Many of us consider getting a second dog, in the hopes that she will help keep our existing dog busy and out of trouble. However, if our resident dog is not well trained, it is more likely that our new dog will pick up on his bad habits.
In the end, we will have two furry terrors, instead of just one.
I got Husky puppy Shania, one year after my first dog, Shiba Sephy. I waited a year so that I had time to bond with Sephy and properly train him. Only after I had solved most of his behavioral issues, did I consider getting another dog.
One of the biggest challenges of getting a second or third dog, is the process of introducing her to our existing pack, and getting everyone to accept her. Here, we consider how to successfully introduce a new dog into our home.
1. Meal Time Ritual
Meal time is especially important in a multiple dog household.
Dogs are opportunistic by nature, and during meal times, I have observed that they will try to steal each other’s food. This can often trigger food guarding and food aggression behaviors.
I supervise my dogs during meal times, so that there is no stealing. They each get several interactive food toys to work on, and I make sure they give each other space, while working on their toys.
Often, Husky Shania will work diligently on her items, while Sephy will just lie around sunning himself. He will wait until she is done with her toy, and then pick through what she has left behind.
He is such a moocher! 😀
Sometimes, he will test coming in before Shania is finished, in which case I will step in and body block him away. Through this process, my dogs learn that I will enforce meal-time rules in a fair and consistent manner, so they do not need to do it themselves, with their teeth.
2. Attention, Affection, and Rules
After getting a second dog, it is natural to pay more attention and show more affection toward her, especially if she is a puppy.
However, we must resist that temptation, and try to treat both dogs equally.
If we give our new dog more attention and affection, we may create competition between our two dogs. This may later lead to conflicts and aggression. Instead, I make sure all my dogs follow similar rules, and get similar rewards for good behavior.
If we are too lenient with our puppy and let her get away with more, our existing dog will likely observe that, and pick up on those same bad habits.
I like doing group obedience training with my dogs. This helps them work together as a team, and be comfortable with each other around people, food, and toys. It also helps them to associate together-time with rewards and positive outcomes. I also do their grooming sessions together, including teeth cleaning and fur brushing.
Supervision is very important, especially in the beginning. I teach my dogs what the rules are, and what to do when under stress. In this way, they learn good play and interaction habits. In fact, I still supervise my dogs, but less so now that they are older, and know the rules around the house.
Still, Shiba will always try something from time to time to test his boundaries.
He is that cool! 😎
3. Play-Time Rules
In addition to meal-time rules, play-time rules are also important.
Since Shania is a three legged dog, Sephy may sometimes overwhelm her when he gets over-excited during play. I always make sure he does not get too rough with her.
I manage the excitement level of all of my dogs, by throwing in many play-breaks. During a play-break, I call one dog over to me (the more food focused one), get her to do some simple commands, and reward her well for it. This usually gets the other dogs to join in, so we do a brief group obedience session. These brief breaks help my dogs to calm down, refocus on me, as well as practice doing commands in the middle of play.
I also institute a no-humping rule, because it can be seen as a dominance move by other dogs (especially new dogs). I do not want my Shiba practicing these types of behaviors. The more he practices it, the more likely he is to repeat it; possibly in an inappropriate context. Shania also dislikes it, so humping is a time-out offense.
Some people prefer to let the dogs “work it out for themselves”.
Personally, I think it is best for us to set and enforce play-time rules and household rules. By doing so, I ensure that there is no bullying, and my dogs do not become fearful of each other. Since I am the one correcting their behaviors, my dogs are free to enjoy each others’ company, and need not use aggression. They learn to see each other as playmates and equals. If there is ever any trouble, they can come to me and I will take care of it. To me, that is what leadership means.
4. A Quiet Place to Rest
When I first got a new dog, I made sure that Sephy had a nice and quiet place to rest, away from the nibbles of a playful puppy. Like us, a dog may want some time to spend, in peaceful solitude. This is especially important if our resident dog is older, and tires more easily.
A puppy can be a crazy ball of energy and a big handful, not just for the people around the house, but also for the existing dogs.
I set up a consistent routine for my second dog, similar to what I did for my first dog. I make sure that she has a fixed schedule for meal-time, play-time, walk-time, and sleep-time.
When it is time for sleep, little Husky goes into her crate or puppy pen. In this way, my adult dogs get to rest, and so does my little puppy. Now that Puppy is older, it is no longer necessary to manage them so closely. Both dogs are able to regulate themselves, and give each other space when they need it.
Still, they each have separate crates that they can go to whenever they want, and they also have access to the backyard.
If I am not home, which does not happen often, Husky prefers to stay out in the backyard and Shiba likes staying in the house. I still do not fully trust them to be alone together, because their play can get pretty crazy, they may get over-excited, and end up hurting themselves.
5. Conflict Over Resources
When we get a new dog, there is a lot of uncertainty. Everyone in the family is learning how to interact with Puppy, and Puppy is learning how to interact with everyone else.
Conflicts may arise between our two dogs, when they both want the same thing at the same time; for example, food, toys, sleeping area, or our attention and affection. An effective way to keep the peace, is to be clear about resource ownership and teach them how to resolve conflicts without aggression.
For example, if one dog is chewing on a toy, I am there to supervise and prevent stealing. If I am not fast enough and some stealing occurs, I usually replace what was stolen plus an added interest. The thief has to either go to his bed or go to timeout, thereby temporarily losing his freedom. In addition, I also reward my dogs for staying calm together, and for working together with me.
In summary, I try to maximize positive interactions with the new dog, as well as minimize bad encounters. The more positive experiences my dogs have with each other, the more they will accept each other as part of a team. The opposite is also true.
If we establish clear dog-to-dog interaction rules, our new dog will quickly learn what is expected of her, and our existing dogs will also know what to expect from the new puppy. This reduces uncertainty, reduces stress, and helps everyone to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
Second Dog – Double Trouble or Double Fun?
So which is it?
Is a second dog double the trouble or double the fun?
I think if properly handled, a new dog can be a big enhancement to everyone in the family.
I am very glad Shania joined our family. Everyone has a happier, much richer life, because of her spirit, exuberance, can-do’ness, and overall awesomeness!
However, she was a lot of work, especially in the beginning, and the dog bills are much heftier.
Still, Shania gives a thousand-fold more than she gets, and Sephy will be the first to say that he loves her more than words can say. When she is away, he just spends his time moping around the house.
Thanks to Colleen and Reptar for bringing up this fun and important topic.
I have two 4-year-old Boxers. They’re siblings (Bradley, a neutered male and Bella, a spayed female). I took them both to obedience training when they were puppies and aside from some 3 or4 rough play instances, during the past 4 years, there have not been any problems.
I took Bradley and Bella to my brother’s house (he has a docile female yellow lab, who both my dogs have been around, before). All three dogs were running and playing in the yard for quite a while, then we brought them into the house. Bradley and Bella began staring each other down, and began fighting… I mean REALLY fighting. Blood was drawn; and I had to physically separate them. They calmed down, relaxed for a few minutes; then went at it again. I brought them home in separate vehicles and observed them throughout the night. There was no repeat of the aggressive behavior… until this afternoon. The same behavior occurred. I separated them until they settled down, then let them meet each other again. They’re laying down together on the couch with me, right now, like nothing happened. It’s like Dr. Jeckyl and Mrs. Hyde. I’m sickened by their extremely violent interactions and very concerned about how to stop this behavior. Please help.
With my dogs, I have noticed that when there are new or less familiar dogs about, things may change. For example, my Shiba may start wanting to protect my Siberian from the other dog. Also, sometimes both dogs may want access to the new dog, which creates conflict.
I supervise all of their play sessions, even now. During play, they are in a highly excited state, and that is when they are most likely to lose their self-control. With my dogs, it really helps to always manage their excitement level and frequently refocus their attention into working for me.
Based on what you describe, it is difficult to tell what is triggering the aggression. Probably best to get help from a professional trainer who can observe the dogs, read their body language, as well as observe their environment and routine.
Hi there
We have a 6 month old male Siberian Husky Zeus, his been an absolute champ with training and everything else and had him since he was a puppy:) We just recently got a 7 week female puppy as we felt he was just ‘too alone’. Unfortunately Zeus seems very protective over everything and we had an incident where he went for Maya because she got to close to his unfinished food, and basically ended in tears for her as he seemed to have really hurt her. We keep the under constant supervision, yet all he can seem interested in is Maya and being a big brut with her. We feed them separate unfortunately Maya is slower to eat and Zeus wants to be stingy and eat hers and then lands up not eating his food. We try give equal amount of attention but our male feels overpowered by this little munchkin. What is the best solution for this?
Thanks
Dani
Hello Daniella,
Congratulations on your new Husky puppy.
Here are some things that helped when I first got Husky Lara –
1. I made sure to set clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. Absolutely no stealing and absolutely no bullying.
2. I am always there to supervise puppy closely, especially during meal-times and play-time. I make sure that each dog has enough space to work on their own interactive toy. If Sephy or Shania gets close to puppy’s comfort space, I body-block them away so that nothing gets started and the dogs know that I am there to protect them and enforce meal-time rules. I do the same thing if puppy gets too close to my other dogs’ comfort space.
3. I put a drag-lead on puppy when she is roaming about (only with a flat collar and only under supervision). This allows me to easily control her movements and teach her how to interact politely with my other dogs. I also put a drag-lead on Sephy when I first got Lara.
The key with introducing Lara, is to set everyone up for success. I want to maximize positive interactions among my dogs (e.g. through group obedience training) and minimize negative interactions (by using play-breaks, and being proactive about interaction rules, as well as meal-time and play-time manners).
Prevention is much better than cure. I manage and prevent, so that my dogs learn that I handle conflicts, and they need not do it themselves.
I talk more about what I did in the article above.
Thanks for all the really great info on your site. We have 2 shibas. Rex is 4 years old and Merlin is 3. Rex really is the typical shiba. He’s super stubborn, loves to play chase and can be quite a challenge to get him to do what we want. Merlin, however, just wants to please. He follows commands fairly well. He is actually the one that I have a question about though.
He is not aggressive when it comes to guarding his food, but is very anxious/eager to get food. We are working on making sure that he is calm when he is fed. The problem we are having is with his “things”. Merlin has always been VERY protective with his toys and bones. At times, he will pack as many things in his mouth as he can and run around whining. He has never guarded his things from people, just Rex. We make sure that Rex doesn’t steal and gives Merlin the time to play with toys and chew on his bones. Merlin, however, will growl and “scream” at Rex even though he is unprovoked.
How do we handle this? I feel like if I take the item because he’s responding this way, I’ll teach him that it’s me that he needs to guard against, but I can’t continue to let him behave this way.
Heh, yeah Sephy does a similar thing with high priority chews such as bully sticks and Greenies. He runs around everywhere, looking for a place to hide them. He does this even when the Huskies are in a different room working on their own chews. It really reminds me of that insurance commercial where they dog keeps worrying about his bone and finally puts it in a safety deposit box. 😀
One thing that helped Sephy with his Greenie is that we let him work on it at night, in his crate, with the door closed. In the beginning, we also showed him that we have another Greenie in reserve that we are keeping for him, so if he loses this one, he will get another. Once he learned that we have more of the stuff that we are keeping safe for him, he was able to relax and work on it.
With bully sticks, what has helped is to give him much smaller pieces. Then he can finish it in one sitting and he does not feel like he has to hide it for later.
Sephy gets stressed over items that-
1. He cannot finish in one sitting.
2. Is rare – he does not get it every day.
3. Is highly desirable – e.g. chewy, smelly edibles, like bully sticks.
We also try to give him things that do not fall into this space, so that he can better enjoy his rewards without worrying about getting a safety deposit box :D. I think it is the same with people and things like expensive jewelry; it often creates more worry than anything else.
