So My Wife Brings Home A Dog

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by icantbejon

It may just take some time for the newbie to get comfortable around your other pups. Give her a few days.

I agree. She may come around after a few days. My wife and I have had a black lab named Winston for a while - he'll be 10 in January. While he's extremely friendly with people he's VERY agressive with other dogs. We've successfully brought two stray dogs into our home and he learned to live with them.

The first stray was a male black lab about 6 to 8 months old. Winston growled and showed teeth for about 4 or 5 days - we kept food and water separate for a couple of weeks and also separated them for an hour or so at a time to give them their "alone" time, and paid special attention to Winston for a day or so. Within a week he came around and a couple of months later they were inseparable. Actually the new dog, Franklin, thought that Winston was his new "girlfriend" and especially loved it when we gave Winston a bath!

The second stray was a little female mutt - Winston only gave her the mean face for a day or so, then she came into heat and he, uh, kinda liked her after that.

Maybe a little TLC, some together and some alone time, separate sleeping and eating for a few days, and a gradual full-integration into the family may come sooner than you think!

Oh, by the way, good job to both of you for bringing her out of a bad situation. Some people don't seem to realize that, while a dog technically could be left to fend for itself and probably survive in the wild, they really are domesticated animals. Taking on a pet is a big responsibility - they depend on you for everything!