I’m always a bit dismayed when people give up on integrating a new dog into their home after just a few days. It is UNREAL the number of people I have spoken to who think (1) that they can tell if their dog would be happy living with another dog based on an initial meeting and (2) that it is hopeless if the dogs fight in the beginning.
What A Difference A Few Weeks Makes!
Secret, Snickers and Sophie waiting for treats together
Actually, Snickers has fought with every new dog that has come into our home, other than Secret. He and Shayna (my favorite foster dog EVER) fought like crazy at first but ended up madly in love with each other after a few months. Sure, some dogs will get along right away, and they might even live together well right away, but that’s the exception, not the rule. The good news is that you don’t have to have any special skills – other than patience – to successfully integrate another dog into your family!
It’s all about baby steps. You don’t throw new dogs together in a house, feed them together, give them access to each other 24/7, and expect them to get along perfectly. You crate the new dog when you’re sleeping and when you’re not home. You gate off parts of your home, so they can spend time apart. You feed them where they can see each other from a safe distance, but not get to each other. You gradually increase the time they spend together. You gradually decrease the distance between them at key times.
Three weeks ago, I couldn’t eat with all three dogs on the same side of the baby gates. Food + close proximity = dog fight. Now, however, all three dogs will sit side-by-side waiting for bites while I eat. I still don’t leave them alone together when I’m not home, but I’m perfectly willing to let them roam the house and yard together all day when I AM home – whether I am actually watching them or not. They still fight sometimes, but not often and not as wildly as they did before.
Remember, traveling the path to peace in the pack requires patience and baby steps. 🙂
Sorry about the blurry pic. I was trying to hold their attention with treats in one hand and take the photo with the other hand!
I don’t know who I just told that to, but four years ago I would have been the “omg they hate each other right away” person.
After serious trial & error, lucking out and striking out and having good advice given to me, we take it realllllllllllllllllllllllllllly slow.
Most of the time it works out, or foster gets adopted. Either is a win.
Great blog post, I sort of wish all dogs came with a manual – and this article was in it. There would be a lot less unwanteds.
Love this article, sharing today. Still in love with her face. :3
This is a great article and a must read for anyone bringing home a new dog. I had the same experience with my two Shibas but today, three years later, they are the best of friends.
It’s really about knowing your dogs, and watching for the cues that their comfort level has increased to the point that you can trust them together. I’m going through this now w/ integrating the new foster dog. Given the option, I never would have chosen to bring in an intact male foster (when I already have a dominant male) and then kept him intact for months. But the need to go through heartworm treatment precludes getting him neutered yet, so we’ll adjust. He’s pretty mild-mannered, and I think he and Drummer will come to terms without bloodshed if I just continue to give them time to get used to each other (they’re crated side-by-side and coping just fine with that) and manage their interactions so that they don’t have the opportunity to fail spectacularly. 🙂
Of course, a lot of people assume that “fighting” is inherently bad, when a certain level of grumbling/snarking/snapping is normal dogs-being-dogs and is the fastest way for them to work out the pecking order. The trick is to know how to keep that from elevating to the point that serious damage gets done (that point where one or both of the dogs is so mad that their little doggy brains turn off). That’s the tough part for me to manage… especially knowing that if Drummer starts something, he probably won’t back down, and most of my fosters have had anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds weight advantage over him.
Thanks everyone for the comments so far!
Debbie, that’s a good point about the grumbling/snarking/snapping. That’s totally normal and I never interfere with that. I’m surprised when people are surprised by that or think that’s fighting. That’s just communicating!
After the first few days, I usually don’t interfere with the actual fighting either. Most of my fosters have been young and silly and didn’t realize they should back down when Snick was angry. Two of them had to shed blood before they realized it. Sophie, figured it out about a week in… at first she would growl back at Snick and then, of course, he would attack her. She would fight back and I’d have to separate them. Now though, she usually doesn’t growl back when he warns her. If she does, she still gets attacked but she’s learned that if she backs down right away, he’ll stop.
So here’s a question for you… when you’re letting them work out dominance and have their little spats, what size space do you have them in?
I feel like the dominance battles escalate faster in a more confined space (in the downstairs den, for instance), but if I let them work it out (with supervision) outdoors, then they can get away from me so fast that a good bit of damage could be done (if it turned serious) before I could hoof it across the length of the backyard to get to them.
It’s a dilemma. And honestly, I know my concern goes right to Drummer and causes him to escalate more. They’d probably work things out faster and less painfully if I just sent them matter-of-factly out to play in the backyard and I went back in and left them alone. I just can’t stop myself from thinking about what could happen in the time it would take me to get to them! Argh.
I am just SURE that I answered this three years ago when you asked, but here it sits with no reply!
Most of the “working it out” happens in the den or the kitchen – both confined enough spaces that I can control things, but not so small that they can’t split themselves up if they want to. I actually WAS letting some of it happen in the yard, until one fight with another foster dog (Smokey) got out of control before I could split it up. Whether or not I’ll just turn them loose in the yard and see what happens now really depends on the dog.
Yeah, I went through the integrating dogs thing about 6 years ago. My dog Lady got out of my yard in 2003. I looked for her like crazy, but when I couldn’t find her, I adopted my Shiba mix Bandit. Then, 2.5 years later, I had a message on my machine from Animal Control when I got home from work…”We have your dog Lady. Do you want to come get her?” So I called back the next morning first thing and said, “YES, I’ll come get her, for heaven’s sake don’t euthanize her!” Someone had her but decided they didn’t want her. So they called AC to pick her up, and she still had her old collar with her city tag.
Thank goodness I hadn’t moved!
So I brought her home…I’ll never forget the look of betrayal Bandit gave me. In my naivete – OK, stupidity -I allowed them complete access to each other. So we had some “incidents” and a lot of tension while they worked out dominance. Worst damage done was a tiny puncture through Lady’s ear (1 drop of blood) that healed up OK but left a small scar. Anyway, they worked out an armistice, like North and South Korea. I wouldn’t quite call it peaceful coexistence. And we got by until I had to have Lady euthanized last spring when she stopped eating and drinking and wouldn’t stand up, even with help (old age.) I still miss her, and I think Bandit does too.
Great blog article, Jenna!
Great job Jenna!
Dear Jenna,
Reading everything you have written about the Shibas – I am wondering if time is the answer for everything involving the breed. My husband and I were supposed to adopt Bibi but after our meeting – we thought she didn’t like us at all because she did nothing but bark and growl at us and run as far as she could away from us.
What’s your take on that? You seem to be an excellent source and wealth of knowledge about Shibas.
Toni,
Since we had an extended IM chat after you left this comment, I don’t guess I need to write a long answer. To recap, I’ll just say that, yes, time is the answer for many things – with Shibas and with people! 🙂
Jenna
I have always been able to get my animals to live together, if not peacefully, then at least without trying to kill one another – that includes various combinations of dogs, cats and even a rabbit. It’s based on carefully limiting the amount of exposure they have with one another, and it always takes time. It’s not something that can accomplished in a few days. Thanks for addressing this issue.
LOVE that pic! Excellent information! Same for kittys, too – it takes loving care and time. Thanks Jenna & Snickers <3
the dogs are so photogenic! how’s Sophie doing so far? i’m still hoping even though i feel its a long shot ^_^