What kind of toys and bones does Merlin protect? Is it everything, or just very specific things?
Hello
I would like some advice. I have read most of the comments and many of your articles. We have a black male cocker spaniel, Mokka He’s just over a year old. We want to get a new puppy of the same breed and colour. He has been going to obedience classes since he was 5 months old and we go to the park regularly for socialisation. He does not like small breed dogs. He loves to play and gets very lonely during the day when we are at work.
We wanted to get a female, but they are very scarce and we have settled on another male. Our dog is not fixed yet, but we are planning it for later this year. Do you think its a good idea to get another male? We are scared of the fighting that may occur between 2 males.
Thankyou
Chantell
As I understand it, there are fewer sources of conflict between a male and a female. However, this is not to say that dogs of the same gender cannot get along.
I have two female Huskies and they get along very well. Some things that help with my Huskies-
1. I picked more submissive puppies. This is because my male Shiba Inu is a more dominant dog. I find that submissive dogs are easier to train and tend to get along better with other dogs. I just make sure to positively socialize them to various sights and sounds so that they build confidence, and don’t become fearful.
2. I set out clear dog-to-dog interaction rules from the beginning and carefully teach those rules to my dogs.
3. I supervise and manage my dogs’ excitement level, especially during play.
4. I set the rules, I supervise, and I step in to resolve conflicts *before* they escalate. In this way, my dogs learn that I settle disputes consistently and fairly, and they do not need to do it themselves with aggression.
I think that if possible, there is less risk to get a male and a female. My Shiba Inu is a male, and I got a female Siberian Husky (Shania) as our second dog. I took my time getting a second dog because I wanted to make sure that we got a compatible companion that will fit in well with our family.
Shiba Sephy is more picky and particular when it comes to other dogs, and Shania is a lot more relaxed and easy-going. Therefore, when we got a third dog, we got another female Husky, Lara.
I have a 1 year old Lab/Maremma female dog, and just about a month or so ago adopted my neices 6 year old female Chihuahua. My 1 yr old is obsessed with the little one. She follows her, she stares, she occasionaly will try to push her with her snout. It’s driving all of us crazy!!! I have tried a number of different things. More walks for the bigger dog etc,etc…. She just wont stop obsessing over her. What can I do before we all go crazy. Especially my Lab. I swear she is going crazy!
Here are some things that worked well while introducing my Sibe puppy Lara to my other dogs-
1. I set up a fixed schedule and routine for puppy. Most of the time, puppy is with me and under supervision. If I cannot supervise, then I put puppy in her enclosure.
2. I set up a consistent set of rules for Lara and do not let her bother my other dogs when they want to rest. During the training period, I put a drag-lead on her when I am around to supervise. I only use a regular flat collar (*not* an aversive collar) and only under supervision. If she bothers my other dogs, I no-mark, and then redirect her into doing something else (using the drag lead if necessary). If it is her playtime, then I step in to play with her.
I describe more of what I do in the article above.
my second dog has gotten along very well thanks to all your tips…
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
Hi there
I very much enjoy your posts and learn alot from your tips. I’ve gotten involved in Shiba rescue and would love to foster and someday adopt an older shiba to join my family. I currently own Penny, a 2yr old female. She is a huge fun personality, gets along with 95% of dogs on leash, and is pretty good off-leash at our Shiba meet-ups. Sometimes she is too rough with the puppies but overall, she plays well (minus all the crazy shiba noises!). I love her and because of her, have gotten involved in the breed.
This brings me to my issue. She is pretty good with neutral toys/balls at the park. However, if another dog comes into my home – she goes on attack mode. This happens with dogs that she plays well with in every other instance. I have to pick up everything- her crate, her toys, her bones, her water /food bowls and even the mat that her water bowl sits on. Then, she isn’t attacking but definitely watching the other dog’s every move. I know the house should be mine- but she obviously feels it is hers. How can I work on this without endangering other dogs in my home? At this point, I’ve only had 2 other dogs in my place (multiple times though). I should also add that I have to watch her in other peoople’s homes with toys, too. She is definitely an ‘alpha’ girl.
Thanks in advance!
When Sephy was young I did a lot of dog-to-dog desensitization exercises with him to get him more comfortable and calm around other dogs. I also did a slight variation of this when I brought Lara home.
For example, I first had Lara on-leash and in the front-yard. Sephy was on-leash as well with a friend. I make sure they are far enough from each other to be calm and both are able to listen to their handler. Sephy is no-longer very reactive, so he was calm and able to handle this part. Then, we moved into the backyard, again with both on-lead and far enough from each other that they are still calm. Then, we let Sephy off-leash. I did this because Sephy only guards his own space. If other dogs don’t bother him, he doesn’t bother them either, so I was quite sure that he would be ok. I would take it much more slowly and keep him on-leash for longer, if he guards objects or what he considers to be his territory.
I kept puppy on-leash and with me the whole time and for many days afterwards, until I was sure that Sephy was comfortable with having her around, and Lara has learned some of the house-rules. Also, Sephy does not like new dogs sniffing his butt, so I made sure that Lara didn’t do that until Sephy was willing to let her. Other than that, I try to create positive and rewarding opportunities for them when they are calm and together.
With desensitization it is important to go slowly, and to go at a pace that our dog is comfortable with. In general, I want to retrain Sephy to associate other dogs with positive and calm experiences, so I do not want to expose him to situations where he would experience stress or be in high alert. Instead, I try to always make encounters be low-stress, calm, and very rewarding.
Getting help from a professional trainer can also be very helpful. In the early days, we visited with a trainer at our local SPCA to do desensitization exercises with the dogs there. It was great because they have a variety of friendly and calm dogs that we could train with.
When Sephy was young, we didn’t have a backyard, so I also cleared out one of the rooms in the house and made it into a playroom. When his play friends came over, we would go directly into the play room and they would have lots of fun in there. In this way, I can supervise more easily, and have better control over the environment. For example, I make sure that there are only low priority toys in the room and no food toys at all. However, I only did this after Sephy was already more calm and comfortable around other dogs.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes with Penny.
Hi there,
We have a 11 year old male boxer. He is a big attention hog lol. He always wants to be sitting on your lap when youre on the couch, and he doesnt like to be left alone for a long time. He became this way when his mom died a few years back. We now have the opportunity to bring in a new boxer puppy into the house. Another male. I think it would be good for our older dog, because it will give him someone to be with when we are not around ( at work etc). The older dog doesn’t really like to play or go for walks. Hes quite lazy actually. But there have been concerns that with a new puppy, our older one will feel left out and want to die? Is this common? We know we have to keep the attention equal between the two. But its we want to know if it is even safe to attempt.
Thanks
Hello Tabitha,
When I got my recent Husky puppy, Sephy, my older dog did not get along with her at first. From Sephy’s point of view, the puppy is noisy, disrupts his schedule, he has to share his toys, and the attention of his people. Therefore, I spent a lot of time showing Sephy how puppy Lara can be a positive influence on his life.
I made sure that all of their interactions are positive, or at worst, neutral. I set a fixed schedule for puppy, and *do not* allow her to disturb Sephy when he just wants to rest. Older dogs need a lot more rest, so it was important to supervise puppy Lara and redirect her energy.
I did group obedience training, and showed Sephy that he gets a lot more rewards when he is calm and working together with puppy. I describe more of what I do in the article above.
A lot of getting a new dog also depends on the preferences of our older dog. Does your Boxer enjoy the company of other dogs? What type of dogs does he like being with? Here are some things that I considered while looking for a companion for Sephy.
I have two 3 year old Shiba Inus. My female Shiba is extremely aggressive with other dogs and has gotten into a serious fight with a German Shephard that landed her a very serious trip to the vet.
We want to adopt a 10 year old Husky from an elderly lady that is going into a nursing home. We have fallen in love and want to give this Husky a loving home. I read all of your tips and tricks but I am not sure if I should even consider bringing another dog in. Is it possible to break my female Shiba’s initial reaction to attack other dogs???
What is the best way to have them meet. Should it be done on neutral ground away from our house so our Shiba does not feel threatened in her home? I don’t know how to have them meet without having them both pulled back tightly on a leash which you said is not good.
Help!!! We have so much love to give but we are scared we will never be able to have another dog because of our female Shiba.
When Sephy was young, he used to be pretty reactive towards certain types of dogs. I did a lot of desensitization and counter conditioning exercises with him to help raise his reactivity threshold and teach him alternative behaviors for dealing with stress.
We did a lot of training sessions at our nearby SPCA because the trainers there had many friendly dogs that they were able to use to work with Sephy. Each dog is different, and especially with dog aggression, it was very useful to get help from a professional trainer.
Desensitization training will take time, and during the training period, it was important that we did not let Sephy practice any reactive behavior with other dogs. I really wanted to get a Husky at the time, but I decided to hold-off on that until after I dealt with all of Sephy’s issues.
Here is a bit more on the process I went through while thinking of getting a second dog.
Hugs to your Shiba. Hope this helps and let us know how it goes.
Hi!
I have a 9yo black lab who’s been with me since he was 6 wks. He’s always been a momma’s boy, and I even brought him with me to Chile when I moved here 7 years ago to be with my now husband.
We recently bought a Great Dane puppy (3mo), but she is still living with her parents who are owned by some friends of ours. We haven’t brought her to live with us definitively, because my black lab has still not been able to accept her. In the three meetings they have had he has attacked her. My lab is very people friendly and even used to get along with other dogs when I would take him to he dog park when he was younger (not anymore because they don’t exist here in Chile). He does have anxiety problems at times and gets really worked up in strange new situations (like with the new puppy). In the past, I’ve known him to attack smaller dogs, including my parents Bichon, and it usually has something to do with them getting too close to his bone or food. With our new pup, it seems he gets jealous when she demands too much attention from me.
Is he too old to be trained and socialized with other dogs? Will he ever accept out new pup and stop attacking her? Today we got them together for the third time and things went a little better than the other two times. We went on a walk, my husband with the new pup and me with my lab. This time our lab seemed more interested in the walk than in getting to know he puppy, which means that while he didn’t attack her, he also didn’t make much effort to sniff her and basically ignored her. After the walk we came back to our house and took turns with one of them inside and one outside, until we felt comfortable enough to leave the sliding doors open between the living room and the back yard. Everything was ok, with both seeming to do their own thing and ignore each other, until one time I got between both dogs in the entry to the kitchen and our lab went at the puppy.
Is there anyway to eradicate this behavior for good? If my older dog is jealous of the attention I give to the puppy, will I be able to train her at home by myself? Thank you for any advice! I’m desperate.
Hello Kimberlyn,
When I first got Lara (Siberian Husky puppy), my Shiba Inu, Sephy (5 years old then) did not really care much for her either. From Sephy’s point of view-
1. Lara is competition for food, affection, and toys,
2. Lara is noisy,
3. Lara disrupts his schedule,
4. Lara unbalances play dynamics with Shania (our other Husky)
5. He does not know what to expect from Lara because she is a new “quantity”. This causes stress.
Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. I made sure that there are no negative puppy encounters with Sephy.
I do not allow puppy to bother Sephy when he only wants to rest. I supervise all play sessions carefully and I make sure that there is no stealing or humping. I teach puppy house rules and set up a fixed routine so that it is clear what Sephy can expect from puppy and vice versa. I.e., I establish clear interaction rules for all the dogs so that Sephy knows what is acceptable behavior with puppy, and puppy knows what is acceptable behavior with both Sephy and Shania. If there are conflicts, I will resolve the issue in a fair and consistent manner.
