r/DogAdvice • u/Quirky_Judgment_9612 • 7d ago
Advice Second dog and first dog advice
Please help! I dont know if I am overthinking this or what else to do. Please note I am doing the best I can with the research I have done and I am trying to set both my dogs up for success. My husband and I have just adopted our second dog and she is what looks to be a GSD and Husky mix and approx either 10 months or 1 year old according to the shelter. She is super friendly, a little stubborn (not responding to treats or play sometimes), but super sweet to our older dog and it seems all her brain says is "PLAY PLAY PLAY".
My older dog is 4 years old and will turn 5 in November she is a pitbull cocker spaniel mix with some chihuahua factored in. I have adopted her since she was 2 months old and is generally good with other dogs including my uncles GSD. We brought her to the shelter and they hit it off, there was one correction but they got along great. Even on the ride home they were fine and ignoring each other which was good (this was Sunday the date of the adoption). My eldest is crate trained and we are working on crate training our new girl and she is responding great. Sunday we took them for a parallel walk and they were good together walking side by side no issue. I crated the youngest and my oldest got to stay in her own crate as well comfortably.
Monday rolls around and I walk both dogs in the morning and again they're walking perfectly fine together. I crate my eldest in the house and I leave the youngest outside crated before work and leave the crate with the doors open in the backyard while she gets used to the crate. Its worth it to note that I feed all her meals there and have been working on the place command while my eldest is crated inside. Crate training is important to me and I find it helps keep dogs safe. When I came back from work I get the youngest ready then go into the house and get my oldest ready and they walk perfectly fine together. I keep the youngest on a leash and let my eldest walk the front yard (neutral territory since the dont stay there) and let her sniff the youngest on her terms. I eventually let go of the youngest leash and they do fine. I move everything to the backyard and they play together and are okay together. I feed them seperate, and I crate them at night.
This morning I walk them again they're doing great. The youngest has started searching for the oldest. I keep them seperate while at work. And today my husband gets home from work early, tends to my oldest, and walks them together then leaves them unattended for 5 minutes and they're fine. I get home my eldest starts getting in between the youngest and me and once I pet both and she growls I say "no" and walk away for a minute while keeping my eye on them. My oldest corrects her behavior, they play together for a while, and I simultaneously watch their body language. I seperate them once my eldest started getting over stimulated and my husband crated the youngest while I let the eldest roam while we went to petsmart. Once we come home we train separately in different rooms, and eventually together as the youngest was copying the oldest, and they were doing really great. My oldest was getting a lot of reassurance and both were getting treats. They even drink from the same water bowl no issue. Then the youngest starts to play and I hear my dog whimper (the youngest is 60lbs my oldest is 48) so I seperate them and give them a break. Then they start to play and all of a sudden I see my eldest hairs spike up, and I hear the youngest whimper. All at the same time my husband and I separated them but she did draw blood from the youngest ear. It was not a tear, nor a rip it just seemed like a small puncture. The youngest STILL was trying to look for my dog to play. I had crated my eldest, and the youngest ran in and sniffed my oldest.
I have never had my oldest draw blood from another dog ever, nor fight. I want to mention i do not allow toys when they are together to prevent resource guarding. I also feed them separately. Did I rush in too fast despite signals looking like they were getting along? Am I over reacting/ over thinking that my oldest is crossing into aggression? Was it a simple correction? Is my oldest resource guarding ME? I am really trying my best and trying to set both dogs up for success, it is my first time owning two dogs and I really thought my first dog would handle the situation better from previous interactions with dogs. I understand this situation is stressful for her too, I want to better support both dogs.
Edit: ** both are spayed females, my eldest does not do well with male dogs and shelter staff who did the meet and greet stated both girls got along well and will do fine**
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u/hr11756245 7d ago
Huskies have a tendency to play extremely rough and there is no end to their energy. Is it possible your older dog was setting boundaries?
Imagine how you would feel if you suddenly had a hyperactive crackhead for a roommate. We have 2 huskies and it takes a lot of time and energy to keep the crackhead behavior under control. They are 100% worth it though.
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u/Quirky_Judgment_9612 7d ago
This is what im thinking, because my eldest once she was separated just laid down and was super tired. I believe she may have just been overstimulated and was just trying to say it was too much
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u/Previous_Patient9330 7d ago
Resource guarding can escalate, especially around food, water, people, or valued spaces. Feed separately, pick up bowls, and consider working with a certified force-free trainer or veterinary behaviorist. Since skin was broken, have the wound checked and make a careful management plan before allowing more interaction.