[storms226]

We have had our Riley (Aussie Kelpie mix) for 5 years, and for all of those 5 he has been the only dog, but with two kitty sisters. After all these years he still tries to play with them, but with no success. Riley came to us at 4mos of age, LOVING other dogs. As he has gotten older he still loves meeting other dogs while we are out walking, but when we take him to friends houses that have dogs he really doesn’t play with them anymore, just sniffs hello and then comes back to me.

Riley has some remaining fear and confidence issues that he’s had since day 1, but we’ve worked through those with obedience and behavior training. He’s come a very, very long way. He doesn’t like people other than my husband and I and a couple of our friends, but now he ignores everyone unless they make eye contact with him or try to pet him without letting him check them out first – then he just barks at them. Riley is also my dog; we are strongly bonded. He looks to me for protection but also sees himself as my protector. He sleeps at the top of the stairs when I'm in bed and my husband is still downstairs (he sleeps on the bed or in the room with us when my husband comes to bed). I am the dog walker and always the one taking him for walks. He loves my husband too, but there is no denying he is my pup.

We have always wanted to adopt another dog, and think that a confident dog would help Riley with his remaining trust issues. Plus, we are animal lovers and know that for every dog adopted, room is made for another to be rescued. We took him this weekend to meet some rescue dogs that we were interested in adopting. The rescue was holding the event at a Petsmart - which is already a strange place for Riley - and the dogs were all barking like crazy, one growling at Riley through the crate, so he was getting all of their stress energy. One 6mos old pup (female, tent. named Ghost) came up to sniff Riley through the crate and he sniffed back, and we brought her out to meet him in their little indoor training area. Riley growled at her when she came up to say hello to me while I was crouching down and he was right next to me. I told him to stop and she deferred to him and went over to my husband, and he didn't show any signs of jealousy. But when she would go up to sniff hello he would growl (though she let him sniff hello no problems).

We all walked around the store together on leashes and they were good with each other. He pretty much ignored her and she him, though they did sniff a few things together. I had them both sit politely and take treats next to each other - fine. One treat for her fell right in front of Riley and she bumped him going for it and he was fine. After being with each other for about an hour in Petsmart (we were waiting to talk to the coordinator) Riley was reaching his tolerance level and really wanted to leave, and she came up for a sniff again and he growled at her. But other than that, body language looked ok and she deferred to Riley in all instances.

We just heard back from the rescue that the other two people who had apps in for her backed out, so she is ours if we want still want to adopt her. My husband is in love, and so we are going to bring her home. I'm just a little nervous because I don't have experience with jealous dogs. She at least is very submissive to him. Riley has excellent house manners and has full run of the house when we aren't home, and she is crate trained so we will continue with that when we aren't home to supervise and when it's bed time, so there will be plenty of moments for him to know that nothing has changed except there's a new addition in the house that is his same species.

I had originally planned on walking them together right from the start so that they know that is a routine, but now I'm wondering if that isn't such a good idea. Riley gets daily walks, once in the morning around our neighborhood and then after work where we travel a short distance to area forest preserves. I'm concerned with having them both in the car with me since Riley has been showing possessiveness. Riley is also used to having full run of the house and is my white shadow, so I’m not sure how to handle separating him from her so that she has her own chance to sniff and learn the house.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation, and if so, have any advice to give?

 

[ChessaQ]

My dog Chessa is super attached to me, and does not enjoy sharing me. She would prefer being glued to me 24/7 and never seeing another dog. But we managed to work around it, as I have 2 other dogs and my roommates have 3.
What has worked best for me is doing a lot of stuff with all of them, but then giving Chessa some time alone with me. Sometimes that's putting the other 2 in the yard for a couple hours while she hangs with me, or she gets to go do barn chores with just me. Some dogs are just needier, and you never want them to feel justified in being jealous. Not that they should get away with being badly behaved, but they should be given a bit more time than other less clingy dogs. The only thing that has helped when she growls if another dog gets close is to immediately put her off my lap and ignore her.
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[storms226]

Thank you for the response, Chessa!

We brought Ember home last Saturday, and it turns out that I didn't have anything at all to fear. The plan of having her and Riley meet at the park went perfectly. They were excited to see each other, sniffing and playing, then we went for a walk around the block and they walked side by side as if they'd been doing it for years. In the house and in the yard they are great together. Riley can even match her energy level as an ACD. There have been maybe a couple moments where I've had to separate them as play was getting too rough and their tempers were escalating quickly, but for the majority of the time they are fine. Riley does do some resource guarding, but that's only when he is actively using it and she tries to butt in, like when he's drinking water or eating. She's already learned to let him finish and then she takes her turn when drinking, and we separate them at feedings. He sometimes gets jealous when I give her attention, but that's only when he's come to me for affection and she runs up and butts in before I can give him any, lol.