2. I showed Sephy how puppy can be a big positive influence on his lifestyle.
I enticed Sephy to approach rather than forcing puppy’s company onto him. For example, I would do a lot of obedience exercises with puppy. During this time, Lara gets very well rewarded. This usually attracts Sephy to come over and join in as well. Then I do group obedience training sessions, and reward both dogs especially well for working cooperatively together for me.
I would start playing with puppy, and this would often get Sephy interested and then he would join in.
3. Desensitization and counter conditioning.
When Sephy was young, I did a lot of desensitization and counter conditioning exercises with him. This helped him to be more comfortable around other dogs.
Note that the actual details of retraining will be very dependent on the dog’s current behavior, temperament, routine, environment, and other surrounding context. Therefore, it can be very helpful to have a professional trainer visit with both dogs, observe their body language, and identify how best to manage and redirect the aggressive behavior.
Hi
I have a female dog,Trixie, she is 10 years old and we have had her for 7 year and we were thinking about getting another dog, but Trixie can be a little needy and she doesnt always want to play with other dogs when we go to the park. So is there anyway to get another dog and not upset trixie, and would she react to another female or a male and same breed or different breed?
Thankyou,
Liliana
Hello Liliana,
In general, there is less risk of conflict between male and female dogs. Note however, that conflicts may still arise. In addition, many other factors may be involved, including temperament, environment, training, energy level, etc.
When Trixie does play with other dogs, what type of dogs does she enjoy playing with? Large or small? High energy or low? Dogs that like wrestling or not?
Frequently, older dogs need a lot more peace and quiet than younger dogs. When I bring in a new puppy, I always make sure that puppy does not bother my older dogs when they just want to rest. I also make sure puppy has a fixed routine, and my older dogs have a quiet, peaceful, and puppy-free place to sleep or hang-out whenever they want to.
Here are some things that I considered while looking for a second dog.
Hugs to Trixie and good luck on your dog search!
My family have a ten year-old male dog. Recently we adopted a rescue male dog (4 year-old). My second dog is so friendly and want to make friend with my first dog. But my first dog ignore the new dog and reject to make friend with him. My first dog even keep a long distance with the second dog. What can i do to improve their relationships?
Yeah, my Shiba Inu, Sephy was not very excited about our Husky puppy Lara either, when we first got her. Some things that helped with Sephy –
1. Make sure there are no negative puppy experience.
Lara was very energetic and wanted to play all of the time. She was always trying to get Sephy and Shania to play with her even when all they want to do is have a rest. I made sure to set up a very fixed routine for Lara, and I stop her from being a pest when the other dogs want to rest. Each dog also has their own peaceful rest area.
I set up clear interaction rules, e.g. no humping during play, no stealing, etc., so that everyone knows what to expect from puppy and vice versa.
In this way, I set both Sephy and Lara up for success and Sephy does not see puppy as a negative to his lifestyle. I describe what I do in greater detail, in the article above.
2. Make sure there are many positive puppy experiences.
In the beginning, I did a lot of obedience exercises with Lara. I usually make these training exercises rewarding. During this time, Sephy will also come over to participate.
Therefore, we do a lot of group obedience training sessions together. I make sure to reward both Sephy and Lara really well when he is working together, with her, for me. In this way, they learn that cooperation, being calm together, and working for me gets them the most “stuff”. They also learn that when they work together, they get rewarded very very well.
I supervise play sessions and make sure that everybody enjoys it.
In general, I try to find positive, structured activities that they can enjoy together and reward them well for it. In this way, Sephy sees puppy as a net positive to his way of life, and not as a pest which disturbs him when he just wants to rest. 😀
hello i curently have two 3 year old chihuahuas (peanut and taz) i have had them ever since they wur born they are both males and they both have verry diffrent personalities taz is very playfull and loves kids and peanut is alil grouch and prefers to sleep but he is so sweet at the same time, and they cant be away or with out each other i em hoping to add a new member to our family very soon a 2 year old husky he is well trained and verry good with kids and even little babys, he is a very sweet and patient dog. What do you think is it a good Idea to get a bigger dog? and what are some good tips you can give me in introdusing them with each other?
Thank you
Hello Abby,
I think a lot of it would depend on the temperament and preferences of Peanut and Taz.
When I was looking for a second dog, I asked myself a lot of questions about my first dog (Sephy), e.g.
1. What type of dogs does he like playing with?
Sephy likes playing with larger dogs that also likes to play rough and wrestle. Smaller dogs don’t play well with him because he overwhelms them easily and they are afraid of him.
2. What type of dogs does he *not* get along with?
Sephy does not get along with more dominant dogs. He does not try to dominate other dogs, but he does not like it either when other dogs try to dominate him.
3. Is he ok with sharing his stuff at home?
Sephy is not very possessive, and is happy to share toys; as long as they are not stolen while he is working on them.
Here is a bit more on what I looked at while looking for a companion for Sephy.
Hi,
Thanks you for your thoughtful presentation of shock collars. I have 2 rescue dogs and a cat. Our second dog puppy that is about a year old. Our first dog and cat got along wonderfully, however I have not been able to help my second dog and cat to be able to have a safe relationship. My second dog will chase and obsess over the cat. We are able to keep them seperated, however I would like for them to be able to have a peaceful relationship, as the cat is not ever able to join us in the common areas of the house and he has become a bit fearful. I am not a fan of shock collars, however my dog reacts so quickly to the cat and gets pretty obsessed, that treats and commands go out the window for her. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Hello Lindsay,
I don’t have any cats, so I don’t have much firsthand experience in this area. This thread has some good ideas, I think, on handling this issue-
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/7120/problem-with-cats/p1#Comment_125511
I find that having a drag lead on in-training puppies can also be helpful. It allows me to get control of puppy quickly and without any chasing games. I only use it when puppy is under supervision and only with a thick flat collar.
As for remote collars, there are also spray training collars. There is a study (Steiss, 2007) showing that they have the same effectiveness as shock collars for discouraging barking. However, it was a short study.
Reviews on Amazon
of the Petsafe spray training collar are mixed. Most complaints are about the spray mechanism not working properly, difficulty filling the device, and having to fill really frequently. I don’t use remote collars on my dogs, so I am not sure how well the spray collars work.
I have 10 month old spaniel mix+ who is relatively calm and who is fairly well-trained (CGC). We walk several times a day, and play or train every day. I also have cats who were here first by a couple years. The puppy wants to play with the cats, and they would prefer he not. They accept sniffing, but get upset with him when he mouths, barks trying to initiate play, etc. Would getting my pup a smaller, younger puppy (he is 35#) a companion help? Or will my pup eventually give up trying to play with the cats? I have had my pup since he was 11 weeks.
Hello Frankie,
I don’t have any cats, so I don’t have much firsthand experience with this. This thread, I think, has some good ideas-
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/7120/problem-with-cats/p1#Comment_125511
Hmmm, not sure about that. Both pups could just decide that chasing after cats is a fun game to play together.
Question: I have a 4yr old male chihuahua who I’ve had since he was a baby. This summer I decided to bring a companion into my home for him, another male chihuahua, that turned out to be bred with a corgi. From the time I pickup him up from the breeder along with his brother, they both traveled from together but mine was the one who whined. To date, my brother and myself have two dogs that constantly whine for no reason. They both go to the vet and are health but if they do not have someone’s constant attention it is a “wine and cheese” party. This is totally unacceptable and no matter what I’ve tried to correct this behavior nothing has worked. Ignoring, redirecting, putting him in another room, nothing has worked unless you give him constant attention. The breeder’s family lavished him with attention to the point that they rocked him to sleep. I’m guessing that I’m never going to break this constant need for attention. He’s been with me since July and has become increasingly a concern that this whining will never stop. In the beginning of November I was given another chihuahua who is very small (2lbs) and not expected to get very big. My July puppy, Teddy, was not to be very large either but he already is 10lbs and a bulldozer. He doesn’t pay any attention to where he steps or who he steps on and the other two end up snapping at him and he gets and his feelings hurt. I constantly remind him to watch where he’s going but it’s like he doesn’t comprehend. It’s like having a conversation with someone who speaks a different language and I realize he does speak a different language but I believe he understands what I tell him when I say careful, and watch your feet. The minute I sit down I have 3 dogs all over me and I have to be careful the 2 lb dog doesn’t get smashed because the other two are ten pounds and more. How can you not pay extra attention to a 2lb puppy that doesn’t stand a chance when the forces of nature are unleashed when I get home? Anyhow back to my Teddy and his whining, with all the lavish attention he grew up with I don’t think I’m going to be able to reprogram him. It seems to be ingrained.
Dogs learn through a process called conditioning. In general, they repeat behaviors that get them good results and stop behaviors that get them bad results. Often, dogs vocalize because we inadvertently reward them for it.
People tend to pay attention when there is noise, especially when it is loud. As a result, a dog is often given attention when he vocalizes, whines, or bark. This will, in turn, encourage the dog to keep repeating the behavior because from his point of view, vocalizing results in very good stuff. The more a dog repeats the behavior, the more likely it will become a habit.
One way to reduce whining and barking is to put the behavior under command control, for example by teaching a dog the Quiet command. As you say, dogs do not come with a ready-made English vocabulary, therefore we need to start by teaching them to associate various behaviors with commands.
This is the method I used to teach my dogs the Quiet command –
http://shibashake.com/dog/woof-woof-stop-dog-barking#quiet
A behavior that has become a habit will be more difficult to change because there is already a strong association between vocalizing and rewards. Therefore, more repetition and time will be needed for retraining.
How to stop bad dog behaviors.
had a couple of questions… me and my fiance have had two puppies for the past year. a male and a female who have grown up together. a couple days ago we took in a puppy that is the same age as our puppies he was free to a good home and at first, the two males were getting along good at but now every time the new pup sees my boi he gets rowdy, but when my boy is in his crate he will come and sniff and wag his tail and show no signs of aggression but the moment he comes out the crate the new pup goes nuts.. he acts like he wants to play with our boy, he whines and wags his tail, but the moment we let him out he the new puppy gets aggressive and i have to step in and let him kno its an inappropriate behavior. we really want this to work out cuz hes a great pup and we dnt want to have to give him back because we dnt want him going to the wrong ppl. what can i do to ease the new puppys transition and help them get along? any advice or tips would be well appreciated. thank you for taking the time to read this.
Hello Jeremy,
In such cases, it is difficult to say without looking at the pups.
My Sibe puppy Lara can get pretty excited during play. She will vocalize and then do high energy running and tackling. Her hackles are up because she is excited, but she throws in a lot of play bows, her body language is playful and very squirmy.
What is the body language like for the two dogs? When you say the new puppy gets aggressive – what does he do? Does his body look tense? Does your boy look like he is interested in interacting or does he want to be left alone? Are both dogs about the same size? Does the female join in? Are all dogs neutered and spayed? Do all the dogs get walked together or are they walked separately? Are they calm during walks? Were both boys playing well together at the start? Were there any fights where one got hurt?
When dogs show aggression, there is usually a source for the aggression. Usually, it is over resources – both dogs wanting the same food, toy, space, etc., at the same time. A dog may also show aggression if he feels threatened. Sometimes, play can turn into aggression if one or more dogs get overly excited, and plays too rough; which causes others to feel threatened.
When I first got Lara (female Siberian Husky), my male Shiba Inu, Sephy, did not want to have anything to do with her. Lara kept wanting to initiate play, but Sephy was not interested. He just wanted to be left alone. Therefore, I just kept puppy away from Shiba. At the same time, I did a lot of obedience training, grooming, and touch exercises with Lara. When we do this, Sephy would get interested and come over to get in on the rewards. So we would do group sessions together. I make both dogs do work for me, and they both get rewarded really well especially when they work together and stay calm together.
