[cmoorewv]

Hi everybody,
I am new to the forum and would appreciate a little advice. We now have two terrier terrors in our home. The first came home to us as a stray wandering around a college campus. We've had her about five months. She appears to be a maltese/terrier mix but we aren't sure. She's submissive to our large dogs-a female St Bernard and a male wolfhound/shepherd mix, also she does aggravate my female St. (Cujo's nine and doesn't like to be bugged too much). Well, I wanted to get CoCo (terrier mix) a friend, so I adopted another terrier mix from our local shelter. Probably a mistake since this one is female also. Sheba appears to be a Cairn mix of some sort, she looks like ToTo, but she's bigger. She has an underbite so there may be bulldog or something in there. CoCo's about a year old, Sheba's estimated to be between one and two. She's been at our home less than a week and I'm already sort of regretting this decision. Both dogs want to be dominant-it's getting noisy, but they don't seem to be injuring each other. So far there has been no blood drawn. All dogs have been spayed or neutered, but Sheba was spayed the day she came home. How long should I let the squabbling go on? I am confused as to whether I should let them work it out, or prevent the altercations. Neither one wants to give in. They are better in the house than they are in the yard together. I don't want to return Sheba, as she was at the shelter for two months.( All they told me was that she was friendly. She didn't assert herself with the few leashed dogs we met in the shelter. ) However, I do not want her to make life miserable for all involved. Sorry this is so wordy. CoCo is rudimentally obedience trained. She will sit, lay, and give (toys) on command. Sheba hasn't had any training, I don't think, and she seems to be stubborn. I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks.

[cigwyllt]

Two bitches of the same size and age is never a good choice, even when they are spayed. Sometimes it works with no problems but it is the combo most likely to have problems.

Are they definitely fighting? My two terriers are all growls and teeth when they play. They are so loud and look as though they want to kill each other but they are the best of friends.

[cmoorewv]

I think they are fighting. There is alot of dominance posturing. They will alternate standing with their head over the other's shoulders and try and climb up on each other's backs. It's been less than a week, so I hope they will work it out. They may be playing some of the time, but not most of the time. The only info I could get on Sheba is that she was turned in as a stray, the owner's called to claim her, and then never bothered to pick her up. I am hoping this doesn't indicate an issue other than terrible owners. I plan to start working with her on sit, down, etc. I am considering DNA testing Sheba at some point soon to see what breeds are mixed in out of curiosity (and to help in figuring out if what's contributing to her stubborness). Are those very reliable? I've seen mixed reviews.

[lange]

They could be playing, they could be fighting or they could be just testing eachother. It's hard to say when you can't see them in action. If they are fighting I would step in. If they aren't, I would not step in.

I've never adopted (hope to when my son is older since I plan on only getting akita's from now on) but one thing I know I will do, especially with an unknown, adopted dog, is start slow in introducing them to the house. Let them work their way into having more & more privileges as they earn it. Maybe I sound hard core but I think it sets the dog up to better understand the rules of living in your home. It helps to reinforce what is expected from the dog & what the humans place is. Especially because you don't know what sort of background the dog has had or what kind of groundwork & training the previous owners had done. I also think it will cause less friction between the 'older' dogs and the newer ones, a win-win situation imo.

As for being nervous that the dog might have issues...well, most do have some sort of issue but that shouldn't put you off. Almost anything can be worked out. It's just a matter of finding the problem and learning the steps on how to help the dog work it out.

I think Luna (moderator) has used DNA testing & if memory serves she didn't think it was very accurate. lol

And, if you're not 100% sure whether they are fighting or not, maybe you can get someone who's more experienced to come check them out for you & give you some ideas.

I see C/M recently posted a link about introducing rescues to the home to:
Ways to Welcome Your New Rescue Dog

[Lunareclipse]

Originally Posted by lange

They could be playing, they could be fighting or they could be just testing eachother. It's hard to say when you can't see them in action. If they are fighting I would step in. If they aren't, I would not step in.

I've never adopted (hope to when my son is older since I plan on only getting akita's from now on) but one thing I know I will do, especially with an unknown, adopted dog, is start slow in introducing them to the house. Let them work their way into having more & more privileges as they earn it. Maybe I sound hard core but I think it sets the dog up to better understand the rules of living in your home. It helps to reinforce what is expected from the dog & what the humans place is. Especially because you don't know what sort of background the dog has had or what kind of groundwork & training the previous owners had done. I also think it will cause less friction between the 'older' dogs and the newer ones, a win-win situation imo.

As for being nervous that the dog might have issues...well, most do have some sort of issue but that shouldn't put you off. Almost anything can be worked out. It's just a matter of finding the problem and learning the steps on how to help the dog work it out.

I think Luna (moderator) has used DNA testing & if memory serves she didn't think it was very accurate. lol

And, if you're not 100% sure whether they are fighting or not, maybe you can get someone who's more experienced to come check them out for you & give you some ideas.

I see C/M recently posted a link about introducing rescues to the home to:
Ways to Welcome Your New Rescue Dog

You are correct. I got one of my saint bernards dna tested it came back chihuahua/jack russel terrier. I had to laugh at that one. She was the biggest chi/jrt in history. 140 lbs

[cmoorewv]

That's funny (the DNA testing I mean). I have a purebred St Bernard also. She's about the same size, too. 136. She's nine, but pretty spry considering. She's got a couple of tumors we are watching, but otherwise good. I was just thinking the DNA test might give me a clue as to what my other mutts are. One is supposed to be a shepherd/wolfhound mix, and who knows what CoCo and Sheba are. Terrier mixes, but that's as specific as it gets. CoCo and Sheba seem to be settling down some. I think the dominance posturing is over, and it's mainly rough-housing now. If I can attach a file later, I may put up some video of their behavior. It's a bit late tonight. Haven't had a chance to look at the rescue thread posted, but I'm going to go to it now.
Thanks so far.

[Lara's mom]

Good grief! How do you think your purebreds were produced? They came from mixing many different breeds of dogs together to get what you now have. Should you do the DNA test, you will see all the different breeds that went into making your "purebred" dog.

[cmoorewv]

I only have one papered purebred dog. It's a St Bernard, and I'm fairly certain of her genetics. The rest are mixes-true heinz 57's. LOL. I was considering the DNA, but I'm not sure I'm willing to put out the cash for a result that may or may not be accurate. I tried to attach a video, but I guess the file extension's not supported. I will attach photos if I can.

[Lunareclipse]

I have 2 saint bernards and an Aussie mutt. I did have another saint bernard but she died of epilepsy. A DNA test would have been grand before they bred those dogs that Buggy came from. I hate bad breeders.