luv2napp Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I'm a little worried about how Danny is reacting to losing Lacee. He has no interestin playing and definitely misses her. She was so good with him, he would watch and learn by her example. They played all the time which was when his true puppy self came out. While I think he may want another companion, I'm not sure how he would be. My daughter brought over her male pug that she rescued from a neglectful situation a few weeks ago. Lacee was great with him and loved him immediately. Danny, much to my surprise, bared his teeth and growled at him. Danny is so gentle, it really surprised me. This pug is not neutered (my daughter is taking care of that now). Do you think that might be the reason? Does this show that he won't accept another dog, or is it something that can be overcome? While it's WAY too early for me to even think about another dog, if ever, I would like Danny to get along with my daughters dog. She comes over all the time and I think it would be great for the two to play. Is there any advice you could give? I only want what's best for him. While I'm beyond sad and it's been a couple of weeks from hell, I need to make sure Danny continues to thrive. I'm afraid he'll continue to backslide without another dog around to lead. Thanks for any insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I'm so sorry you all are going through this. Danny may just be grieving. It may just be he doesn't like that particular dog, or it may just be that day. It doesn't necessarily mean he won't get on with other dogs. I think its worth continuing to try with your daughter's pug. Unfortunately the grieving process cannot be rushed. Take care of yourselves. Time will take care a great deal. Jennifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 My dog doesn't care to play or interact with most other dogs, and will generally snarl if they get too close - except once in a while, he's overcome by absolute LOVE of another dog. (He has a "type:" Jack Russells or dogs who look like herders.) And then, even if it's not love at first sight, he can usually be trained to be nonreactive, if I know he needs to get along with another dog. It just takes gradual, safe exposure, and for the other dog to understand not to get all up in Buddy's grill. So, Danny's reaction to the pug doesn't necessarily indicate he won't do well with any other dog. I'd say if you want him to get along with the pug, take them for leash walks where they don't have to interact, but can be in each other's presence long enough to get accustomed to each other and uninterested. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 How does Danny react with other dogs in general? Perhaps neutering will help Danny get along with the Pug, but remember, it takes a while (3-6 months?? not sure) for the testosterone to clear the system. So if Danny's reaction is due to a male/male disagreement, it may be a while before the pug stops smelling like an intact male. I also agree with taking the two on leashed walks together. Long walks - 20-30-40 minutes. Start far enough apart so Danny is not focused on the Pug and gradually get closer. Bring lots of treats and reward Danny when he is NOT focused on the pug and when he is close to the pug without reacting, treat generously. My dog (4 year old neutered male) is also not as nice with other dogs as I would like - but he does get along with some dogs. Usually they are younger and smaller and female. Last week I picked up a foster dog (BC mix), and my dog was snarky the first day, but now (a week later), he and the foster are wrestling and running together very well. There is hope for him. I think part of the reason he was able to adjust so well is because Penny (the foster dog) is a very balanced dog. She is also bigger than my dog. If you can find a well-adjusted dog, it might be worth a try to have a meet-&-greet with Danny to help him with his social skills. BTW, if you want to check out my foster, go to Blue Ridge Border Collie Rescue and look at Penny. Please spread the word to anyone you know who may want a GREAT dog. Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted July 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Thanks for the advice, everyone. The only dog Danny has been around since I've had him (10 months), was Lacee, my 12 year old that was here already. We've had a long road to getting him to even be comfortable in the house and his back yard. He won't walk out front yet, so I can't do the long walk like suggested. I'll just do the introductions slowly, and maybe over time they will get used to each other. I guess I shouldn't really worry too much, Danny is who he is. We still have a lot of work to do, so we'll just take it a day at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Thanks for the advice, everyone. The only dog Danny has been around since I've had him (10 months), was Lacee, my 12 year old that was here already. We've had a long road to getting him to even be comfortable in the house and his back yard. He won't walk out front yet, so I can't do the long walk like suggested. I'll just do the introductions slowly, and maybe over time they will get used to each other. I guess I shouldn't really worry too much, Danny is who he is. We still have a lot of work to do, so we'll just take it a day at a time. OK, Danny has limitations, but that doesn't mean he can't accept another dog. Just be creative in setting up situations (at the beginning - maybe not even 'meeting' a dog, just being in the back yard together even if the 2 dogs are 100 feet apart) where he doesn't get too stressed and use LOTS and LOTS of high value treats. I had to deal with a 12 year old male cat (very sweet to humans) who wanted to kill the 9 month old female cat I brought into the house. (He actually stalked and attacked her so badly one time that she soiled herself. And there were other fights too.) It took me 5 months of gradual introduction and pounds of high-value turkey to reach a level of tolerance where he no longer attacked her. So good things can happen. Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Something else to consider: my dog (reactive, generally not too social) does much better meeting strange dogs when there's a chain link fence between them. He can do his snarking "keep out of my face" thing, with no danger that he'll actually make contact with the other dog. And, the other dog can learn that he shouldn't get in Buddy's face, but I don't have to end the meeting because of a freaking-out owner. I've had great success at the park where a whole pack of dogs is running wild inside a fenced field, and Buddy's on the outside. He can learn to be charged by a full pack, at full run, as long as he feels protected by the fence. I've picked up on that accidentally, and wondered if it wouldn't be useful in the training of tolerance among other reactive dogs. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Kipp was freaked out by Kenzi when I added her. Really freaked out. Missy was calm, orderly and in charge, Kenzi was a crazy spaz and Kipp doesn't handle spaz well. What I did was to sit between the dogs with a bowl of treats. I had one lay on one side and one on the other and dished out treats one by one for calm behavior. I did this for two evenings and by the end of the second evening Kipp had spent enough calm time next to Kenzi that he was able to figure her out, or at least figure out that she wasn't there to wreck havoc on his orderly world. I let them start to calmly investigate each other and a day later they started playing together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedismom Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I really hope you can work on it and it works out. Having said that, I find that Jedi does not react well to any dog that he thinks has a strange face, ie. not a border collie. This is especially true of bull dog types..scrunched up faces, like a pug would have. Perhaps there's someone in your area that has a border collie you could meet up with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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