse? Or even better is this normal behavior? Is she just expressing herself and the new pup will learn some boundaries? I guess my big concern is .. how long do we evaluate this before we know for sure that it isn't going to work? My wife is extremely stressed out by the situation, and we're going back and forth on what to do. Part of me thinks that what I'm seeing is normal dog behavior, but if I'm wrong and Mia ends up seriously injured or worse, I am not going to forgive myself.

Appreciate any help. Thanks.

 

[DennasMom]

Two girls?

If your older girl isn't interested in sharing... a second girl will just be competition and I'm afraid there's a good chance it won't get better from here.

We found out the hard way that the stress of a second dog in the house can lead to big health consequences, so I'd tread carefully and go with your early gut instincts. As humans, we think we can be smart and fix things...sometimes it works, but some things animal just don't bend to our will.

I'm sure you'll get some other input here on the forum - I've had one bad experience (with two boys) and stopped there... so... I'm not the best person to respond. But, I have heard getting two girls to enjoy each other at home is harder than two boys.

 

[DennasMom]

I'd give it at least 4-6 weeks... and if you don't see some light at the end of the tunnel, call it.
Putting a definite time frame on the visit should give you and your wife the ability to relax about how well it's going now - don't make the decision now, but DO put a time limit on when you expect to see progress. And be honest with each other on what you're seeing. Good and Bad, both.

Also - be sure to engage with both dogs as individuals and together - and keep all together activities very fun and exciting. See if you can convince Emma that having Mia around makes life MORE FUN, not just more work.

 

[scorning]

When I have fosters and/or introduce a new dog into my family. the new dog does not have the same privileges as the current dog. New dog sleeps in a crate and is not allowed on furniture. New dog is not loose with current dogs, they are tethered to me. All my toys are put away and any valuable resources are given in a crate. If dogs do a good job just ignoring each other, I might let new dog have some more freedom in the backyard or house, but they will still have a lead attached to them so I can quickly separate the dogs if need be. My goal is generally neutral interactions and I make sure my current dogs get more personalized attention then they did before new dog came into the picture.

 

[marke]

if they're not physically fighting I think you got it made ....... I've brought dogs in needed separated by fencing , for quite awhile , and they all ended up doing fine .... I think you pay equal attention simultaneously to both dogs , get both dogs in the bed , let your old girl know it's ok , let her know the pup is fun , and let the pup know she's part of everything , push them together and pet both at the same time , give them treats together for sitting , laying down , giving you their paw , whatever ....... walk them together , play with them together , make sure you got 3-4 of everything they get so they don't fight over something , somebody takes something from the other let it be , just don't allow a fight , distract them to something else if you see one coming ....... you might want to put one in a crate or pen when no one is around until your absolutely sure they're not going to fight over something.......... discourage all arguments or fights immediately and decisively .......... I wouldn't favor one over the other , dogs do get jealous .......... I can pet 5-6 dogs at the same time , and they'll all think it's about them ......nobody gets shorted on attention ..... here's 2 brothers , they've had a few fights , but they know fights aren't allowed , they know tone , this argument was destined to be a fight ..........

 

[Cher]

When I brought Ninja home, he was only 8 weeks old. Mochi was 1.5 year old at the time. The first time Mochi saw Ninja, she let out ONE loud bark at him and backed away from him. But then she got interested and came back to check him out, and I think because he was such a young puppy, and maybe also a different gender, she was not intimidated. She then started to sniff at him and he started to check out everything around him. After that, she never barked or growled at him again. They became two peas in a pod. Ninja actually thought Mochi was his mom and started to nurse on her, and she let him even though she never had any puppy. Mochi let Ninja eat her food and let him drink water first. Ninja is not too chivalrous! Have you tried consulting a professional dog trainer to see what they would recommend? I feel like two girls should get along, and originally I was looking for another female puppy, but just fell in love with this male puppy, so I had to get him.

 

[marke]

when she growls at the pup , get involved , change the subject , if you look at their eyes you can see the thought and the difference when the thought is gone ......myself i pet them both and talk and mess with the one doing the growling until i see the thought pass and then just let them go about their business ..... my dogs been bred for a long time to be aggressive and drivey , pups growing up together here always fight , i deal with it and they always grow out of it , always , never had one not .........

 

[Boxergirl]

I'm going to be the odd one out and say that I find females to be particularly finicky about their companions. When I worked in rescue we would almost never adopt a female into a home that already had a resident female. Girls are much more likely to fight, IMO, and when they start they're serious about it. And they don't change their minds. I do think it's still very early days and you need to give things time. I would not leave them unsupervised.

 

[marke]

having bred dogs i keep females , multiple females from litters , not to often i keep males , the less dogs i have the better , i can buy any stud ..... i have on occasion kept some males , my experience with the limited number of brothers i've kept and studs i've bought is intact male dogs are on average way harder to keep together than any females i've kept ........

