She doesn't like our neighbour's Labrador

[SandraB]

Hi everyone,
I have found this site so useful, I am a new dog owner and recently purchased a 7 month old female Rotty cross from the pound (we don't know what she is crossed with, she has a long curly tail and a white patch on her chest). She is desexed. We live next door to my best friend who has a 3 year old male labrador who is not desexed. Neither dog has had obdedience training, however we are both booked in for obedience courses next month (but not in the same class).

She is ok around small dogs, but growls and tries to attack bigger dogs, she hates the lab and everytime we try to get them together, she starts to growl, bark and tries to attack him. This is upsetting because we thought they could play while we are all at work. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to introduce them to enable them to hopefully get along?

We have had her for 2 weeks and have noticed other things like she doesn't like people touching her tail and she growls at visitors. But not all visitors, just the ones that seem to be scared of her. She does eventually come around. She also barks and becomes agitated when she sees or hears children.

I love her to bits and want to do the right thing, any suggestions you could offer would be great.

Many thanks,
Sandra

[lblax]

sounds to me you have a dog with lots and lots of issues ..... trying to get her to get along with the nieghbors dog should be the last thing to work on...re read your post and see all the problems that have already surfaced in 2 weeks. if it were me i would rethink this dog owning a dog should be rewarding and fun for both not a challange right from the git go

[RottiMomCT]

OK, here we go. Do not allow her to be unsupervised with this dog - ever, especially if she is displaying aggression towards him. Are both dogs leashed when intorduced?? Where are the introductions taking place - your yard, neighbors yard? In a neutral space that neither dog can claim as their space? Try the neutral space - maybe at the training club where neither dog has been to before...ask the instructors for assistance.

May I ask why the lab isn't neutered?? Might help with training and attitude on the lab...

Anyways - back to you and your dog. Don't just touch her tail or allow others to do it if the does not like it. HOWEVER, brush her and help her realize that grooming is a good thing and in order for her to be a pretty dog her tail must be brushed, her nails done and even maybe her teeth brushed. When she allows you to even put a finger on ther tail without protest, PRAISE her! Same goes for any other body part she is unsure of having touched.

Don't force her to greet people. Have visitors ignore her or put her in a crate or otherwise removed from the room if people who might be afraid of her come to visit. If people who do like her are visiting, put her up for a little while so the people can get settled, and then bring her out on a leash and allow her to go to the people that want to greet her. Have them offer her small treats but not make a big fuss over her approaching them. A quiet 'Good girl' will suffice.

Once in classes you will learn ALOT - use it. You and the dog will also earn a mutual respectfor each other - something VERY important when owning ANY breed of dog. Don't be afraid to ask questions both here and at class. I ALWAYS encouraged my students to contact me in between classes (and even AFTER the class session had ended) if any issues came up they needed help with. I have been working privately for a long time with one former group student who wanted 'more' but in a more provate setting, so Ben and I go to her home, and after class, the dogs get a good play session in.

Regarding kids - could it be that she was teased by children?? Her tail pulled or otherwise taunted? Ben loves kids - older kids...insert crying infant or any child being held by an adult and Ben gets pretty riled up. Something we have been working on BIGTIME for the past two months since my sister in law is due tomorrow...

Keep asking questions...there are far more experienced people here than me! I am just offering suggestions based on what worked for me...

Oh, and WELCOME!!!

I wonder if Mick Trainer could chime in since he's in Australia....oh MICK...where are you?!?! He's a god send to this breed!!!!

[SandraB]

Iblax, thanks for your response, but I am not just going to give up on her after just 2 weeks. I guess that's the gamble to take when you get a dog from the pound.

RottiMomCT, I appreciate your advice SO MUCH. We have taken them to a park to meet, both on a leash. Don't know why the lab isn't desexed, but he does have some obedience problems and becomes over excited when he sees other dogs.

I have been giving her small treats while touching her tail and she will allow me to do that, is that the right way to go about it? Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it

[Sargeant_C]

I have to ask why worry about the tail. If it is important I would wait on that and work on other issues first.
You are doing a great thing by getting her into class. That will help big time.

We have a dobie here that has attacked my Lab and my Rott hates him. He will go off whenever he sees that Dobie. I am working on ignore with him and we have managed to bring it down a level or two. But I know I can never trust him to come close to that Dobie. But in my case I do not care cuz I despise that Dobie It may take you awhile to get them to be able to be near each other, but I would not trust them alone for a very long time.

She does have some issues and it sounds like you are off to a good start with obedience. But in the meantime work with her on basic commands. Since I have gotten a one on one trainer I have seen more improvement with my dog and that is because we focus on each other.

