I got a new dog yesterday but I'm not sure if I'm happy with her

Toomuchstuff

Toomuchstuff

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Wisconsin
I finally decided it was time to get a new dog after Poppie died. I was so happy yesterday, but now I'm concerned. We got her from the humane society , She's a 3 year old girl, had puppies already but is now fixed .She was a stray & it turns out she's a "terrier / pitbull mix" . ( 40 pounds ) She likes people , loves to snuggle and be touched and is gentle as a lamb with us.

Now , the humane society works with the dogs before they're sold . When they asked what I'm looking for in a dog , I said she must be good with other dogs.
On the training sheet, no remarks were written about being social, so I assumed she'd be okay .

I took her out today to meet the neighbor dogs through the fence, and I thought she was going to kill them . She freaked out - Barking,snarling & baring her teeth .My poor neighbors are terrified now. I grabbed her by the collar while she was going crazy and she never bit me .Eventually she calmed down , but my heart sank.

When Poppie was alive,she'd do the same thing -- behind the chain link fence she'd go crazy,but when she met the neighbor dogs in the alley , she'd be fine. I don't know if the fence is a territorial issue , or if this behavior means trouble. We've only had her for 2 days , I suppose we'll have to work with her & give her time , but if this can't be fixed, I'm afraid we'll have to give her up. What do you think ?
 

Maybe go to the shelter, or a pet store to get ideas about socializing and training. How long was the dog on its own? Maybe the territorial issues are how it dealt with other strays. Keep us posted.
 
Marie , that's what I was wondering . No one knows how long she was loose or what happened to her. I'm calling the behaviorists at humane society this week to hopefully get some advice.
 

Sorry to hear that, I would talk to the humane society too and see if there's any more information on the dog. Meeting other dogs through a fence might not be ideal, she may feel protective already of the back yard. I would be very concerned for sure, you don't want to own a dog that is animal aggressive for sure, even if you worked hard to socialize there's no guarantee that you could ever rest easy. Please let us know the advice you get, hoping this can work out for you and the dog.
 
I agree with SeaBreeze; she may have been exhibiting territorial behavior. You need to find out more, but meeting strange dogs through a fence is definitely not optimal and is not necessarily an indicator of problems.
 
Give the dog some time. It's only been two days. She's confused right now and just needs some relaxed and quiet time with no events.

When I was a boy, our dog would run along the fence; the neighbor's dog would run on his side. They'd soon be barking and snarling, acting as if they wanted to kill each other. However, when they met each other in person, there was never the slightest problem. I think it has to do with the fence.

I had another dog who never chased cats. However, one day we were walking on a park path that ran along a chain link fence. A cat suddenly appeare on the other side of the fence, took off, running parallel to the fence. My dog bounded along on the other side. He had a 25' leash so this was easy. He didn't chase our cats when he came home; they often raced around the house chasing each other.

Don't worry.
 
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BigHorn may be right, the dog is very new to it's strange surroundings and may need some time to adapt also.
 
And who knows what the poor dog has been exposed to in her previous life -- maybe she is terrified of other dogs because she was used as a bait dog or something. ALSO, meeting through a fence really isn't a good measure of how she really would be, especially when she's on "her" property and may have perceived the other dogs as threatening her territory. She might even have been protecting you.

I have a pittie/AmStaff mix,also, and she is the sweetest thing with me, and quite docile, but isn't particularly crazy about other dogs. It isn't really a problem for me, as I mostly care about her as a companion for myself (she is absolutely perfect in that regard and is a perfect house dog and I love her beyond all reason). I would certainly talk to the Humane folks -- most of them even have special classes for pitties to help them become good canine citizens. They also must have watched her interactions with other dogs while in their care and it wouldn't be in their best interests, or the dog's, to lie about her compatibility with other dogs. Maybe she just needs time to be secure in her new home before meeting other dogs. It takes a while with a new doggie companion, so please don't give up on her yet.

My Bonnie has a thing about chihuahuas, but that's because they seem to want to charge her to challenge her, which is incredibly stupid because she is 81 pounds of poochie-ness.

Don't let her know you feel nervous about her, or she'll pick it up "down leash" and become nervous, too.
 
Fences often bring out territorial behavior in dogs. It's also possible that your dog had a negative interaction with the same breed or even color of dog as your neighbor's in the past.

Most trainers advise to have the dogs meet up-close and personal in a neutral territory, perhaps walking them both side-by-side but with enough room between to quell an attack.
 