 

[Boxergirl]

having bred dogs i keep females , multiple females from litters , not to often i keep males , the less dogs i have the better , i can buy any stud ..... i have on occasion kept some males , my experience with the limited number of brothers i've kept and studs i've bought is intact male dogs are on average way harder to keep together than any females i've kept ........

This tends not to be what I, or the organizations I've worked with, have found when placing adult rescue dogs in homes. Of course we weren't dealing with intact dogs. I think that does make a difference. We also weren't dealing with dogs that were related and I wonder if that makes a difference. Many more females were returned due to serious fighting than males.

 

[marke]

may be , female dogs personalities are without question different ...... and intact males do act different than desexed males ....

 

[glen]

Ive got 3 intact males 2 are brothers but theres 20 months between them then there nephew. But we always had each new addiction at 8 wks old i do agree though i know a lot of people that have many problems with 3 intact males and same sex living together, all 3 are well trained, this being said i wouldnt try and bring in an older dog budcuss wouldnt like that.

 

[CeeCee]

I think setting a deadline and listening to your gut are going to be key. I have an 8 year age gap between Lila and Pru and every once in a while we still have poor decisions made by Pru towards Lila. (She does not make those poor decisions with Zeek.) When Pru first joined us, we definitely had to work and manage and I wasn't sure if it was going to be successful. Like you, my first responsibility was to my resident dogs and knowing Lila is getting older, I don't want her last years to be un-enjoyable or stressful. I gave us 30 days and then I would make a decision. Just having the date was a huge mental pressure release for me.

 

[neverborn]

I've read through the responses here, a lot of info. A lot of conflicting info too, so that makes it a bit more confusing. We are definitely setting a time limit, as recommended 4-6 weeks. My gut tells me that Emma's growling is "hey knock it off." to a young puppy who needs to learn to not constantly have her face in her sister's face. That was sort of the thing I was looking to have answered most. Because we haven't seen her do this with other dogs she interacted with, we are quite possibly overreacting.

This new puppy is a bit of a hassle. She's terrified of men. It took 4 full days to get to the point where she will come up to me to be petted. And she'll still be pulled back in case she has to run. She still growls at me when I walk toward her, though she does not take it any further. We had to crate her at night because we can't have her annoying Emma and getting hurt, and she cries all night long. And she rips up anything in reach. She does this when we leave too. Some of that, Emma had too. She had her own issues with separation anxiety. I chock a lot of it up to just being young.

Oh and right now she's at her grandparents house (we usually take Emma there when we work so she isn't alone) and will not let anyone take her out to go pee.

 

[marke]

where is the crate ? if it's not , i'd put it next to my bed like i would a puppy ........ i guess it'd be a matter of perspective , but i doubt your emma would seriously hurt the pup ....... she more than likely will just correct the pup at whatever level it takes to get compliance , that's usually what dogs do ......... as far as fear of men , i'm sure that will pass in regards to you ..... may take some getting used to , but dogs like being around dogs ......

 

[Steven C]

if they're not physically fighting I think you got it made ....... I've brought dogs in needed separated by fencing , for quite awhile , and they all ended up doing fine .... I think you pay equal attention simultaneously to both dogs , get both dogs in the bed , let your old girl know it's ok , let her know the pup is fun , and let the pup know she's part of everything , push them together and pet both at the same time , give them treats together for sitting , laying down , giving you their paw , whatever ....... walk them together , play with them together , make sure you got 3-4 of everything they get so they don't fight over something , somebody takes something from the other let it be , just don't allow a fight , distract them to something else if you see one coming ....... you might want to put one in a crate or pen when no one is around until your absolutely sure they're not going to fight over something.......... discourage all arguments or fights immediately and decisively .......... I wouldn't favor one over the other , dogs do get jealous .......... I can pet 5-6 dogs at the same time , and they'll all think it's about them ......nobody gets shorted on attention ..... here's 2 brothers , they've had a few fights , but they know fights aren't allowed , they know tone , this argument was destined to be a fight ..........

Lenny was so funny how he just listened right away. I love that about Bordaeuxs, they know the limits when the human says no. lol

 

[marke]

lenny is much loved here , he is a sweetheart , dumb as a rock , very soft dog .... a thief , a bit animal aggressive , but loves people , everybody loves lenny ........

 

[neverborn]

where is the crate ? if it's not , i'd put it next to my bed like i would a puppy ........ i guess it'd be a matter of perspective , but i doubt your emma would seriously hurt the pup ....... she more than likely will just correct the pup at whatever level it takes to get compliance , that's usually what dogs do ......... as far as fear of men , i'm sure that will pass in regards to you ..... may take some getting used to , but dogs like being around dogs ......

Crate is in the dining room. I'd move it into our bedroom but it's 10' x 10' with a king size bed and a big dresser. There just isn't room.