Advice Needed from Dog Lovers

Shazanne

Hi. I have just rescued my second dog. I have had Millie, a three and half years old neutered female terrier cross, for 18 months. She is high energy and does not have much contact with other dogs. She has been the centre of our world and is very spoiled. However, as we both work, I felt she could be lonely during the day (although she showed no real signs of it) and I decided to get her a companion.
On Friday last I got Max, who was on "death row". He is a two years old basset hound cross, unneutered as yet, appears a quieter dog but has become much more outgoing over the last couple of days! He loves attention!
We introduced them at the shelter on Friday. Actually, we introduced Millie to a number of dogs there and Max was the one that seemed to work best with her.
Since coming home things have gone better than I expected but there have been snaps and growls. He started out by trying to "hump" Millie but this has now changed and she is trying to hump him! I know this is a dominance issue and he takes it for a while and then snaps at her to get her off. She look bewildered!!
Our biggest concern at the moment is that Millie is retreating a bit from us. If she comes over for a rub and Max arrives (within milli-seconds!) she will walk away. She is not getting as excited to see us and is inclined to stay in the background. Will this sort itself out?
Secondly, as Max is not neutered, I have him booked in to be done on this Friday. Is that too soon and will it unsettled them again? I got him the first part of his 7 in 1 vaccine yesterday so I have that underway.
Finally, both dogs sleep indoors at night but Max is lifting his leg all over the kitchen! He will do it during the day as well but, as they are outside alot during the day, it's not such a problem. How do you begin to address this! How do you train a two years old dog not to wee during the night!?
Thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read this and I will be grateful for any advice I can get!
Just as an update - am having a further problem with jealousy at the moment! Mas wants ALL the attention and they are basically preventing each other from getting any attention! Help!!!

toadfly

Hi,

Congrats on your new dog! Have a look at this thread, I had similiar problems when we rescued our second dog and got some good advice!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055831730&highlight=territory

He is much better now, never marks in the house, no humping and he is getting on so much better with our first dog now. Just give it time!

adser53

How are they getting on Shazanne? Any improvements?

I went through everything you said when we added Loki, & later on, Kai (2 akitas) to the original pairing of Eddie and Lola (2 Cavs). At one stage I looked out and poor Loki, although being twice the size of the other 2 at 6 months, was getting his back legs humped from both sides by Eddie & Lola simultaneously :eek::eek::eek: I assure you a roar was bellowed promptly

With Kai now, there hasnt being any humping yet but I think she slotted into her place in the group (I hate saying the pack) pretty easily because of her sheer size. My advice, for waht it's worth , is to just give it time and most importantly make sure that both dogs get equal attention so Millie doesn't feel put out. If one dog tries to bump the other out of the way for a rub, ignore that dog or put him/her out so that they know that trying to force attention won't work.

As for the toilet training, I swear by crate training. Sometimes it can take a bit more work to toilet train and older dog but the principles are the same as training a puppy. It could just be his way of making himself at home too. For example Eddie hasn't pddled in my house since he was a puppy but if he goes to my mams house, he'll nearly run around on 3 legs peeing on curtains, chair legs etc. I really cant understand it.

Shazanne

Hey Adser, we in Portlaoise are certainly having some fun canine experiences!
Things are not going too bad here at the moment:rolleyes: Millie still looks a little forlorn at times but Max has settled in and its like he was born here! I am trying to divide the attention equally and ensure that Millie still gets all the little things that made her feel special. Max is still butting in all the time but what we are doing is my hubby pets him while I am playing with Millie and vice-versa:D
We have moved their "bedroom" out to the utility room at the moment and have had no weeing from Max since that happened. Coincidence? I dont know.
Max is off to be neutered tomorrow so I hope I dont unsettle things all over again (worry, worry, worry!). Also hope she does not interfere with his stitches - I plan on sleeping them separately tomorrow night. Any advice on this score will be most welcome!
Finally, we have decided to scrap a planned week abroad next month for a week somewhere in Ireland where we can bring them with us. Think it might be better than landing them into kennels on top of all the changes both of them are going through at the moment. So it will be a staycation with a difference!!!