How long will it take to know if my Sheltie will adapt to another dog?

bluedotsmom said:
I am a new poster, but longtime reader!! (I am posting on break at work, so it will be a while before I can check again.)

Question: How long do we need to give it it to be sure a new dog will or won't mesh with our Sheltie?

This past Saturday we adopted a neutered lab mix, about 2 yrs old. He is an amazing young man & a really good fit for our son (10 yrs old.) Our Sheltie is between 10 - 12 yrs old (adopted from a rescue in 2007.)

She has always been rather high-strung, even with the male we adopted with her (we lost him to heart failure last year :( )

So, new dog understands Emily is queen & she is typical Sheltie with lots of barking. It may be a little better, but sometimes if he just moves at all she gets very upset.

We do not want to make her life miserable, but we don't want to give up on Tonka too soon either. I would really appreciate any thoughts, information, advice.

Oh, my kiddos know we are basically fostering Tonka right now & the goal is for both dogs to thrive, whether that is together or not.

Thanks,
Anne
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Well let me see..our Earnhardt was an only dog until Trapp came home. Earnhardt was almost 6 at the time. We lost him this past Oct, and devastated us.
But the two meshed instantly. Other than the constant herding, nipping, pulling of his collar...typical sheltie puppy stuff.

Earnhardt would let Trapp do anything to him, and he simply would just look at him. (I'm sure thinking I hope you grow up soon)..:yes:
Then # 3 came along,4 months after Trapp. A half brother. A perfect solution to the puppy silliness that Earnhardt endured. Jasper came home, and voila'..happy happy Earnhardt. And then Mia came along..at one time we had 5 here. 4 sheltie's & the lab.
We brought Blake home about 2 weeks before Earnhardt unexpectedly collapsed here at home.

I think with lots of positive training & reinforcements, they will mesh and get along quite well. Always keep in mind the alpha in the home, they do come first, as in offering treats, meal times (that dish is offered first) Make time for them separately & together, again offering positive praise.

Since you are dealing with a lab, that is neutered as the new pup, and a sheltie as the resident alpha, shelties being sometimes always on guard & reactive,some times just the simplest things are a trigger to bark..(so I read anyhow)...
I think you are going to find, the lab will settle in just nicely, they tend to be quite mellow, even though he is just a youngster.
I know our Earnhardt was the axle of the household. When he passed,Trapp took over as the alpha here.
Good luck, don't give up. Lots of patience, consistancy.
 
Yesterday went better! Emily seemed most agitated when we played with Tank and his toys (she did this with our other Sheltie, too.)

Once Tank tried to play with her and they both got grumpy, but still much better.

We have made sure to take them outside together & spend lots of one-on-one time. Emily gets me first after I come home from work! :)

I am hoping we will make it & will not give up too soon.

Now, anyone know of an indestructible tug toy for the lab? :lol:

Anne
 
bluedotsmom said:
Yesterday went better! Emily seemed most agitated when we played with Tank and his toys (she did this with our other Sheltie, too.)

Once Tank tried to play with her and they both got grumpy, but still much better.

We have made sure to take them outside together & spend lots of one-on-one time. Emily gets me first after I come home from work! :)

I am hoping we will make it & will not give up too soon.

Now, anyone know of an indestructible tug toy for the lab? :lol:

Anne
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Ahh.not really. I was at one time years ago a tester for a toy company that would send me different toys to see how Earnhardt would react with them. Of course we got to keep them. I never really found an "indestructible" toy for him. He had the strongest jaws,(I remember him breaking a golf ball in half)... but yet a soft mouth. Which is quite typical with labs.

He loved to chew when he was a wee pup, and was quite the digger & ankle biter. As he aged...of course he mellowed beyond what I could ever imagine for a lab.
Maybe Nylabones. Which have come along way since 9 years ago.
 
If I'm reading your initial post correctly, you've had the new guy less than a week. Definitely don't give up yet! He hasn't had time to settle in yet and figure out his place in your new household. And as for your resident Queen Sheltie, the new guy hasn't been there long enough for her to know whether or not he's a visitor or a new family member. Since she has lived with other dogs before (even if she had her "moments"), I'm sure that in time she will at least tolerate him. They may never be buddies, but as long as there's more peace than war, that's a win in my book!