This helped to teach Sephy that puppy can be a positive thing to his life. It also helped teach puppy to focus on me (instead of another dog) and to stay calm in the presence of another dog.
When they play together, I supervise well and throw in a lot of play breaks so that they never get over excited. I also make sure that nobody gets overwhelmed, and if Sephy no longer wants to play, I stop puppy from bothering him. I find that it really helps to establish clear rules of interaction, and then I teach these rules to all of my dogs. In this way, they know what to expect from each other and what to expect from me.
It is difficult to tell what the situation is without seeing the dogs and the surrounding context. Getting a professional trainer to observe the dogs can help with identifying what the dogs are both trying to say, and also get at the source of the aggression.
Hello,
since I got our first baby shiba – male Toshi, I was checking your website and I found it great. As Toshi, who is well socialized calm dog, turned 5 month we got another shiba – lady Kimi as 8 weeks old. Since Kimi came from 6 puppies, she is being very very agressive and often biting and whirring even she is ver very small puppy. I am not sure how to see difference between pupp playing and serious fighting.
We have Kimi one month and Toshi is very gentle and often he leaves Kimi to take food even from his mouth. She is bitting him during all plays and he reacts only sometimes like he is trying to teach her some behaviour by bitting her back and neck in very gentle way. I would like to ask for your opinion, if should I leave them play even hard from her side with lot of Whirring, and let Toshi teach her manners or sould i separate them to calm them? Please help me, I would like to do right things as they are still young. Thank you very much!!!!
Katarina
Hello Katarina,
With my dogs, I find that it works best when I supervise and I step in to calm things down and resolve conflicts. In this way, they learn that I am there to protect them and to enforce “play-rules” so that they do not need to do it themselves. In this way, they can just relax and enjoy each others company.
I do not let them play too-rough, especially with Shania.
I also throw in many play-breaks where I temporarily stop play, get them to do some fun commands, and reward them really well for it. Then, they can go back to playing. This gets them to refocus on me, and controls their level of excitement. I find that it is best to manage excitement levels, so that everybody plays nice, everybody has a good time, and play doesn’t turn into aggression.
I am a big believer in setting up clear and consistent play rules, as well as human supervision. In this way, my dogs know exactly what to expect from each other, as well as what to expect from me and the people around them. They can relax and enjoy themselves, and if something comes up, I will take care of it.
Thank you very much! I will try to show Kimi that behaviour is not acceptable and teach her how to play calm and nicely.
I really appreciate your fast answer.
Katarina.
Hello there,
I have had 2 chihuahuas (brother and sister from the same litter) for nearly 15 years. Last month, my cherished girl passed away of heart failure. After her death, her brother was lost. He would search the house for her, sit on her bedding, and just be on edge.
I feared that he would give up without his life long companion. He has always been friendly with other dogs, so I thought getting another older female might help him. I found an 8 year old female chihuahua at the SPCA. She was super friendly and easygoing.
She’s been home for three weeks now. He adores her. He wags his tail and perks up in a way I’ve rarely seen in recent years. He grooms her when she’s near, which I’ve heard can be a display of dominance. She on the other hand seems to tolerate his attention, but prefers to lick and play with humans.
He has bowed, teased, and run around her to get her to play, but she has no interest. I guess I’m wondering how I can get her to bond with him since she was adopted to be his companion.
Hmmm, some things that help with my dogs-
1. I do group obedience sessions. I get them all to come to me and they all do fun commands together. I reward them very well, so they have a lot of fun and associate together time with something very positive.
2. I start playing with the one who wants to play. When they see that there is a fun game in progress, my others dogs will usually get interested and want to join in too.
3. I also go group grooming and tummy rub sessions. This gets them comfortable with each other, and provides more positive group associations. Also, I find that if I start to tummy rub one of them, the others would usually come over and join in on the fun.
Big hugs to your pack. Let us know how it goes.
Thank you for thanking the time to reply and for the advice. I’ll be putting your wisdom into practice. I keep you posted on their progress. 🙂
I just wanted to thank you again and update. My 2 dogs are doing great together. The group obedience was a wonderful help. It not only gave us 3 time to bond, but taught our new girl what was expected of her.
More than anything, I think time has been the key. She is now settle in, comfortable, and feeling like a member of the family.
I appreciate your help. 🙂
That is very great to hear.
Many thanks for the update and big hugs to your two furry ones. They sound like a happy and contented pair. 😀
Hey I have a 9 month old husky and a year old shiba inu, we did get them in a 4 month time period, they always seemed to get along tho pretty well, although they do fight when it comes to food, but there fights get pretty bad it seems like neither of them will stop, and my shiba is pretty small I’m scared she’s going to get hurt bad or even killed! What do I do to stop them and make sure they stop or not be so aggresive when they fight?? I really don’t want to get rid of one we’ve had them both for over 7 monthes already, please help me!
Hello Brittany,
What has worked best for my dogs is for me to supervise them during meal times and prevent any kind of stealing. In this way, I am able to resolve conflicts before it escalates into something more serious. Prevention is definitely much better than cure in this situation.
I also do group obedience exercises with my dogs. I teach them that they gain the most resources and rewards by working together cooperatively for me. I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program and use it to establish clear and consistent house rules and interaction rules.
I describe what I do in the section above titled – “Meal Time Ritual”.
Given that the dogs are fighting at such a young age, it may be best to get help from a professional trainer. A good trainer can properly read a dog’s body language, and identify the triggers that are causing stress and conflict. In addition, a trainer can help with creating a safe plan for retraining and desensitization.
Fights are dangerous not just for the dogs, but also for the people around them. Often, people get hurt or bitten while trying to stop a dog fight.
I realise there are no guarantees, but I was told the following could help me with a 2 dog goal:
Start with a male. Whether puppy, rescue, whatever.
Get training and bonding down pact.
When confidant, introduce a female into the equation. Again, puppy, rescue, whatever breed, etc.
Idea being that the male will not feel threatened, and female will not try to be alpha.
As a general idea, does this make some sense, in terms of following a sequence?
Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. This was what I did-
1. I first got Sephy, a Shiba Inu male puppy.
2. I spent a bit over 1 year training and bonding with Sephy. We had a difficult time at first, but after about 1 year, we were doing quite well together.
3. Things got a lot more calm and I felt I had a lot more extra time again, so we started looking for a new puppy.
4. During the year with Sephy, I got to know him quite well so now I know what type of dogs he gets along well with, what things he does not like, his play style, etc. This allowed me to look for a second dog that would fit Sephy’s personality and play-style.
5. We got a female Siberian Husky (Shania) and they have been great friends since.
Here is a bit more on my experiences while looking for a second dog.
hi there, just wondered if you could give me some advice, i have a 5 month old male husky and i have only just got a 15 week old female, keizer my 5 month old started humping her almost immediately, i stopped it sometimnes they will play and it gets a bit too much, i put a stop to that also, would it be better to rake him out the room for a minute and then let him back in, then continue to do this until he knows its not acceptable?? also i took them out this morning for a walk on my own…my goodness what a disaster..he was constantly trying to jump on her, leads were getting tangled..i was getting stressed….so decided to come home, keizer is normally very good on walks and is now walking to heel ob the lead, obviously meeshka isnt yet?? now should i walk them seperately for now and start training her on lead or not….i dont want to leave the other one out if that makes sense?? I hope you can help.
Hello Loraine,
Congratulations on your new puppy!
In terms of humping, I find that consistency is very important. My youngest Sibe, Lara, also likes to hump during play. I always supervise their play session and stop her every time she starts her humping maneuvers. I start by using a no-mark (Ack-ack) to let her know that it is an undesirable behavior.
If she goes back to it, then play stops and she has a mini no-play break. She has to Sit next to me, do some commands, and stay relatively calm. If she goes back to it after the mini-break, then she goes to timeout.
Also, I find that Lara is more likely to hump during super-excited play. I usually throw in a lot of play breaks to manage excitement. During a play break, I would call my dogs over, reward them very well for coming, do a few more simple commands, reward them very well, and then they can get back to playing. This helps them to refocus on some other activity, and they are usually more calm afterwards.
It is important though to do a break before the dogs are too excited to listen. If Lara is already too excited, then I don’t call her, but just go up to her and try to refocus her attention onto me. If that doesn’t work, then I stop her with her drag-lead.
With walking, I find that it is best to leash-train the dogs separately. Lara gets a lot more excited and bold when Sephy is around, so she pulls more and is more reactive to other dogs. Lara does pretty well now during our walks, so when possible, I get a friend to walk Sephy and I will walk Lara. In this way, I don’t have to handle multiple leashes and can focus on training Lara; with Sephy around.
Hope this helps. Big hugs to puppy and Husky!
I have four dogs that I have saved within the last six months all for have been getting along very well and playtime is very energetic with a pitty, a husky mix, a pitty mix, and a puppy lab mix they are all good dogs and very very affectionate and then all of sudden one night got into a fight and I broke it up then ten minutes later another jumped on the same dog and I got very upset but dont understand why after everything was so nice for a while they were put in their kennels for doing it but wanted to growl and bark at the one they both jumped everytime they seen him and this behavior has went on for hours as I am posting this the same day it has happened before bed I hope you can help with my problem I love my doggies very much and dont want them to fight please help……
Two things that help with my dogs during play-
1. Play-breaks
I supervise them during play and call them to me frequently. When they come, they get rewarded really well and we also do a short obedience session. This helps them to refocus their attention on me, helps them calm down, and also shows them that when they work cooperatively with me, they get rewarded very very well.
I throw in lots of play breaks so that play never gets too excited and doesn’t escalate into something else.
2. Strict Play-rules
I have clear and strict play-rules. When I get a new puppy, I slowly teach her these play rules and my older dogs help with that as well. During play, I supervise and make sure that all my dogs follow those play rules. I make sure to be consistent and fair.
Two important play rules – no humping and no stealing. I also do not allow bullying of any sort. As soon as I notice any of my dogs starting to do any of these things, I step in and stop play.
It is important that I step in early, *before* they get a chance to escalate the behavior into something more and into something less playful. Then they have a longer play-break after this. I make sure everybody is calm before letting them start again. If they are too hyped up, then I stop play for the moment and get them to do something else.
Here are more things that I do to keep the peace at home-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
I was hoping you could help me. I have a 6 year old poole schnoodle mix who has never been well socialized to other dogs. Two years ago my stepdad moved in with a sheltland the same age. The shelti originally was very friendly towards other dogs. The dogs are able to walk on leashes together, but when they see other dogs both tense and strain forward and bark aggressively. Lateley in the house the dogs have begun to fight which just start with them barking at each other when around a family member. These fights have become increasingly frequent amd nothing seems to stop them. The shelti does not really understand the word no and just get excited, wagging his tail and looking for his toy. My stepdad has been keeping the mix separated from the other in a difgeremt part of the house but I think it is getting worse. What do you recommend?
If the dogs are already fighting, it may be best to get help from a professional trainer or behaviorist.
When dogs fight, there is usually something that triggers the event. What has worked well for my dogs is to identify these “trigger events”. Once I do this, I can redirect them and teach them alternative behaviors for dealing with the stressful trigger. A professional trainer can observe the dogs, read their body language, and identify what in particular, is at the root of the aggression.
With my dogs, I try to manage them so that they do not get overly excited or stressed when they interact. During play, I supervise them very closely, we have strict play rules, and many play breaks. This helps to keep things in control and stops them from escalating play into something else.
During walks, here are some of the things that I do to help them deal calmly with other dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression
I have also noticed that my dogs are a lot more excitable when I walk them together. Most of the time I walk them one at a time. This helps a lot with initial leash-training and socialization. When we walk them together, I have a friend be in charge of one dog, while I walk the other. In this way, I have better control, am able to redirect bad behaviors, and can give them enough attention for leash training and socialization exercises.
