bit of a scrap between our dog and foster :(

Tea Tree

Day 5 and it's all been going really well til now but we had a little bit of a scrap a while ago I was there but I still don't know what happened. My best guesses are that foster dog misinterpreted a sudden move by my dog and it escalated purely due to his nervousness... or.... she may have tried to pull a rope toy out from under him and hurt him. He generally has no interest in the toy. Or maybe it was something to do with him lying on the "big bed" in the first place. I don't know. He did bare his teeth at her after which is something I've never seen her ever do. She's all noise
After about 10 mins I had them lying beside me on their backs both getting belly rubs When he went to sniff her she stayed on her back. Neither have gone back to the big bed since My dog seemed more perturbed by it all than foster dog did. She had to be coaxed out from a hidey hole behind the sofa.

My dog is quite highly strung, not good with all dogs but has been great with him since he arrived and they've walked and played well together.

Any tips? Anything I should watch out for? Do you think it's ok to put them into bed together tonight (as we have been doing?).

Is this just a blip and a normal part of the process?:o Any advice welcome.

DBB

You'll always get some handbags at dawn with new dogs OP, it's one of the joys you'll experience a lot if you foster more dogs;)
When you are putting them to bed together at night, what do you mean? Are they sharing a bed? Or being left in a room with a bed each? Have you either of them crated or in a playpen?

Tea Tree

DBB wrote: »

You'll always get some handbags at dawn with new dogs OP, it's one of the joys you'll experience a lot if you foster more dogs;)
When you are putting them to bed together at night, what do you mean? Are they sharing a bed? Or being left in a room with a bed each? Have you either of them crated or in a playpen?

Handbags at dawn Both are being very sheepish with each other since.

They sleep in the utility room and as well as the bed that's always been there we've just thrown in other bed that lives in the sitting room and various rugs in there and let them sort it out. I have no idea where they end up but there hasnt been a sound out of them. By day they usually don't share a bed... he seems happy to curl up at the bottom of the stairs while she keeps the big bed.
Neither have gone back to the big bed since the scrap.
No crate or play pen.

DBB

Okay, I think it's critical, really critical to make certain the dogs cannot get access to each other unless you're there to supervise: this goes for anyone who is fostering, particularly if your own dog isn't used to it. I would not allow two dogs have unsupervised access to one another until I know both of them very well, and they have proven that they get on in all circumstances over time: there's no way to speed this up, it just takes time.
Do not, under any circumstances expect them to share a bed at this early stage. They may choose to, but I would not, ever force this on them, particularly dogs that barely know each other.
I would not ask dogs that barely know each other to sleep in a small room together either, even if one is in a crate: you need to give them a bit of distance and not force them to be on top of one another. You'd be better off having them both in a good sized room, one of them in a crate or playpen, each with their own bed.
By day, under supervision, the should have at least on bed each, at least one water bowl each, and I would be inclined to lift any toys or chews, as they can act as spark points. They should only have toys or chews under supervision, and if they don't finish chews, lift them.
The last thing you want is for them to have a row when you're not there to make sure things don't get out of control. Another thing you most definitely don;t want to do is for your own dog to be looking over his shoulder all the time, or afraid to use any part of his own home. I'd also, for future reference, only take female dogs of a size similar enough to him to foster. With some individual exceptions, most male dogs get on better with females, you don't have the same inter-male complications going on between them (castrated or not).
Sorry, I don't mean to make it sound like I'm nagging, but you do need to wrap your own dog up in cotton wool when you're fostering, and protect them a lot, at least until they're used to it.

