We have 7 dogs in our home. We just adopted one that is fighting with the others. Should we put this dog to sleep?

Mr. Frawley,

I have read much of the information on your site concerning dominance and fighting between dogs. However, I don't know where to begin with the mess that we have created. We currently have seven dogs. They have all been neutered/spayed. They are:

Brody 5 year old rescued 110 pound M Akita mix
Bentley 5 year old rescued 20 pound M Pug
Pops 15 year old rescued 20 pound M Pug
Mack 5 year old rescued 65 pound M English Bulldog
Lady 15 year old rescued 20 pound F Sheltie mix
8-Ball 9 month old 15 pound M Boston Bull Terrier
Daphne 9 month old F 10 pound Boston Bull Terrier

Brody, Bentley and Pops have been living together for 3-4 years with no problems. My mother moved in 2 years ago and brought Lady ...still no problems. My mother purchased 8-Ball and Daphne 6 months ago. We had to really work with them and Brody, but have successfully integrated everyone into the family so far. It took approximately a month until we felt comfortable that Brody wasn't going to eat them! About two months ago, Brody began getting aggressive towards all of these other dogs. They could just walk by, and he would growl and snap at them. He would stop when we yelled at him. He has also growled several times at my husband. My husband is afraid of him.

We brought Mack into the home 2 weeks ago. Immediately he and Brody tried to kill each other. I believe they would fight to the death. We have tried to do the introductions as suggested on your website. So far, they still try to kill each other. Until I read your website I had been getting between them and breaking up the fight. After seeing the pictures, I won't be doing that again! We have been keeping them in separate rooms. Mack is getting along pretty well with everyone else. He and 8-Ball have occasionally gotten into a fight. Since 8-Ball is small, I just pick him up and move him. I suppose my question is, do you think there is any chance that Brody and Mack will ever be able to live together in this house? We had already considered putting Brody down due to the recent aggressiveness that he has shown towards the others and my husband. We placed an ad in the paper to try to find him a new home that does not have other pets or small children to no avail. Do you think we should have him put down? Or is there any hope?

Debbie