This article was very useful! I just got a 4 month old beagle to join our family. We have a2 year old beagle and were not sure how to handle surtain behaviors… Like humping… We didn’t feel comfortable letting them figure it out for themselves, we felt we should control what was going on. Almost every article I have read says to let them figure it out, but it’s nice to know that not very one feels that way. We have always been the pack leaders in the family with our first beagle and we will continue to do so. Thank you so much for this article!
Congratulations on your new puppy! Beagle pups are absolutely adorable.
Yeah, I think it works out well for me to supervise and resolve disputes. In this way, they never take matters into their own paws, and escalate things to the point where they get out of hand. By stopping things when they are small, they never get a chance to grow big! 😀
I can be the bad cop, and the dogs can just enjoy each other’s company.
Hugs to puppy and older puppy!
My first dog, almost three, is showing much anxiety, to the point of angst at this point. Constantly at my side. Heavy breathing.
The new dog, is asleep on the couch as I type this. Any ideas from readers?
Did the anxiety only start with the new dog? Is there a big difference in size, energy levels, play style, etc.? Do the dogs interact much? When they play, what does the older dog do? What happens during meal times? Have there been any conflicts?
I have a 4 month old Rottweiler but I feel that he is lonely during the day when no one is home, I want to get a German Shepherd but dont know if it is a good idea and if Rango will be put out by a new dog?
Yeah, I had the same worry when I was looking for a second dog. I took my Shiba on many visits to our nearby SPCA to visit with the friendly dogs there. This was very helpful because-
1. It showed me his excitement level and interest in playing with other dogs.
2. It showed me what type of dogs he got along most well with. For example, Sephy does well with larger, more playful dogs that like wrestling. He does not do as well with smaller dogs, because they easily get overwhelmed by him, and just want him to stay away. Larger, more dominant dogs also do not do well with Sephy because he will not submit to any dog, no matter how large or fierce.
Does Rango like playing with other dogs? How does he react to other dogs during walks?
Here is a bit more on my experiences while looking for a second dog.
We have two dogs in our home, a mix lab/shephard/pit bull female, 7 years old and an mix bull dog/pit bull/other female who just turned 3 and came into heat. The younger dog has been in our home and “mothered” by the other since she was six weeks old. They have always been very comfortable and loving to one another. In the last several weeks the younger dog has become extremely aggressive with the older dog, especially when my wife or I enter the house. They have gotten into some some fairly scarey fights. We have subsequently spayed the younger dog (the older was already spayed) but the aggressive behavior persists. Is this just a phase? Seeking advice on training to cure the younger dog of this violent behavior against its “momma.” Thanks.
What I have noticed with my dogs is that when they get overly excited/frustrated, they may sometimes redirect that energy onto each other. Then, it could turn into more aggressive behavior. In such situations, I have found that prevention is the key.
I try to identify triggers that get them over-excited, and then I manage those situations so that they do not redirect their hyper energy onto each other. At the same time, I try to re-train them to stay calm during those trigger events. If I notice the start of something, I step in early to resolve things before they escalate it to the next level.
When people come to the door, I usually leash my young Sibe (Lara) up. That way, I can keep her calm and under control, and she does not get to start anything with my other dogs. When Lara was young, I used a drag-lead so that I can quickly get control and stop anything from escalating.
Exercise also helps a lot. Lara gets a lot more excited and acts more hyper before her walks.
I also supervise them closely during play and mealtimes.
My Shiba Inu Sephy had some aggression/reactivity issues when he was younger, and we visited with several professional trainers. It can be helpful to have a trainer observe our dog’s body language and pinpoint exactly what is triggering the aggressive behavior. It is difficult to know the source of a behavior without seeing the dogs, the context, and their environment.
Hello,
Congratulations on your great family, Your dogs are beautiful and thank you for the wealth of information you have provided.
I have a 2yo German Shepherd Husky Mix, Kobe. Ive had him since he was 6 weeks old and my journey with him so far has been nothing short of incredible. He is extremely athletic and agile and LOVES his tennis balls. He can catch, fetch, track, bounce and on occasion rip them apart. I live in a boarding house with 6 other tennants and he loves all of them and shakes his butt and tail in excitement whenever they come home. There is also a 7 yo beagle, vino in the house. The beagle is very anti-social (due to an irresponsible owner) and after a rough few weeks when I moved in, kobe and vino now just mind their own business. Initially Vino would howl at kobe whenever he saw him, but I guess now he’s over it. Kobe is always calm or evasive around small dogs even if they endlessly bark at him. However I cant say the same for dogs bigger in size than him. He is not an aggressor and he will never initiate aggressive behavior towards a new big dog but if the other dog initiates aggression, kobe will respond negatively and I have to intervene immediately before it escalates. In the park, off leash if another big approaches him, the hair on his back will stand up, till the dogs meet and sniff each others butt/crotch. If all goes fine, the hair drops down and the tail starts wagging.
Now on just last week, another tennant moved into the house with two more dogs. One is a 70lb mix breed sheepdog/lab/uknown mix. He is 3 yo, names Ryder. The second is a 4 month old english setter puppy, dexter. Ryder is bigger than kobe, and is fixed. Unfortunately when they met, uknown to me, ryder snapped at kobe when he was sniffing little dexter. I quickly seperated the two dogs. However, Ryders owner for some uknown reason didnt hold on to the leash and there were two more fights (not more than 2 seconds long) which I intervened in again, and got nipped by Ryder. Thankfully it was just a bruise. Now we make sure the 2 dogs dont ever see each other. But both can smell each other in the house. Thankfully they are not barkers.
I would like to resolve the conflict and ideally get the 2 dogs to become friends and play with each other (supervised obviously, but am not sure about how exactly I should start. There are 2 aggressive behaviours at play here. One is kobe’s territorial aggression of the property and the back yard and the other is Ryder’s possessive aggression over the pup dexter.
My plan was to take the dogs to a neutral park and try walking them in a pack with me and ryders owner.
My other ideas was to take the two dogs to a dog park with plenty other dogs around and let them off leash, this was suggested by a friend.
My final idea was to re-introduce them at the beach in the water, Kobe loves swimming while Ryder is not too confident about the water.
If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear back from you.
Thank you in advance.
What has worked well for Sephy are dog-to-dog desensitization exercises. I like this strategy because-
1. It is very controlled and structured.
2. It is safe.
3. I can start the dogs at a level that they can handle, and then help them build confidence with each positive encounter.
4. There is little risk of failure and a high probability of success.
Personally, I would not do training at enclosed dog parks. If two dogs decide to start something, the other dogs may join in and the situation could very quickly get out of control. In addition, there are many unknown dogs there, some of which may have behavioral issues of their own. Finally, dogs often get over-excited during unstructured play, and this may trigger something in an already tense relationship.
With Sephy, I started with on-leash training. After he made progress, we slowly increased the challenge. I only do off-leash work when I am sure that he can handle it, and there will be a positive outcome. In this way, he learns to associate other dogs with positive events rather than stress and fights.
Hi Shibashake,
Great articles and lovely dogs. Question: I have a German Shepherd mix, 8 yrs old male, an Akita mix, 2yrs old female. I brought home another dog, Akita-Mastiff mix, 4 mths male. My 8yr old is humping my newbie. Some websites are saying this is him trying to assert dominance. I make him stop when I see him doing it – and I don’t think the new dog is afraid of my 8yr old. But, will this persist and is there something more I should do? And…why is he doing it? BTW Ginger (2 yr)is having the time of her life with my newbie.
Thanks.
Congratulations on your new Akita-Mastiff!
Re: Humping behavior-
My understanding is that it is very context dependent. Two dogs that know each other well may hump each other during play – and it is simply another play maneuver. My younger Sibe, Lara, is pretty submissive but she will sometimes try to hump my Shiba to get him to start playing. Other times, it seems like a wrestling maneuver to gain points, e.g. whoever gets first hump wins. 😀
However, humping can also be a dominance move, especially between dogs who do not know each other well. Butt sniffing is another social behavior with similar contextual dependencies. For example, my Shiba does not mind dogs in his family smelling his butt, but he does not allow new dogs to butt sniff him. People have similar social conventions. We allow some people to hold our hand, some people to hug us, depending on familiarity. Someone we know hugging us from behind may be endearing, whereas a stranger doing it is highly threatening.
I always stop my dogs from humping because I don’t want them doing it to other dogs, who may indeed take it as a dominance move or insult, and then humping will turn into a fight. Many dogs probably do not like being humped by strangers, and likely, their people do not like it either.
I always supervise play to make sure that nobody is getting over-excited, and everybody is having fun. I also have many play breaks so that they have an opportunity to calm down. Since I always catch them and stop play when they hump, the behavior is not very rewarding, and they have mostly stopped doing it. If they keep doing it several times in a row, then they go for a brief timeout – which is a pretty strong deterrent for my dogs.
Hahaha, that is awesome! Lara, my new Sibe puppy is the same way. She is brimming with puppy energy and she gets my other two dogs to play a lot more. It is good exercise and very fun to watch. 😀
Big hugs to your pack!
Hi! I love your website and refer to it often. We have a 14 month Shiba male named Kobe and will be getting our second Shiba puppy, a female, Lola this weekend. Can you describe how you do your initial meet-n-greets with your new puppy and existing dog? Some resources that I have found suggest we each bring 1 dog, meet in a neutral place, first do parallel walking with no contact, and then if all goes well allow them to sniff/greet on lead. After that, repeat the process on your home turf, outside. And finally, again inside. Do you have better/other suggestions? Thanks!
Hello Tessa,
With Shania, the breeder brought her over to our house, at around 8 weeks old. She wanted to see our living area and decide if it was ok for the puppy. Like Kobe, Sephy was around 14 months old at the time. He took to Shania right away and wanted to meet her, but Shania was somewhat afraid of him and kept hiding behind the breeder and her friend. We tempted Shania with treats and she would come over, grab some, and run back (Sephy was on-lead and we kept him with us). It was very funny and endearing.
With Lara, we brought her home ourselves and took her to the backyard right away to do her business. She really had to go. Then, I think we let Shania out to greet us in the backyard first. Things went well, so we let Sephy out (on-lead initially). Puppy Lara was also on-lead and we made sure that the other two weren’t too rough with her and gave her space when she needed it. She was really small at 8 weeks, so we did not want her to get accidentally hurt during play. Shania took to her right away, but Sephy (at over 5 years old) did not really like the idea of a puppy. He sniffed her and then just walked away – Shiba style! We had to work a bit at winning his trust. 😀
I think meeting in a neutral place is safer, especially if the meeting is between two adult dogs. In this way, the dogs do not feel the need to protect their home from strangers. Puppy greetings are usually easier because puppies are a lot more submissive, and older dogs often give puppies a lot more leeway. The nice thing about the backyard greeting was that Sephy and Shania could run around freely, so they could check puppy out or do whatever else they please. They were pretty hyped up, so getting to run around helped them to get rid of some excess energy.
It also depends a lot on Kobe, what he thinks of other dogs, and the level of his guard instinct. Sephy gets along with other dogs, as long as they are not dominant, and do not try to sniff his butt without his permission. Sephy has no bite history, is not overly protective of property, and has always liked it when we invited friendly dogs over for play sessions. Given his past experiences and responses, I felt comfortable doing the puppy greetings in our backyard. Still, puppy was on lead at all times and she always had someone with her to make sure that greeting and playing did not get out of hand. We also did not let puppy do any butt sniffs on Sephy until he gave his permission. 😀
With Lara and Sephy, the first few days after the initial greeting were the toughest. Sephy just didn’t want to have anything to do with puppy, and I was starting to get quite worried. Luckily, he warmed up to puppy after about 10 days. I was very happy when Sephy decided to relax, and that puppy wasn’t so bad after all! 😀
Congratulations on your new Shiba pup! Let us know how it goes and also share some pictures!