Tea Tree

DBB wrote: »

Okay, I think it's critical, really critical to make certain the dogs cannot get access to each other unless you're there to supervise: this goes for anyone who is fostering, particularly if your own dog isn't used to it. I would not allow two dogs have unsupervised access to one another until I know both of them very well, and they have proven that they get on in all circumstances over time: there's no way to speed this up, it just takes time.
Do not, under any circumstances expect them to share a bed at this early stage. They may choose to, but I would not, ever force this on them, particularly dogs that barely know each other.
I would not ask dogs that barely know each other to sleep in a small room together either, even if one is in a crate: you need to give them a bit of distance and not force them to be on top of one another. You'd be better off having them both in a good sized room, one of them in a crate or playpen, each with their own bed.
By day, under supervision, the should have at least on bed each, at least one water bowl each, and I would be inclined to lift any toys or chews, as they can act as spark points. They should only have toys or chews under supervision, and if they don't finish chews, lift them.
The last thing you want is for them to have a row when you're not there to make sure things don't get out of control. Another thing you most definitely don;t want to do is for your own dog to be looking over his shoulder all the time, or afraid to use any part of his own home. I'd also, for future reference, only take female dogs of a size similar enough to him to foster. With some individual exceptions, most male dogs get on better with females, you don't have the same inter-male complications going on between them (castrated or not).
Sorry, I don't mean to make it sound like I'm nagging, but you do need to wrap your own dog up in cotton wool when you're fostering, and protect them a lot, at least until they're used to it.

Oh dear... I thought they were fine together at night since it was so quiet though I did think he was sleeping at the far end of the utility rather than closer to her .. guessing from her sniffing the rug furthest away the next morning. I had spread all the blankets etc out. I'll keep him out of there tonight.... I suppose he needs a safe place too. I don't have a crate yet.
By day there are any number of beds, blankets and rugs for them to chose from and he has chosen to keep some distance between them when they chill. He has not shown any interest in toys or chews but I take your point... it could happen.

My dog is female by the way and they're equal in size. They havent been alone by day at all since he arrived but I obviously can't stay with them forever so I need to prepare.

Not nagging at all! I did ask!

DBB

Tea Tree wrote: »

My dog is female by the way and they're equal in size. They havent been alone by day at all since he arrived but I obviously can't stay with them forever so I need to prepare.

Why did I think you had a small, male dog?

Anyway, be careful of silence between two dogs who don't know each other! They may be fine, but if they're not, what are they meant to do? They might be sitting there all night looking at each other wondering is it safe to move in a small space! I think it's probably fair enough to anthropomorphise here... how would you feel if a stranger landed in your house and climbed into your bed with you?!!! You'd probably prefer if they fecked off and slept somewhere else

kylith

Agree with DBB, they need more space.

You'll always get some aggro between dogs who don't know each other, and occasionally between dogs who live together. 99% of the time it's just noise and shoving, but it can be scary to see.

Tranceypoo

OP I had a similar experience a few weeks into the arrival of dog number 2 (who we were fostering at the time but ended up keeping), they got on fine then just had this spat out of nowhere, I think she (new girl) woke the old lad up by going over to where he was asleep on the sofa, as DBB said it was 'handbags at dawn' (I love that expression) and then it was over, she was sleeping in a crate in the kitchen at the time, he also slept in the kitchen but that night I left him sleep in the front room, they were fine the next morning and we've had no more trouble since and that was nearly 3 years ago, they get on great now (in fact they're double the bloody trouble together the little feckers), I think they just needed to sort out some issues, who goes out the door first, gets in the car first (older dog), who starts barking first (younger dog), etc etc, mostly happy families...!

Found the crate really helpful, not just for this but also when we went out and they were alone in the house I felt at ease that they were both safe, would highly recommend it.

Tea Tree

Tranceypoo wrote: »

I think she (new girl) woke the old lad up by going over to where he was asleep on the sofa.

You know I think it was this. I was there (though looking at laptop rather than dogs) and did out of the corner of my eye see older dog go over to where he was... not in any sort of threatening way. She either went to lie down beside him or she may have tried to get the toy out from under him and gave him a fright. As I said he had no interest in the toy... just happened to lie on top of it!
They've been grand since