We have 2 Golden Retrievers ages 9 & 7 and a Chinese Crested that is 11. Our dogs get along great.
My father-in-law just passed away and we are taking in his 9year old yellow lab named Buc. Buc was an only dog and is very overweight.
I have been following the video on Introducing a new dog and things are going fairly well. We started walking Fergus, my oldest most mello Golden, and Buc across the street from each other. We just begun walking Fergus and Buc next to each other and they walk perfect. When we stop Buc (the new dog) just can't stop sniffing Fergus (existing dog) it's like they just met, this hasn't started any issues but I can tell Fergus is getting tired of it.
Should we keep them from greeting each other for a while longer?
Buc was never kenneled but he took to it right away and doesn't complain, he goes into his kennel on his own. He is being kenneled in a part of the house we aren't in all the time (the man cave). The only time I let him out is when I am with him and the other dogs aren't around.
It's only been a week.

You are the boss, pack leader, you name it with your dogs so it's you job to keep the piece.

Greeting is one thing but if it get to the point of irritating one of the dogs you shouldn't allow it to get that far.

If you see one dog isn't crazy about to much attention from another then it's your job to control it.

How do they react to one another off lead? Any inclinations of stress?

I will correct the "assertive sniffing", but continue to allow them to greet.

We aren't sure how Buc is actually dealing with Lee's death. When Lee passed he wasn't found for 5 days and Buc was stuck in the house with him. Buc barely leaves my side, even when other people are around. We think that is why he is doing such an amazing job on the lead, after never being on a lead for 9 years. Buc is very smart and is willing to please so maybe I need to do more basic training before we move forward.

To answer your question, they haven't been off lead together outside yet, they accidentally got together in the house when a guest left a door open. Fergus was allowing him to approach but started to show signs of stress when Buc invaded his space. They both backed off when I told them to knock it off. We don't have a fenced in area and I'm just not sure how Buc would respond if he was let off lead at the park (not a dog park). Buc roamed the lake freely and would be gone for hours at a time when he was younger. Lee did use an e collar to get Buc to return home. Whenever the e collar was on him he stayed close to the house, so I'm going to at least get one for him. I have never used one for training so I will need to learn how to use it properly before I activate it.

Fergus, Farley and Banjo all have free reign of the upstairs of the house and haven't had doors on their kennels for years, Buc's is downstairs in the man cave and he is in the kennel unless I'm there and he has no problem with it even though he has never been in a kennel.

Fergus has no problem being locked in his kennel so I'd I'd like to try moving his and Buc's kennels into the same room to see if this helps, is this a good idea?

Sorry for the long post.
Thank you,
- Dave



Edited by David Ronning (11/11/2016 07:30 AM)
Edit reason: clarify

 Quote: David Ronning

I will correct the "assertive sniffing", but continue to allow them to greet.

We aren't sure how Buc is actually dealing with Lee's death. When Lee passed he wasn't found for 5 days and Buc was stuck in the house with him.

Buc barely leaves my side, even when other people are around. We think that is why he is doing such an amazing job on the lead, after never being on a lead for 9 years.

Buc is very smart and is willing to please so maybe I need to do more basic training before we move forward.

To answer your question, they haven't been off lead together outside yet, they accidentally got together in the house when a guest left a door open. Fergus was allowing him to approach but started to show signs of stress when Buc invaded his space. They both backed off when I told them to knock it off.

We don't have a fenced in area and I'm just not sure how Buc would respond if he was let off lead at the park (not a dog park).

Buc roamed the lake freely and would be gone for hours at a time when he was younger. Lee did use an e collar to get Buc to return home. Whenever the e collar was on him he stayed close to the house, so I'm going to at least get one for him. I have never used one for training so I will need to learn how to use it properly before I activate it.

Fergus, Farley and Banjo all have free reign of the upstairs of the house and haven't had doors on their kennels for years, Buc's is downstairs in the man cave and he is in the kennel unless I'm there and he has no problem with it even though he has never been in a kennel.

Fergus has no problem being locked in his kennel so I'd I'd like to try moving his and Buc's kennels into the same room to see if this helps, is this a good idea?