My sister has has 2 pits. one is about a year old, tank, and the other is almost 3,piggy. they have only had tank for about 6 months. Piggy is a dominant dog and starts fights with tank. is there a training technique to stop there fighting?
When there is a new dog in the family, there is usually a lot of uncertainty as to how the existing dogs should interact with the new dog, and how the new dog should interact with his new family.
What has worked well for my dogs-
1. Establishing a fixed and consistent set of interaction rules. I teach my dogs what are good interaction behaviors, and what behaviors are unacceptable. When they do something unacceptable, I step in and resolve the situation. In this way, they learn that I handle conflicts and they do not need to do it themselves.
2. Careful management and supervision. I set them up for success and do not expose them to situations that they cannot handle. In this way I keep interactions positive or at worst, neutral.
I describe more of what I do in the article above.
I have a problem. I live with my aunt and i recently got a siberian male husky named Koda and my aunt has had three dogs for about 6 years now and two of the three are in their eyes the dominant ones even thought Koda is bigger than him. My aunts oldest dog Cotten and my Koda get in fights over dominance sometimes and just recently koda almost killed Cotten and bit my aunt when she tried to separate them. This all happened because cotten bit my toe and koda is protective of me and attacked Cotten when he bit me. I don’t know what to do to prevent all their fighting. I would move out but I have nowhere to go and no money to get out on my own. Any advice?
Hello Amanda,
What I have observed while working with my dogs is that consistency is very important. All the dogs in my house follow the same rules, and everyone trains them in the same way. In this way, it is clear to them what is acceptable behavior and what is not.
Are your aunt’s dog’s trained? Who trains them?
Here are some of my experiences with training my husky puppy.
Initially, I focus on teaching my dog how to interact with people. I do bite inhibition training, and teach him not to bite on people. I teach him various simple commands, e.g. Look, Sit, Down. Putting a dog under behavioral control is important because that will allow us to tell him not only what *not* to do, but also what *to do* instead. Following the NILIF program is also very helpful in getting my dogs to focus on me, and do work for me.
When I brought home puppy Lara I supervised her very closely when she was interacting with my other dogs. When I could not supervise, I separated them. During the supervised sessions, I made sure that encounters were positive or at worst neutral.
Based on what you say, it sounds like getting a good professional trainer to come over for a visit can be very helpful. A trainer will be able to see the environment, as well as observe interactions between all of the dogs. Once the aggression triggers are identified, we can desensitize the dogs to the triggers and redirect their energy into positive behaviors.
That happened to me – I had to separate as much as possible. I brought my dog out alone and fed alone .it was a stressful time . We had to leave eventually . Make sure you keep seperated when your are not home and save your money so you get a place .
I had gates seperating every room ! Ugh I feel bad for you but it takes so much work but you can do it
I had a question about bringing home two male shiba puppies into our home. Initially, I had set my mind on just having the one but after speaking with our breeder it sounds like the second male just has the best personality. They are different colors and I was planning to have a second shiba at the house in the future. What would you recommend? I will be planning to neuter both dogs.
Hello Kate,
I have never gotten two puppies at once so I can’t say exactly what the experience will be like. One puppy is enough to tire me out and everyone else as well – including my two older dogs! 😀
Here is a short story of my most recent single puppy experience-
http://shibashake.com/dog/a-new-puppy-first-10-days-of-hell
It has also been my experience that getting a second dog is a lot more work than just having one dog. In fact it was more than double the work – especially in the beginning. When I got a second dog, Shiba Sephy was very happy and they played with each other a lot. But at the same time, they required a lot more human supervision, training, walking, grooming, etc. Otherwise, it would be two dogs getting into mischief instead of just one! 😀
I was also very glad that I waited more than a year before getting a second dog. In the first year I was able to bond well with Sephy, properly train him, and also observe his likes and dislikes. For example, Sephy likes playing with larger dogs that are playful and likes to wrestle. Other Shibas are not really Sephy’s most favorite playmates.
I picked a Siberian Husky for a second dog because their temperament complements Sephy’s personality very well. They are affectionate dogs, so they soak up all the human affection while Sephy is off being his aloof Shiba self. At the same time, they are energetic, like to wrestle, and are not intimidated by Sephy. Smaller dogs tend to get overwhelmed by Sephy’s rough play style.
Here is more on my experiences of picking a second dog-
http://shibashake.com/dog/getting-a-second-dog
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Hello,
I have a 2 year old Shiba Inu, Missy. Who knows her comands, but chooses when to listen. She excelled in training and does well with people. However, she is protective of her space and doesn’t like strangers, ie: UPS etc.
I am considering adopting my sister’s 7 year old German Shepard, Morgen. Morgen, has already lived with (2) cats and 1 baby so she has become the lonely last child. She is very quiet and doesn’t like the wind. Morgen is well behaved and knows her commands. I think she will be an excellent member to our family, however, i am not sure how to introduce Missy and Morgen. Should the first meeting be done on neutrual gounds etc?? I would appreciate any help you could offer.
I really depend on your site- it has been a very helpful resource.
Lori
Hello Lori,
I usually introduce my Shiba to new dogs on neutral ground. In this way he does not feel the need to have to protect his own territory. We used to do a lot of meetings and greetings at our local SPCA. They had a nice quiet play space with few distractions.
Here is a bit more on my experiences with introducing Sephy to a second dog-
http://shibashake.com/dog/getting-a-second-dog#meeting
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
We have three dogs (1 male cardigan corgi 9 yrs old, 1 male Chi-Doxie 5.5 yrs old, 1 female retriever beagle mix 5 yrs old with three legs). All have gotten along pretty well with the exception of a couple skirmishes btwn the corgi and the female usually over a toy or space. But as of recently they are fine and we have worked to keep them getting along. We have always been able to keep them in our yard together when we are not home with no issues.
Long story short, we just adopted a new male beagle doxi mix 5.5yrs old and he gets along fine with the other two males but not with the female. She shows all signs of aggression towards him…growling barking, lunging, snapping. He will return some of the aggression but is easily redirected. The female on the other hand does not get redirected easily. We can get them to sit by each other at times (on leashes of course) but we have to keep redirecting her attention until she relaxes a bit. We do not put them together at this time. In the house at night we put the new guy in his crate before she comes in…she usually smells the crate but leaves him alone and goes to her bed. Both love toys and food so we keep these things out of the picture unless we are playing individually with them. Also we live on a small ranch and there hasn’t been much socialization with other dogs beyond our “pack”
Any thoughts? We are looking into trainers at the moment but everything is still new since we just got the new guy on Sunday. We are trying to walk them together at night (as much as we can with the 3 legged one as she lays down from time to time) and let them sit close to each other while we sit with them. Just not sure what the best course of action is to try to desensitize them. Not sure if they can ever be in the yard together alone but I would like to be able to have them together when we are with them if possible.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Hello Tina,
I have noticed that Shania, my three legged dog, feels more vulnerable around new dogs and only wants to meet them at her own pace. I do not let new dogs approach her – instead I let her approach them if she is calm and the other dog is calm and in control of the owner. She is a more submissive dog though, so she usually avoids, does the lip licking thing, or sometimes offers them her belly. If she does not feel like meeting, then we just go on our way.
Puppies are different. She does not feel as vulnerable around them and loves meeting and playing with them.
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises can be helpful when introducing two adult dogs. I did a fair amount of that with my Shiba Inu Sephy when he was younger.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
What has worked well with both Shania and Sephy is let them do things at their own pace. For example, when I got a new Sibe puppy last year, Sephy did not really care to spend time with her in the beginning. I just supervised puppy closely and did not allow her to disturb Sephy. At the same time, I did a lot of training and obedience exercises with puppy where she got good food rewards as well as fun play time. Puppy also liked playing with Shania.
Sephy saw that he was missing out on all the fun so he would come, of his own accord, and join in. I made sure to reward Sephy very well when he did this. After some time, Sephy decided that puppy wasn’t so bad after all and started to trust her more. They are pretty good pals now, but it did take some time for Sephy to trust a new dog (and she was a puppy). It would likely be harder for an adult dog.
Even though they are very relaxed with each other now, I still supervise their play and interaction time, and make sure that they follow all the play rules.
Let us know how it goes and what the trainer says. Hugs to everyone in your pack!
Hi I will be getting a new puppy at the end of this year. I already have a brother and sister who have of course grown up with each other since they were 5 1/2 weeks old. I am the one who trains/feeds/walks them about 95% of the time. The brother can be a little dog aggressive (he got chased off of the field when he was younger) but if I take him somewhere new he will be fine with the other dogs. However, he seems to dislike puppies more. The puppy will more than likely be a bitch. My current dogs sleep together in the utility room and there this is a baby gate which leads into the hall. I thought about putting the puppy’s crate in the hall so the dogs can see/smell each other.
My current dogs are three.
The puppy will be a different breed.
I wondered if you had any advice about who to introduce first/when the puppy is old enough to play with the other dogs, if I should introduce the sister first.
My current dogs are spayed/neutered. The sister has absolutely no problem with dogs/puppies.
I will be taking the puppy to puppy school so she is socialized and well handled etc
We have a cat and the brother is scared of the cat. The sister quite likes her.
Any help?
Thanks.
Hello Carol,
Congratulations on your soon to be new family member!
Last year, I got a new Sibe puppy called Lara. In the beginning, I had puppy on a light lead with just a flat collar. This allows me to better control puppy. I introduced puppy to my other Sibe (Shania) first. She is a more easy going dog and took to the puppy right away. My other dog Sephy (a male Shiba Inu), however, did not want anything to do with puppy. He smelled puppy briefly and then just walked away.
Some things that helped Sephy and Lara get along-
1. I made sure not to push Sephy. He has to decide for himself when to accept puppy into his circle of trust.
2. I made sure that all interactions between Sephy and puppy are closely supervised and positive, or at the very least, neutral.
3. I have clear interaction rules and I am the one that enforces those rules. For example, I do not let puppy disturb Sephy when he wants to be alone, there is no stealing, etc. In this way the dogs know exactly what to expect from me, and what to expect from each other. They also know that I enforce the rules so they need not do it themselves with aggression.
4. I have many play breaks so nobody gets over-excited.
5. I do a lot of reward training with puppy and anybody can join our training sessions. Very quickly Sephy realized that he can get good rewards by joining in. These group training sessions give the dogs positive time together and shows them that they get rewarded well for staying calm together and working together for me.
With some dogs, it just takes them a bit longer to give their trust. Sephy is like that. The key with Sephy is not to force him to get along, but to show him all the ways in which puppy can be a positive addition to his routine. After about 10 days, Sephy accepted puppy into his trust circle. It was a very happy day for everyone. 😀
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises may also be helpful in some cases-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
I am hoping you could give me some advice or at least another perspective on my situation. I have an 8 yr old female Mini Pincher, and we just adopted a year old Newfoundland. I have been taking up their food, toys, and beds because even though neither seem to b aggressive, I can feel the tension. We take him on a couple walks a day and play with them separately since she can be easily trampled. Shes not warming up to him and is scared to get off of the couch, I’m thinking she could be reading his curiosity + size as aggression? The absolute last thing I want is to take him back. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Hello Brittney,
My Sibe Shania is also wary of other dogs especially large dogs. This is because she only has 3 legs and feels more vulnerable with unknown dogs. Very energetic dogs for example, can easily overwhelm her even in play. I imagine smaller older dogs may also feel vulnerable when faced with a large energetic younger dog. I usually keep a certain distance from other dogs and only go to meet them if Shania wants to meet them.