[moondog]

When my son adopted a year old black lab from the shelter, she was very much like your new dog...defensive around other large dogs, not wanting to be touched around her back end, and no training whatsoever.

It was very important to both my son and I to do the best we could to help our dogs develop an amicable relationship so they could spend time together, so we took it slow with Gracie (black lab) and Luna's (my Rottie) introduction. The first time they met was on leash in the front yard of my house and when Luna went up to say hello, Gracie barked and snapped at her. So we spent two full weeks taking them on leashed walks together....first with enough distance that Gracie didn't feel pressured, then allowing some fleeting butt sniffs on the pass, then we did this exercise where we'd have one dog in a sit and the other dog would pass and then sit up ahead and the first dog would then pass, and on like that. Gracie did try to take a few potshots at Luna when Luna was doing the pass, and she got corrected for them. Once the passing was going well, we brought them into my yard and put them in separate areas with a chain link gate between and turned them loose to visit through the fence. They were fine with that, so we made sure all the toys were picked up and then let them loose together for short periods of time...the first couple of times they ignored each other by wandering around on opposite ends of the yard, although they were very aware of each other, and then they started to interact a bit..we always ended on a good note and did not wait to see if tension would brew. Long story short, they became good buddies before long and ultimately had a great time playing with no problems at all.

As for the back touching, with Gracie the first thing that was done was a vet check and xrays of her hips and back to see if see had a medical problem that was causing pain. Once that was ruled out, my son started working to get her used to being touched all over, with praise for good behavior and a verbal correction for any less than stellar reactions. She is completely over any of that reactive stuff now. He did find the original owner and took her over for a visit with the lady...it turns out that the reason they took her to the shelter is that they have an autistic son who would get too rough with her from the time she was a little puppy and she just couldn't handle it any more, so got snappy about being touched in her hind end (he may have done some pounding or hard poking, and I'm sure in the rear because the teeth were at the other end).

The number one BEST thing my son did for Gracie is to take her to obedience classes. It gave her a structure she could relate to and really helped build the relationship he now has with her. Her confidence level has improved tremendously and she has turned out to be a really fun, great dog with no temperament or behavior problems at all - with people or with other dogs.

I think you'll find obedience classes a great help, and taking the intro with your friend's slower by doing a bunch of leashed walks together before letting them loose together may help with the dog/dog relationship.

[SandraB]

Sargeant C and Moondog, thank you so much. We will try the leashed walks this weekend. We had visitors over last night and she was fine with the younger people, but when the older people showed up, she would growl a little. When you say you corrected Gracie, what did you do (I know silly question) I say 'no' a lot, is there something else that is also effective?

Thanks again

[moondog]

When Gracie tried to take a potshot at Luna, she got a firm collar pop with the leash (she should be walking and sitting with a loose leash, and the collar pop is a quick jerk-and-release with the leash, accompanied by a strong growly voiced "Knock that OFF, young lady!" If she doesn't respond, the pop needs to be stronger and repeated. When she does knock it off, remember to immediately praise her with a "Goood girl, that's it.." Remember to give her as much space as she needs at first to accept the presence of the other dog before moving them closer. The idea is for the two of them to establish an acceptance of each other before closing the distance, then allow a little casual on-the-fly sniff if the dogs choose to, then increase the distance again...and on like that. Remember that the lab has to behave, too, and not be overly boisterous wanting to play because that will just put her off until she's comfortable with him.

As for the people, you have to remember that your home is very new to her. Be careful about bombarding her with a bunch of new people all at once, because she doesn't even know you yet...and that can be overwhelming to a dog that hasn't found her "place" yet in your home and is still insecure in the environment. When introducing her to new people, allow her to approach them, not them to approach her and give them a treat to give her when she does approach them. Don't baby talk her over it and don't be harsh, either. Just let her meet them without any kind of fuss, she gets a treat (stinky hot dog bits are quite tempting for a dog) and that's that.

[SandraB]

Thank you for the advice, we will try and walk this weekend. Today, Charli poked her nose under the fence to sniff the lab and they touched noses with no growling or barking, hopefully this is a good sign!

[RottiMomCT]

If the lab is too rambunctious, your dog may just be acting up out of frustration , or acting up simply because he is being a putz and does not appreciate his attitude/energetic way of greeting.

I think walks together to get used to each other are a good idea. Who knows, maybe after the first 15 minutes or so the excitement of 'another dog' will have worn off and the two of them will get along great. If not, oh well...it's like people - you can't choose who your dogs (or kids!) will be friends with....