Well , we made the painful decision to return her to the humane society . We worked as much as we could with her and it just proved to be too much for us. Once they work on the leash /aggression training , she'll make someone a wonderful dog. This Saturday we're going to an adoption event where alot of rescues will be . I'm hoping to see them interact with each other ,so this time I can be sure of the choice I'm making. This house is so empty without a dog !
 
If you were uncomfortable with the dog and she was too much to handle, then you did the right thing. I hope someone else will adopt her soon. Good luck at the adoption event, hope you find a doggie that is friendly and suits you better. My last dog was over 60 pounds, and very hard to lift and help when he became old and arthritic. Since we're both in our 60s, we went with a smaller dog, ours is around 35 pounds at 2 yrs. old and shouldn't get any bigger than that. Something else to consider. :) Some dogs are super friendly with people, but animal aggressive, I could never have a dog like that in my life that was a threat to animals around him.
 
Thank you Sea Breeze ! 35 pounds is an excellent size for a dog for us,too. (This dog was 40 pounds - but every inch of her was muscle !) I can say , for those few days we had her , we spoiled the heck out of her ! She got 2 one mile walks a day, slept in bed with us and played tug of war with a sock for hours ! I know she'll make someone a wonderful dog with alittle more training. :)
 
I agree with what Big Horn said that she needed a few days to settle in; but if you were that uncomfortable having her, then turning her back in and looking for a more social dog was probably the right choice for you to make.
I belong to the local facebook group for lost and found pets, and some of the poor dogs that stumble into people’s yards have been starved and are practically skin and bones. Any dog that has gone through this kind of food deprivation is very apt to be protective of their own territory and fearful of another dog eating their food.
I also agree that dogs seem to get the idea that whatever is inside of the fence is considered their space, and even Tootsie will bark if other dogs or kids are close to her fence, and she is not an aggressive dog at all.
Thankfully, she is not a habitual barker, and she is training Rusty to only bark where there is actually something to be barked at. (Unfortunately, I think squirrels fall into that catagory for her)
Your neighbor dogs were probably on their protective behavior when you brought out the new dog, too. Maybe, if next time you eat them see each other , but not right up close to the boundary fence, they will get used to each other without feeling like their territory is being threatened.

When I had horses, I always put the new horse in a separate corral, where the other horses and the new one could look at each other and socialize for a few days before I put the new one in with the others.
I did the same thing with the llama.
He protected the goats, horses and even the chickens, but if i got any new animal, he had to watch it for a few days before he decided that it belonged there and then he was fine.
I was concerned how he would do when our goat had babies; but Gilligan paraded around those little ones like he thought that he was the daddy !
 
I see a lot of dogs that bark at other dogs where I live. The people that had the dogs on a leash always walk them far from other dogs. We can't leave dogs outside alone here; there are coyotes that will kill dogs that are alone in their yards. I don't know if you have the coyote problem, too, but if you do don't leave your new dog outside alone.
 
We have a fenced in back yard, but we never leave the dogs out if we are gone. Now that it is getting colder, we let them out for a while to exercise and do their chores, and then back inside to stay warm and dry. In nice weather, they can stay out longer.
Of course, Chipper just stays inside and he pretty much sleeps around the clock anymore, and just toddles out the front door every few hours to go potty and right back in. Since he is nearly blind and can’t tell where he is going, we always watch him when he is outside so that he doesn’t wander out into the street.
Rusty, our new puppy, is starting to learn about being on a leash, and also I am working on his house manners. When I let him come out in the living room, I put the collar and leash on him so that he does not just think that the house is a place to play and chew up stuff.
So far, so good, and I just ordered him a new harness and 20” lead from Amazon, so soon I can start taking him for outside walks on nice days.
 
Pickles is an inside dog, he doesn't like to be outside. I have a fenced yard but he only goes out to do his business.

Its too hot anyway in Fresno and when it's winter, it's usually raining so it's just as well.
 
Ruthanne- we do have a coyote problem here ! (and I'm in the city !) Several small dogs were attacked and a couple weeks ago - one was even following a jogger in the street behind my house ! When they start howling - it sounds like I'm in a horror movie. Even though our yard is fenced in , they only go out to go potty or when I'm out with them in summer.
My neighbors yard isn't fenced in and her dog got "skunked" 3 times !!! ugh !
 
I agree with Big Horn that it was a territorial thing. Our German Shepherd is 10 years old and she still barks and snarls at people and other dogs when they approach the yard, but she's fine if she isn't separated by the fence. She barks from inside the house too if someone comes to the door, but once visitors are inside the house she's fine. We appreciate that behavior as it tends to keep any riff raff at bay. Some breeds of dog (including pit bulls) are more territorial than others. It might be a good idea to research some different breeds and find some that suit your needs before getting another dog.
 

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