Last year, I got a new Sibe puppy – Lara. What has worked well with Shania and Lara is to supervise all play sessions very closely. In fact, in the beginning, Lara is on leash because she does not yet know that she has to be extra careful with Shania. I have a lot of play breaks, and I teach Lara that she is not allowed to jump over Shania or do any hard-tackles. I also do not allow Lara to chase Shania – play involves Shania chasing Lara, mouth wrestling, and controlled interaction. The frequent play breaks are useful to keep everyone from getting over-excited.
Group obedience training sessions are also very helpful. It teaches my dogs that they get rewarded very well when they are calm together and working cooperatively with me.
In the beginning dog-to-dog desensitization exercises may also be helpful-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
What has worked well with my dogs is to teach them clear rules of interaction with each other. I enforce the rules and teach them what the play boundaries are. Just as there are certain play and interaction rules with people, there are certain play and interaction rules with dogs as well. When there are conflicts, I try to step in early *before* anything negative occurs, and resolve the situation. In this way, all my dogs know what to expect from me, and what to expect from each other. They also know that I will step in and resolve conflicts so that they do not need to do it themselves.
To keep the peace, I try to keep interactions between my dogs positive or at the very least neutral and predictable. In this way, they gain confidence with each other and can rest and relax in each other’s company.
There is more on what I do in the article above.
Hi I have a complicated story ! we have a rescue gsd Girl who we adopted last yr and flew over to USA with our then 12 yr old gsd boy who passed in Jan we then adopted our gsd boy at 13 wks Kiki Girl looked after him so very well a real Mummy UBTILL 2 wks ago attacking him it seems unprovoked not over anything really a few times it seems as tho she has told him off for being to much to us or on a peaceful walk or generally just being bossy !!! it is so strange cant fathom out why !!???
have and am trying to be a bigger leader and top dog as in they only get attention when I WE call them to us etc any help wld be so welcomed !!
oh yed we have just moved and this started whilst packing up our previous home she has been thru a lot with the differant moves but nothing seems to have fazed her before both dogs as with our previous dogs are well loved fed and exercised thanx in anticipation
Hello Sue,
As a puppy matures, he gains confidence and may start testing his boundaries. What seems to work well with my dogs is to teach them clear rules of interaction, just as they have clear house rules.
Some of my rules of interaction-
1. No stealing. This includes not just food and toys, but also space, attention, and access to people. When one dog even thinks about stealing, I no-mark her and body block her away, or get her to stop staring.
2. No bullying during play. I supervise play and have many play breaks so that they do not get over excited.
3. No physical corrections of each other is allowed. I teach them that I am the one that resolves conflicts.
4. Being calm with each other and working together gets them the most rewards. I teach them that cooperation is the best way to get what they want.
One thing that I always do is to stop things *before* it escalates into physical aggression. For example, when one of my older dog wants to rest, I do not allow puppy to go bother him. If I am not there, they will usually vocalize to let me know and I get there straight away and get puppy to do something else or to settle down. If I am not home or unable to supervise, then I keep in-training puppies separated from my trained adult dogs who already know all the rules.
I also follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all my dogs. It is a good way to maintain leadership and at the same time establish trust.
First off, thanks for the article – will give me some things to try.
We started as a single Golden Retriever (Male) family, then brought in a black lab mix (male) from the shelter. The age gap was roughly 7 years. The Golden was the dominant and we had no issues. When Poncho passed, Colt (lab) seemed lost. I decided it was time to bring another dog into the family. This time we opted for a 1 yr old female border collie (Sadie). Colt (now 8) got along extremely well with Sadie and they play amazingly (and Colt still has the energy to run around and let Sadie herd him).
I felt such a strong connection to the rescue group we got our BC from, I offered to foster some new “kids”. We brought home a 4 year old male (River). This guy is a HUGE sweetie. Out of the gate, everything was fine. We had no issues…Colt seemed fine just ignoring River and all three could be in the same room together. After about a month, Colt got aggressive with River which ended poorly for Colt who lost part of his ear (in the 12 seconds it took me to break them up).
Things seemed fine after this event until last week. Now we cannot even have the dogs in the same room without there being some aggression. The last event led to my son being bitten (he’s 18 and thinks of himself as some kind of dog whisperer…getting in the middle of two fighting dogs is not the smartest move).
I am unsure if we are looking at a dominance play in the household now that the dogs have begun getting more comfortable around each other, or if this is truly dog on dog aggression. We see the aggression in many forms…River sniffing around Colt’s ball, Colt laying on my son’s chest, River coming up to sniff his hand, etc.
Any thoughts? Knowing which it may be will definitely help us in addressing the issue, as we don’t want to kick the foster out – he truly is a remarkable dog and very loving to everyone (including our three year old son).
Hello Cory,
From observing my dogs, it seems there are two key areas for potential conflicts-
1. Conflict over resources.
Food is the most common resource that a dog may guard. However, dogs may also have conflicts over attention from certain family members, access to certain family members, space, and much more. My Shiba Inu for example, is a guard dog so he is sensitive over his own personal space. He does not like new dogs invading his space and sniffing his butt. However, dogs that he trusts and plays with, he does not mind letting into his personal space and he will also share toys with them.
When I got puppy Lara last year, my Shiba did not want to have anything to do with her in the beginning. After working with them for about 10 days, he accepted puppy into his circle of trust and was a lot more tolerant once that happened. I try to clearly define rules of interaction for all my dogs, and do a lot of supervision when introducing a new dog. If they understand what the rules of interaction are, e.g. what belongs to whom at what time, then there will be fewer disagreements.
2. Over-excitement.
Play time can also sometimes escalate into something more. Sometimes one of my dogs get over-excited and plays too rough or keeps on going when the other party is no longer interested in playing. I always supervise play time and have many obedience breaks so that they do not get too over-excited. I also do not allow any kind of bullying during play.
From what you describe, it sounds like the dogs may be having some conflict over personal space and access to family members. Still, it is difficult to say without being there and observing the dogs. A good professional trainer can be helpful to these situations because he/she can observe things in real-time, read the dogs’ body language and understand the surrounding context.
Hello!
I just rescued a shiba – Dink (male 6 years) and am in the process of introducing him to my first dog – a pit/boxer mix – Nala (female 1.5 years). I know it sounds like a crazy mix but Nala is so submissive and also a rescue. She loves all other dogs and has the personality of a lab. Dinks previous owner said he grew up in a home with 3 other dogs, a pit with the same personality being one of them. They are doing pretty well, however Dink does growl when Nala sniffs him too much or is in his face. Nala does still have some puppy energy and is extremely clumsy (we think she has vision problems). I know that shibas are pretty independent dogs but I just want to know how long it took your dogs to feel comfortable with each other. They eat close to each other with absolutely no problems. They can lay by each other (not too close yet) and they even sit right next to each other in the car. I walked them together this morning and that went completely fine, but when we got to the house Nala sniffed Dinks ears and he gave an aggressive sounding bark. I am doing all that I can but I just want to make sure this is normal and what is the best way to correct it. I am in the process of redirecting Nala’s energy but I don’t know what to do for Dink. Also – side note – Dink pulls on his leash…I never had this problem with Nala, she walks right next to me with a slack lease. How do I correct that?
Here’s the dogs’ breakdown
Nala – first dog, pit/boxer, female, 35lbs, 1.5 years, submissive, rescue, deathly afraid of new people, loves all dogs
Dink – second dog, shiba inu, male, 15lbs, 6 years, dominant, instant attraction to me
Thank you so much for your advice!
Hello Kailah,
Congratulations on your new Shiba! 😀
I got Husky Shania when my Shiba (Sephy) was over 1 year old, and he took to her right away. He really wanted a playmate then, and just wanted to be with puppy.
I got another Husky Lara when Sephy was over 4 years old. This time he didn’t want to have anything to do with puppy. I made sure puppy did not bother Sephy and did not steal anything that he was working on. I also did a lot of group obedience sessions with them, and supervised all play sessions closely. I made sure that all of their encounters were positive. Puppy had to follow the same rules as everyone else.
Sephy accepted Lara into his circle of trust after about 10 days. He will still growl at her though when she comes to bother him and he does not want to be bothered. When that happens, I step in and get Lara to leave him alone. Sometimes he is resting or grooming, and he should be able to have puppy-free time when he needs it. This is also a good chance to teach puppy not be rude and to heed social rules and warnings from other dogs. I handle what happens after the warning so that they never have to resolve the situation themselves with aggression. I do not allow them to physically correct each other – I do the correcting if need be.
However, rules of interaction between dogs may be different from person to person. Some people prefer to take a more laissez faire approach.
In terms of pulling I used a combination of the red-light-green-light technique and turn-around technique with Sephy. When I was leash-training him I also used a harness because Shibas have a short trachea and are more prone to choking themselves when they pull really hard. Here is more on my leash training experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
Hello, i already read your whole blog.. lol
i’ve read the links you posted here.
Well, Tsuki is about to turn 8 months, she was black with a cream belly and now she is a little bit of all the colors, she is beautiful. She’s been with us since she was a little ball. She obeys pretty well. She sits, she lays down, give a paw, give a kiss on command and also rings the bell when she wants to go potty. She is smart and she shows a lot of respect toward us. When we got Diesel, he was 6 months, it was more like a rescue, the place he was in was not safe and he was mistreated, so we took him home. Tsuki never cared about sharing anything, not with us and not with any other dog. (my brother in law has a shiba that looks just like yours..) But Diesel would attack her over food, over everything. He is about to turn 10 months now, he is cream with a white belly, such a handsome boy. He is very affectionate and different from Tsuki he likes to lay down with you and be a good puppy, but when he is mad, its like he becomes something else. Now Tsuki is following him, she doesnt do anything with us, but she freaks out if Diesel goes close to her cage, or her toys, or her food. I also feel there’s a lot of trying to dominate each other, because his bed is in the kitchen, he believes the kitchen is his, and Tsuki think the rest is hers (lol). Like if they fight over something in the living room , dining room part of the house, Tsuki doesnt back off until he goes back to the kitchen. But if they fight in the kitchen, Diesel gets double mean and even though Tsuki confronts him, she shows fear. I try to do everything i can so they dont fight, they are good puppies, they play together all the time, they also sleep together. I can see they love each other coz when we had them fixed, they were kept separated and Tsuki would look for him and vice-versa. I’ve tried the training together(still do), but Diesel is not a good listener. he does sit, lay down and give a paw but that is when he wants to. He also respects my husband more than respect me, i know he loves me, he is always so excited when full of love but he challenges me a lot. I try to do training together but sometimes just because he knows i have a treat he already starts acting. We feed them separate bows and he insists in going check out her bow when he is done, but she now protects her bowl as well so when he already starts going to her side she is already getting ready to attack him. (she never checks his bowl) Meanwhile, i try to feed them totally separate, in different rooms so they dont fight, but that doesnt solve the problem. They are fine until Diesel decides something is important to him and pick a fight. (oven mits, a piece of paper tower, anything he can “steals”). My husband got shock collars, i use on vibrating, it works to reinforce the “no” but it does not work to stop them from fighting. I’ve read your article here about the shock collar and i get a little afraid of using it on shock mode. I just feel like im running out of options and it breaks my heart to have my own dog growling and wanting to attack me.
Yeah, I understand what you mean. Sephy used to do crazy leash biting with me, and it was really upsetting and also somewhat scary.
