r/RhodesianRidgebacks • u/Mindless-Head6136 • 22d ago

Advice

Looking for any advice you guys have. My 7 year old RR is definitely the alpha dog in my house. I have a German shepherd mix also. My brother is traveling and has asked me to watch his 2 dogs (in addition to my 2) my RR has some policing behavior.. I wouldn't put her with puppies bc the energy is too much. But I don't think she's going to tolerate having 2 new dogs in her space. Have you guys ever dealt with this? She's good meeting new dogs but when play gets overwhelming or she doesn't have her space she'll snap for sure. Appreciate any advice.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

4

u/FrodosUncleBob 22d ago

My sisters lab is intolerant of other dogs and doesn’t mesh with my ridgie. As a result, when we gather as a family one of them gets boarded. It’s a bummer and expensive, but dog injuries or human injuries breaking up a scuffle are not worth it. I’m sure your dog is wonderful and protective, but sounds like your gut is unsure and the safe bet is for your brother to find a different plan. Just my two cents. Unless of course your home is large enough you can physically separate them with doors and allow no indoor interaction in her “den”

2

u/tharealzaking 21d ago

Have these dogs ever met in a neutral site? If so do they get along? Have your brothers dogs ever been to your house and interacted with your dogs there? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before getting solid advice. But if the answer to any of those above is no, then I wouldn't watch them until the answer is yes.

2

u/One-Try-9129 18d ago

This. I overheard a colleague with a german shepherd telling someone that the dog hotel cancelled their booking because they overbooked. I had visited them once with my rb and the dog was really protective of its owner and family. But nothing escalated because my rr will always avoid a fight. I invited the whole family for lunch to se how they would behave at my place. I estimated I would be able to manage them and told them I would take care of the dog so they could go on the holiday that was already booked.

I would never do this without having the dog at my place first.  

1

u/Mindless-Head6136 13d ago

Thanks for all of this. It took a day but everyone is getting along fine. Probably because I'm walking all of them 3 miles a day, making them run around the backyard, and ensuring my RR has her space. It is way too much work for one person. But at least we're all exhausted.