I don't have multiple dogs, but we had a cat (Majo, four years old) when we brought our Sheltie pup (Lerwick, eight weeks old) home. It was a good nine weeks or more before they really got to the point where they were ok being in the same room together. Then, last summer, we unexpectedly rescued a starving cat (Kiki) we found in a nearby park. The vet estimated her to be about a year old. Kiki and Lerwick were playmates within three weeks. Kiki and Majo, however, are still working out their differences. Most of the time they coexist peacefully, but it was several months before I was sure they would be able to work it out well enough that we could keep Kiki.

That said, whenever the cats are in a tiff, Sheriff Lerwick has to investigate, and let them know that they're disturbing the peace. That's Sheltie nature, I guess. If your Emily feels that Tank is disrupting the harmony at any given moment, she's going to let him know about it!
 
I'd also like to suggest that you give your sheltie all of the attention that you normally would, if not more. Sometimes the existing dog get jealous when a new dog is added and they feel all of the attention is going to the new dog.

I also found it helpful to give the existing dog special time away from the new dog. You might like to try confining the lab to a crate or putting him in another room in the evening a few hours before bed time so that your sheltie can relax and enjoy quality time with just you.
 
I did a short stint working in a pet store and when people would come in looking for an indestructable toy and I would respond - "got a lab do you" they would be floored that I figured it out!
Other than large kongs, everything was fair game to destroy by those "gentle mouthed" labradors.
Try to make time to walk the 2 dogs together as often as you can in really interesting places. It always worked for me when I brought in new dogs, especially if the new dog was young. If nothing else, it gave the older dog a break from the rambunctiousness of the younger dog.
Expect the sheltie to put the lab in its place and allow it to happen. I was just at my friend's house with her porties and standard schnauzer. The schnauzer was interupted every time he tried to chastise the youngest portie when it was a crazy pup. Now the portie pushes the schnauzer continuously and today a lovely fight ensued with the 12 year old schnauzer ending up with an ugly puncture wound to his face.
 
Thank you for the continuing suggestions & stories!

They are getting better day by day & Tank amazes me at how he really does know that Emily is alpha! He is pretty drooly & clumsy, but dang smart!

So, I do seem to see that indestructible & lab don't go together! :lol:

I'll have to get hubby to post pics!
 
lovemyshelties said:
I find that when you have multiple Shelties, it's important to spend quality time with each one (and not just all together). Take a walk with one at a time, or play fetch, try your hand at agility (my reactive Zoey loves it and it calms her down).
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I agree. I have 3 shelties (and 5 cats) And I do my best to give everyone some mommy and me time. For the shelties that means a one on one walk or a backyard game of frisbee (for the cats - lap time). It takes time and patience - each situation is different.

Best of luck!
Kimberly
 
As everyone said, give it some time....if you have the time. Is there a time limit that if things don't work out that you can return Tank? Is that even an option?

If its not an option, then you have no choice now but to find a way to make it work. This might mean individual crates or rooms for sleeping and eating, or when you cn't be there to supervise.

I don't think there is anything wrong with having an alpha dog, but the alpha is normally demonstrated and proven at first meeting. If Emily is still being aggressive, then something is awry. I suspect you need to give her confidence back. She appears to feel threatened.

How to do that????? Take a look at your feeding practices to start. Aggression normally starts with food and treats. Who do you feed first? I would separate them before you even bring out the food bowls. Same with treats. Feed them separately so their is no competition.

Encourage play and activity ....eventually, they might start interacting. I find my two dogs respond best together on walks - either on or off leash. On leash, they tend to walk side by side and walk in tandem. Off leash they run and play together.

As for indestructible toys.....there is no such thing! Owning a pet store I get asked this question time and time again. DOGS WILL CHEW TOYS EVENTUALLY!

But the best that I've found are: (I did not send links to my store website, as tempting as it was...LOL!). But these are products that I carry and generally stand up to chewers.

http://www.bionicplay.com/

http://www.westpawdesign.com/

https://shop.kyjen.com/fire-squeak-n-fetch-large.html

http://www.jwpet.com/dog/rubbertoys.html you want to look for the invicincible chains.

Hope this helps.
 
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