Adding new dog to family with already dominant and jealous dog. Help.

[AngelLeah1981]

I have a very sweet mini schnauzer and am wanting to get a very young female Golden Retriever for Christmas. I've had my dog for almost 8 years. He wasn't socialized when he was a puppy. He isn't aggressive I don't think but he's very jealous and dominant. How do I do this the right way?

Added info: He growls at dogs when he first meets them but then gets over it. He is dominant about his toys and growls when I pet another dog. I babysat a dog a few years ago and he didn't act aggressive with the dog at all. He just acted like he hated her. ha ha. He freaked out when she got on the bed and I tried to fix the problem but the girl dog was so scared I dropped the situation. She had been beaten and was very timid...poor thing. She spent most of the 3 days hiding and my dog spent most of the 3 days trying to protect his territory and everything in it.

Will my schnauzer eventually get over it or am I about to make the rest of his life miserable?
Please help.
Leah

[AmericanBullMom]

What we do to introduce new dogs to my moms dominant and aggressive Chocolate Lab is block the house so that they can see and smell each other without actually being able to TOUCH each other.

After a week or so (it usually doesnt even take that long for us) we take them for walks together, away from the house, and see how they react to one another. Eventually (usually) the Lab just gets over it. He sometimes does the "lifty Lip" and growls, but he no longer tries to attack. As long as the new dog realizes that your other dog IS still the boss, all should be fine.
And one of the MOST important things is to resist showing more "worry" for one dog over the other. If its a small dog, resist picking him up, it only causes the more dominant dog more frustration.

ALWAYS be careful though, if a fight DOES occur, it would be best to separate them again. And DONT leave them alone until you are sure they are ok together.

[mafiaprincess]

Cider is a pretty dominant b*tch. She does decently with dogs outside the house, but was very unhappy when I brought my male home. Never had a fight, but she even a year and a half later vocalizes her displeasure is he gets too close.

People kept telling me she would get over it, some people told me they all get over it. Seems that no, they all don't. She tolerates him, but doesn't enjoy his company. She's better outdoors than in with him, occassionally they sort of play, but she's still not happy about the situation. It improves a little more and a little more over time, but I was hoping for a little more like than this.

[AngelLeah1981]

Thanks for the info. I have a feeling my dog is going to be like Cidar. I hope not tho. I want them to love eachother.
Thanks so much.
Leah

[mafiaprincess]

Seems my situation is fairly rare.. Usually dogs appear to be more accepting than she is at least over time. I hope for your sake they end up happier than my two are. I do see improvement.. But it's not the enjoyment of each other I wanted. I'd liek a thirs one, but fear Cider's reaction.

[bendyfoot]

We have three dogs. Our oldest is a VERY, like VERY dominant alpha-type female. She had a history of being quite aggressive with other dogs. The way we were able to bring new family members into the house was to first work on our relationship with Gracie.

My first thought, you can't MAKE a dog love another dog. But you CAN create an environment in which all the dogs in the household recognize you as their leader and as the one responsible for controlling resources (beds, toys, food, playtime, treats, pats etc.), and therefore also as the one who will lay out the ground rules and correct/discipline if there is any inappropriate behaviour.

If you have ANY doubts about your ability to control your dog (i.e. using verbal commands and/or corrections) if there was aggressive behaviour or if a full-blown fight broke out, then I'd strongly recommend seeking the help of a good trainer with whom you can work to strengthen the relationship between you and your dog. This is what we needed in to in our house.

Once you are confident and comfortable that you have a very strong foundation with your original dog, THEN consider introducing a new dog.

Some things that worked well for us: when bringing the new pup in the house for the first time, make sure you have a crate ready for him/her both as a training tool and as a safe haven. Make sure you have at least two of everything...food/water bowls, toys, bones, etc....so there are enough "resources" to go around with minimal squabbling. Carry the new pup in the house and have the older dog on a dragging leash so you have a little extra "reach" if needed. Let the older dog sniff the puppy in your arms. Put the puppy in the crate if the older dog seems ok, and keep the fuss to a minimum. Let them check each other out through the crate and watch the body language closely. From there you'll have to gage what the comfort level is of each dog, and gradually progress to having them in the same open space togther (SUPERVISED) so they can fully interact.

The pup is likely going to want to play, and the older dog may or may not want to get involved. It is "ok" for an older dog to correct a pup by snapping, snarling, showing teeth etc...it is how puppies learn boundaries from their elders. What is NOT ok, is a full-blown attack, and this is what you need to watch for and be prepared to act on immediately should it happen. Again, if you have any fear of this happening you'll want to work with a trainer who can demonstrate how to manage a situation like this, because it can be very scary if you've never seen it before.

Now, of course, you may have no trouble at all and they may take to each other immediately. Or, it might end up somewhere in the middle. In our house, Gracie, the eldest, if quite tolerant of the other two, and will allow them to sleep on the same bed and will play with them, but that's about her limit. Too much uninvited touching or getting too close to her toys will usually generate a snarl. On the other hand, the younger dogs snuggle and enjoy each other's company a lot. It's an arrangement that we're all very comfortable with: the dogs know what each others' limits are, and they know to look to us (the humans) for guidance if their having problems.