Sorry for the long post.
Thank you,
- Dave

For the time-being, I would absolutely NEVER allow Buc to be Offlead outside -- If dogs can suffer from PTSD, then he may be subject to that right now ... No matter how "Velcro" he behaves on-leash, Buc could do a BIG 180 and Bolt to points unknown if he got loose outdoors anytime soon

Since he was accustomed to an ecollar before, then I would study Ed Frawley's "Remote Collar Training for Pet Owners" with an eye to its use in FUTURE

http://leerburg.com/318.htm

Thanks Candi.

I agree with Candi's "no off leash at this time".

I should have added " together in an enclosed area such as the yard".

I also believe that an older dog will be much more responsive to marker training then traditional training unless it's had past training with traditional methods.

Either way, markers are the way to go.

First, David, welcome to the board! I'm sorry that it was the loss of your FIL that brought you here, but I think you came to the right place for help. Bob and Candi have already given you great advice, and I'm another one that would not allow Buc to be off leash outside for a long time. If you don't have one, get yourself a long line, 20 or 30 feet maybe, and let him get accustomed to having some freedom to explore the yard, but always having a human on the other end of the leash. You can get a feel for how likely he is to want to test your boundaries, how well he listens to your commands, and how much prey drive he may have for chasing critters, etc.

 Quote: David Ronning

Fergus has no problem being locked in his kennel so I'd I'd like to try moving his and Buc's kennels into the same room to see if this helps, is this a good idea?

To address the specific question above, if the dogs are getting along fairly well now (which it sounds like they are, except for Buc being a bit pushy with getting into the other dog's space) then I would say the next step would be to have them spend a bit more time in each other's presence, in their respective crates. I know your goal is to have all of these dogs living together happily in the house, so work toward that goal, but do it nice and slowly, one baby step at a time. The crates in the same room is a good next step. Keep them a good distance apart at first, but where they can see each other, then if things go well, move them closer a bit at a time. When moving one dog in and out of its crate, do not allow them to go sniff the other dog in its crate. In some dogs, that can bring out barrier aggression as the one still in the crate feels defensive about his space.

From what you've described, it sounds like you are being very careful and wanting to do this integration in the right way, so I hope (and believe) that this will all work out for your family.

Update, Buc's persistent sniffing is slowing down. I've been walking Fergus and Buc 1-2 times a day healing next to each other on the same side and as long as they are moving there are no issues. Buc backs off the sniffing with a verbal correction from me. After the walk I make them lay down on the porch for 15 to 30min and they have actually fallen asleep.

Now our 7yr old Golden Retriever (Farley) is not as patient as Fergus and has corrected Buc several times. Buc immediately stops the inappropriate behavior but only for a few minutes and he starts up again and I try and cut it off before Farley responds, but I'm not always quick enough. So for now Farley and Buc aren't allowed to greet.

Our Chinese Crested, Buc was happy meeting Banjo, Buc had a small dog companion that passed 4 years ago. After a few minutes Banjo was called to go back upstairs and they were about 10ft apart Buc started "air humping" it's like he is in overload. He hasn't been around this many dogs his whole life.

Update, Buc is doing well and he really wants to be part of the pack he has never responded incorrectly to corrections from me or the other dogs. He simply backs off. He has greatly reduced his sniffing persistence with Fergus when they are off lead in the house. When he does get too obsessive and I'm not right there to correct, Fergus will correct him and Buc backs off. Sometimes when this happens Buc will lay down and whimper like a scolded child. It's like he wants to play but doesn't know how to start and is frustrated.
Injury:
When we got Buc he was way overweight + 130lbs. We have him down to 105, goal is 85. Unfortunately when trying to keep up with the other dogs he hurt his CCL and may have to have surgery. X-rays show he has had this damage in both legs for some time. So long walks and any play is out for a while.

Update, Buc is doing well and he really wants to be part of the pack he has never responded incorrectly to corrections from me or the other dogs. He simply backs off. He has greatly reduced his sniffing persistence with Fergus when they are off lead in the house. When he does get too obsessive and I'm not right there to correct, Fergus will correct him and Buc backs off. Sometimes when this happens Buc will lay down and whimper like a scolded child. It's like he wants to play but doesn't know how to start and is frustrated.
Injury:
When we got Buc he was way overweight + 130lbs. We have him down to 105, goal is 85. Unfortunately when trying to keep up with the other dogs he hurt his CCL and may have to have surgery. X-rays show he has had this damage in both legs for some time. So long walks and any play is out for a while.