what is the best way to introduce the dogs (teagan and luc) to a dog in the next yard?

i did some searching, but didn't see anything.

we're going to be moving and have a yard, there is a dog w/each neighbour we will share fence with. the yard currently has shared chain link w/the neighbours and some horrific plastic fencing (i will be changing that) elsewhere.

one neighbour has a small dog which apparently only comes out in good weather. luc is likely to ignore it and teagan is likely to treat it as prey.

the other neighbour has a staffy, large enough that teagan is more likely to act dominant towards it, it is apparently a very nice dog, which i'm hoping will mitigate some of her behaviour, but from my experience, unless it sends a lot of submissive signals, she'll have an unfriendly eye on the dog.

i'm planning on trying to put up some wood trellis or something over the chainlink to help block eyesite. and i will never put the dogs out in the yard unattended (the staffy owner throws treats over the unsupervised dogs currently living there, plus i just don't want them outside unwatched).

but they're going to be close, scent-wise, and initially, visually.

any suggestions for handling them so that the other dogs won't be an issue? teagan is always extremely aware of other dogs, so it's actually a good training opportunity for me w/respect to getting her to focus, but i don't want fence fighting or any other aggressive/territorial behaviour.

and is there anything i can do before we move (in a month or so, depending on how fast i paint once i get possession february), to help with this? i do try to make each time we see a strange dog a chance to work on focus, which i find has been going decently while we are walking (everyone moving away from everyone else) and going not-so-well (i'm talking primarily teagan here) in places like the park.

Hi Jennifer,

I would certainly take advantage of the opportunity to take your dogs with you over to your new house when its turned over to you. I'd start with having a long line on your dogs to prevent any fence running from even getting started and to correct any aggressive display. That way it gives you a jump start on teaching your dogs how you want them to behave while out in the back yard.

Good luck in your new home, I'm sure Teagan & Luc are going to love having their own yard.

thanks peggy. i want to make sure i'm on top of this due to luc's recent bout of hackling at strange dogs and teagan's reaction around strange dogs.

i have a feeling it may take awhile, but i'm hoping it will translate to out of the yard, as you say. i'm really trying to work on out of the yard now, so that it can translate well for into the yard (not sure this will work) - luc is still hackling slightly but listens to me, so that's progress at least.

i also want them to be well-behaved as the landlord said dogs were fine but not 'pit bulls or german shepherds....no police dogs!' - they know i have german shepherds, but i just really want luc and teagan to show them what great dogs GSDs can be, not the opposite. (though of course the landlords don't like the dog next door as it's a staffy and therefore a 'pit bull'....sigh) not that the landlords are around, i just wouldn't want word to get back to them that my dogs were acting like jerks.

are you kidding mike, that's very helpful!

i hadn't thought of 'owning' the fence the same way a toy etc is owned. it's definitely going to be a good exercise in getting teagan to focus (luc's recent foray into confident hackling aside, he's good at refocusing when i ask him to), she has shown improvement since i got her but still isn't where i want her to be. but 'owning' other things like toys has proven to be extremely effective with her.

the staffy is supposed to be a very nice dog, which is positive, and hopefully it will be a relatively submissive dog that won't upset teagan, though regardless, i'll have to handle it. good idea about talking to the neighbours - i'm going to have to anyhow as apparently she handles the dogs currently there barking by throwing dog treats at them - which is not on for my dogs. of course, i'll actually be out in the yard w/them.

i hadn't thought of approaching it by working w/the neighbouring dog either - i was just focusing on mine.

i really like the idea of ownership though.

and i'm also hoping - before, when teagan acted inappropriately, i tried to refocus her or correct/change the behaviour. one of her big issues has been prey aggression in the house towards the small animals (who are all secured when she's out, or if the cats aren't shut away, she's on a traffic lead rather than the 6' lead). what i started doing is, second she shows poor behaviour - back in the crate. only good calm behaviour gets to stay out. i can probably do something similar w/the yard.

i got the idea b/c of the bit where ed talks about a dog only progresses to time out if it can show calm behaviour.

but i don't want her to see the crate as punishment. when i put her into it, she gets lots of pets (she's generally wagging her tail) and she has a ball that i throw to her (okay, she can't really chase it, but we have a modified thing where i throw it in the crate, she grabs it, chews it, then i take it and repeat).

i wasn't able to watch the whole pack structure video (really, don't ask about my dvd-viewing woes, it's at the completely ridiculous stage) but ed does talk about a dog has to earn the privilege to be out of the crate, and part of that is behaving calmly.

thoughts? if she isn't behaving calmly, is it bad to put her right back in?

i do try to keep the crate a positive place (though she ate a large part of her crate bed, so i'm on the lookout for a new one that's more indestructible....sigh), but i didn't use a crate w/luc and might be accidentally creating bad associations? luc is fine w/all the small animals, whereas i don't allow anything to get within head range of teagan. she sometimes acts a bit more calm w/one of the cats, but honestly, i think she's just biding her time, b/c then the prey/kill drive will pop back up. maybe this is bad to say, but i will never trust her around a small animal.

Ms. Mullen,

Mr. Frawley is the word. I absolutely defer to him.

It seems to me you are doing the right things.

I must have too much time on my hands.

You are on the right track.

well, it is a good point though, i don't want her to see the crate as punishment.

(also, she didn't actually EAT the bed, just tore it up. she's a chewy sort of dog, i find)

and thanks so much for the help w/the yards! i know i'm asking early, but i want to have a plan and be consistent from the start, so that no bad habits are learnt or develop that i then have to teach away.

Hi everyone,
I logged in today after several months to ask this very question! I have a similar concern, but perhaps someone can give me some specific suggestions as to how to exactly approach an upcoming situation.

Background: I live in a community where all houses are quite close to each other, and all the yards are the same size, in a row. I have 2 dogs who are dog aggressive. I have installed 6-ft wooden privacy fence, so certainly safety of other dogs in the neighborhood is not an issue. There are no dogs living on either side of my yard.

There are 2 dogs who live 2 houses down. When we first moved in, my dogs were very agitated to see them, but over time, my dogs now do not pay any attention to them, even when the other 2 are barking and getting rowdy. I did not train them to do this, I think they just got used to them and ignore them now. A few months ago, someone moved in with 2 large dogs across the alley. Same thing: when they first moved in, my dogs flipped out at the sight of them. Now, they dont pay any attention to them. They will, however, get very protective when someone walks their dog down the back alley. None of this really bothers me.

New Situation: I learned from my neighbors immediately next door that they are adopting a 5 yr old male Lab in the next week or so. They know about my dogs' history and will tell me exactly when he will be coming to live with them so there are no surprises(which I am relieved about). They tell me he is very laid back (which may also be good).

I am wondering what is the best way to introduce them (through the fence). Should I assume they will learn to ignore him over time (like they have with all the other dogs in the neighborhood)? Or because this dog will be right next door, should I introduce corrections for any displays from the get go?
At the beginning of have managing my dogs' aggression a few years ago, I used a prong collar at the beginning of a display; For the past year and a half, I have only used e-collars with them.

I am looking for a specific game plan/course of action for when I know the new dog will be here.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

-Lauren