After a bit though, I realized that it didn’t have anything to do with caring or love. He was just using whatever moves that worked with me, and leash biting worked with me. It made me back off, and he could continue doing whatever he wanted. After I was able to stay calm, stop being fearful of him, and take control of the situation, things improved significantly. Sephy is very sensitive to what I am feeling so if I am sad or fearful, he picks up on that, gets stressed himself, and misbehaves even more.
In terms of food aggression, the general strategy that works with my dogs are as follows-
1. Maximize successes – Create many circumstances where the dog will be successful, and where the dog learns that people being near him means more stuff, not less.
2. Prevent failures – This part is just as important as the above. We want to make sure that the dog is not put in a situation where he feels that he has to use aggression to protect his resources. When Sephy was young and starting to show some food guarding behavior, here are some of the things that I did-
a) I watched him like a hawk when we were out on walks. I also kept him on a shorter leash. In this way I can almost always prevent him from getting bad stuff in his mouth. In this way, I don’t have to remove anything from his mouth by force, which was why he started developing resource guarding behavior in the first place.
b) I made sure there was nothing in the house that he could steal. When I couldn’t closely supervise him, he goes in his crate or he stays in the kitchen with me behind a gate.
c) I supervised him closely and I trained him not to steal. If he tries to steal, he goes to timeout. If he follows the Leave-It comment, I reward him very well with his favorite games and activities.
He gets less freedom, but it was necessary to prevent him from practicing food aggression while I trained him not to steal and desensitized him toward people and other dogs being near his stuff.
Sephy and I went through some difficult times. It was always frustrating for me that while reading about a technique or strategy on an article or book, it seems that it shouldn’t be too hard to implement. However, when it comes to practically applying it on my own dog, it is a lot more difficult, and unexpected things occur. I realized that in dog training, it is not just about learning a technique, but timing and execution are extremely important. This is where a professional trainer can be very helpful. I visited with many professional trainers when Sephy was young, especially when dealing with his aggression issues.
WE JUST ADOPTED A NEW DOG INTO OUR HOME OF FIRST IS A 9YR IRISH SETTER, NEW DOG A MIXED BOXER, 1-2YR OLD FROM A LOCAL SHELTER. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO 1ST DOG HAS BEEN SO AGRESSIVE AND HAS NEVER BEEN BEFORE – HELP –
Hello Darlene,
I would chat with the people at the shelter and see what they say. My Shiba Inu also does not get along with all dogs, so we usually have a greet and meet first before considering adoption. Here is more on how I picked my second dog.
When I get a new dog, I make sure to give my older dogs space and peace and quiet when they want it. Then I slowly introduce them and always make their time together very positive.
It can also be helpful to bring in a professional trainer who can observe the interactions in real time and accurately identify the aggression triggers.
Hi me again! We too tried to get a second shiba when Yuki was 14 months old, what a disaster! I thought this would work as she really seemed to enjoy doggy company when I took her to playdates with other dogs at their homes. She has 2 pomeranian friends that she would often play with when I would visit their owner. When she saw the new puppy she started to salivate and her fur stood on end, she looked like a werewolf! We continued to persevere by calling in trainers, behaviourists etc. To make things worse this little male puppy was sooo dominant that he wasn’t about to back down come hell or high water. He proceeded to urinate in her bed, on her favourite toy, and on the mat she liked to sit on, as time went by I could see things getting worse. Yuki didn’t want him anywhere near her and he would stand at the patio door and bark at her and nip her so as not to let her come in! She also lost about 2kgs (4.5 pounds) from stress which caused her to stop eating. I persevered to find him a good home in conjunction with the breeder we’d bought him from and he’s living happily in his new home as an “only child”. Yuki was a different dog within 2 days of him leaving she looked so much happier and more relaxed. I realise there are people with more than 1 shiba, but I also feel that this is one breed that often prefer to be the only dog in the household. My female was being territorial but I also could not believe that such a young puppy could behave so extremely dominanat.
Hello Natasha,
Good to see you again and thanks for sharing your second dog story with us.
I had some similar experiences with Sephy when I was looking for a second dog. Initially, I was hoping to get a rescue Husky, but none of them got along very well with Sephy. I think it was because Sephy is a pretty in-your-face kind of dog, and many of the rescues that I visited with, were more shy and needed more space.
Based on Sephy’s play style, I think he prefers something other than a Shiba – preferably a larger type breed who is more playful and less dominant. 😀
So we have it narrowed down! They’re Border Collie/Siberian Husky pups!
There are 3 females and 4 males. Would two males dogs even if they are neutered still fight for dominance?
They must be super good looking! Are there any links with pictures? Would love to see them.
Both BCollie and SHusky are extremely high energy – so you will have a great exercise coach 😀 Got any names picked?
Based on what I have read, two males are more likely to have friction, but then again I have also heard many stories of female Shibas who totally go ninja on their male counterparts. I think if you bring them up from puppy-hood with proper play and interaction rules, they should be fine.
Yeah I know what you mean. I felt the same way, but when the time came Sephy adjusted really well. I think Reptar will as well. Sephy was just so happy to have a dog companion, that he was really good with pretty much everything. Even now he seems to be perfectly happy to let Shania have her way almost all the time.
Sephy actually sleeps in the crate at night and Shania gets to roam free. She doesn’t do things like crawl under the bed and start chewing at the frame 😀
This is so exciting! Take lots of pictures and share stories with us.
I have so many questions about a second dog and I feel like the right breed and proper research is incredibly important. We would love to get a rescue dog but with that, you can’t anticipate too much what traits the dog will have from what their mixed with and thats OK.
I’m pretty sure I have the basics down. Vet bills, food, toys, treats, training, and supplies. I can wrap my head around that pretty easily.
It’s the day-to-day stuff and other not obvious rules, especially in the beginning. I’m sure the dogs will find their routine over time. Reptar has his toys, the ones he loves and the ones he’s willing to share. I’m assuming this could present an aggression issue if the new dog takes a toy he’s not willing to share and obviously some rules and obedience measures will have to be enforced.
In the “pen” or enclosed space you set up for your dogs, did Sephy ever try to get/jump out or knock it over?
I think I’m more concerned about Reptar and how he will react and over-react. He has his routine and you know Shibas when their routines get messed up. They act out and are terrors of the night 🙂 I love Reptar for his quirks. For example, at bed time, Reptar can sleep on the bed with us, in his crate, on the floor or just hang out but he has to stay in the bedroom. Obviously with a new puppy, he/she will not have this luxury as he will have to be properly trained and disciplined like Reptar. It’s about trust. That being said, I don’t feel its fair to take 10 steps back and make Reptar sleep in his crate at night because the new dog will have to. But how will that affect the new dog, and Reptar who will most likely be so intrigued by this new addition that is in another crate.
It’s really the little things like that I’m concerned and curious about.
Do you have any stories or tips about just day to day life? That may be a silly question but I hope you know what I mean.
Our first dog was a Mexican Hairless, she was about 8 months when we got our then 3 month old shiba. Surprisingly, they match each other’s energy levels perfectly. We also have 6 ferrets at home which helped to “numb” the prey drives of both pups.
I do love the way siberians look, though.
LOL – sounds like a whole lot of fun. Was it difficult to train your Shiba not to go after the ferrets? Does he generalize to other ferrets and small creatures?
Yeah, Siberians are very beautiful. They also have a great and very affectionate personality. They are very high energy though, and my Siberian’s prey drive is very strong.
For my next dog I am thinking of going with more obedience and possibility of off-leash 😀
My husband loves border collies but we know they aren’t the right breed for us at this time. We’ve thought about a border collie mix though. Some of the breeds we like are border collie/lab mix and I also have fallen in love with a rottie/husky mix. Since they are mixes, I’m not sure what traits they’ll get from each breed. Do you have any thoughts on these and how they would interact with a Shiba? I’m more iffy about the rottweiler mix though because of their aggressive nature. It’s hard to look at the puppy’s face and see anything aggressive. Their faces make me melt!
Heh yeah, I also like border collies. We have a sheep herder that comes to the hills around our neighborhood during winter time and he has two border collies to help him with his sheep. They are super amazing and extremely focused on their work and handler.
It is definitely one of the candidates for a third dog, but I don’t think I am ready for them either – lol. A trainer at the SPCA told me that she has to throw balls for hers all day long. Maybe when I move to a less populated area, and get some sheep 😉
I always prepare to get the worst traits from both breeds. That way, there will be a lot of pleasant surprises 🙂
If you are thinking of getting a mix-breed, adoption may be a very good way to go. That way, you get to meet the dog first, see how they act around Shiba, and see which breed traits they show most.
I have met some really sweet Rotties and some not so sweet ones. People always say that any dog can be properly trained and I agree.
However, personally, I feel that owning a larger dog is a bigger responsibility because they can do more damage (even just accidentally) and as a result should be more closely managed and trained. Larger dogs also tend to have more health issues and have a shorter lifespan.
I would really like to get a GSD or GSD-mix next, but my other half is not so keen on it. GSDs tend to like their space and are iffy around Sephy because he just rudely butts into people’s personal area.
Ok, I am starting to ramble 🙂
Anyway, please keep us updated on your second dog search and hugs to Reptar! Make sure to remind him that he is a very lucky boy!
Thanks so much for this article! It was really helpful and pointed out a lot of other things to think about before bring home a second dog!
We’ve had our second dog Rocky, a 7 month old Shiba, for 2 months now. Our other dog Trixie, a basenji mix, will be 2 years old in May, and we got her when she was 8 weeks old.
When we brought Rocky home they started playing immediately, after a few minutes of butt sniffing. Rocky had apparently been socialized as a puppy so she knew not to bite too hard. He has learned a lot from the older dog and is a great deal calmer than he would be if he were our only dog. I’ve read about many of the shiba’s crazy traits, and he doesn’t seem to exhibit many of the worst ones.
One important factor I found is the age of the dogs. When we brought Trixie home, she was introduced to our old dog Scooby, a 14 year old dobe/lab mix. He didn’t have the patience for this new pup and didn’t appreciate being shoulder slammed, hip checked, and nipped by this youngster. Also, Trixie mouthed a lot and this was new to us, so it was a stressful couple of months until we got used to her habits, and she learned some obedience. She eventually bonded with Scooby and when he died over a year later, she moped around for quite awhile.
When we brought Rocky home, we were fresh from having a mouthy puppy around, so it wasn’t such a change for us. Since Trixie has a playmate now, she has lost some weight and become a much healthier dog. Rocky was well behaved at his first obedience class, but he won’t sit on command without pushing his butt down. He can do it, he just doesn’t want to. Both dogs lay close to each other, if not touching. Also, their play has little if any dominance activity. Rocky will climb up on Trixie’s back and bite to get her attention away from me, but he hasn’t humped since he was neutered.
Adding a second dog to our family has been a good experience, and an almost constant source of entertainment for us and our neighbors.
That is a very good point. As you say, it is a good idea to have the second dog closer in age to the first dog so that they have a playmate for life.
I am thinking for getting a third dog but will space that out more time-wise since Sephy and Shania already have each other.
LOL that is so like Sephy – part of that famous Shiba stubbornness. Sometimes when I ask Sephy to do a Down – he will wait for a bit, do a Stretch, and then accidentally go into a down position from the stretch.
He is such a rebel! 😎
The only time he does commands efficiently and on cue is when I have something he really wants. He will work when he is hungry and there is cheese or freshly boiled chicken on the line.
I like this about Shibas. I don’t like following commands either unless I get something good in return 😀
I posted this link on the TMS Facebook page because it was so awesome. 😀
Hi Julie,
Glad you enjoyed the article and many hugs to Tierce and Shassi. Love your humorous stories about them!
A big Happy Easter and woof woof to you all 🙂