How can you introduce a dog to an aggressive dog's household?

I have two dogs, a Pit-bull-Chow-Rottweiler mix, Penny, who is 4 and her son Doobie, a Pit-bull-Chow-Rottweiler-German Shepard-Dingo mix. They have been separated due to Penny's mean temperament while there is food within 50 miles of her. She is gentle with children and people, but if Doobie comes within feet of her food bowl, she turns evil. Doobie is very mild mannered, and seems completely confused by the change in Penny. What can I do to bring them together?

At the moment Doobie is forced to live outside, and though he doesn't seem to mind being out there, we want him to be a part of the family.

That is another problem, when we do bring Doobie inside, he sits by the door and waits for us to let him out again. He is lovable, and a gentle giant at 130 lbs, but he just doesn't seem to want the hassle of being indoors. Is there anything I can do about this? Or are some dogs just prone to be outdoors.

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By Rosa (Guest Post)

September 15, 20060 found this helpful

Can you feed them in seperate rooms with a closed door ? Was doobie an outside dog to begin with ? Do they get along good when there is no food involved ? I had a male and female , mother and son, and had to keep them seperated IF I was around them, and I do know that generally a male will" take orders" from a female. Maybe Penny is unsure of your feelings between them ? How do they get along together when they are both outside at the same time. there is a lot to consider here, like which one is the older - Pack leader- It will take time but I am sure that with TLC things will work out.

You will need to understand the feelings of both, mostly Penny, and condition her to let her know that Doobie is part of the pack. Not sure if this answers your question, but if all else fails talk to your vet. and maybe he or she can come up with a solution for your furry babies. It seems like to me that maybe Penny is thinking that she has to compete with Doobie for your affection ? hope I did not confuse you here, but this is just off the top of my head, trying to think like a doggie . LOL Rose

Laurie

September 16, 20060 found this helpful

This is just my 2cents worth, but with dogs as large, heavy and breeds like yours I would either reconcile myself to feeding them 2xper day in two different rooms (doors closed), then pick up all food, put away so the source of conflict is not there. The other idea I would try would be to enlist the aid of a really good dog professional. If they are really good, sometimes unwanted behaviors can be changed. I know food aggression is a hard one, dogs being part of a pack even though domesticated, they still have that mentality.

It is a mother/ son so technically she is alpha. We have shepards, and my huge male son to the mother we have, will go down in submission to her with just one small low growl. That`s it. He knows, she is boss. They have never gotten into a fight, and always fed apart, I never even wanted to take the chance. Could be UGLY!! Maybe Doobie is fearful inside now because of the food attacks? good luck, I hope you find the best solution for you all.

Jenn

September 16, 20060 found this helpful

I have 2 large dogs and allow both in the house. My lab loves it outside and the rotte likes to be inside. I think it is the same with people. My hubby works outside and feels cooped up when he is inside but I never seem to get outside.

best of luck. Lady is everybit as much a part of our family though as Snoopy even though she is outside more often.

Janice C.
Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 418 Feedbacks

September 18, 20060 found this helpful

Please see wgnradio.com/.../index.html

Look under Dogs. Steve Dale is an animal expert and can give you some free guidance. Good luck to all of you.

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