# URGENT: New dog aggression towards resident dog



## Beau994 (Jan 17, 2017)

Hi,

We have a 5 year old female staffy (Mabel) who is a rescue and is friendly with other dogs. We have owned her for 18 months and she is very settled and happy.

Today we have adopted (on a trial week) a 9.5 year old female King Charles Spaniel. She is an elderly relative's dog, but sadly her owner has gone into hospital and will be going into a nursing home and her Spaniel (Crystal) has been staying in boarding kennels for the past 3 weeks. For this reason we have agreed to adopt her pending successful trial week.

Crystal is very used to other dogs and has always been friendly towards them - she lived with one up until a week ago when the other dog passed away. Over the past week we have introduced our dog Mabel to Crystal at an enclosed field and they have got on very well. After the successful meetings we picked Crystal up today.

They went for a walk together and had a great time, and then were brought into the garden and then the house. For the first few hours they got on just fine, mostly minding their own business and weren't very interested in each other. We noticed large amounts of blood in Crystal's urine and took her to the vets to be examined and turns out she has cystitis! She has been given medication and should be fine in around a week 

However, after returning from the vets Crystal was very tired (understandably!) and snuggled up on the sofa for a nap. Shortly after, Mabel put her feet up on the sofa about a foot from Crystal - at this point Crystal 'snapped' at Mabel with her mouth and let out a sharp kind of yelp/ bark. Mabel backed away immediately and we said no to Crystal and settled her on her bed on the floor instead.

But about half an hour later, Mabel approached Crystal (very calmly/ submissive) and when she was about a foot from Crystal, Crystal charged out of bed towards her snapping and snarling and chased Mabel (who was running with her tail between her legs) across the room until I intervened! After this Crystal seemed to be starring at Mabel (who was hiding behind a table) across the room.

We are very sad about this as it was all going so well... For the rest of the evening we have kept them in two adjoining rooms with a baby gate in between them as both seemed more comfortable this way. After a sleep Crystal has been happy to be close to Mabel on the other side of the baby gate without any signs of stress.

We really aren't sure what to do! I'm hoping that the aggression is due to the anxiety over the long day Crystal had (leaving kennels, long walk, new home/dog/family vet appointment) as well as her feeling ill and being in pain. But we aren't sure where to go from here! I am very nervous about Crystal and Mabel now which I obviously know is not good as they will pick up on this.

My idea was to take Crystal back to the boarding kennels tomorrow until her treatment is over in about a week, and then try the introduction again once she is feeling better. This way we can know whether the aggression was due to her being unwell/ in pain. I also thought we could continue walking them together outside during this time to build their confidence with each other.

My partner however feels bad and says that Crystal is likely to get even more ill in the kennels as it is the middle of winter and she will be sleeping in the cold and that he is happy to spend the next week at home with the two of them as he is very keen to keep Crystal.

I really don't know what to do! And if we were to keep her here, what should the plan be/ how shall we get them to interact?

Sorry for the very long post! Please help!


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

I wouldn't take Crystal back into kennels.

She has had such a traumatic period in her life. Her owner has disappeared, she has found herself in kennels amongst strangers, she's been ill and she is now in a whole new situation.

It's an enormous amount for a dog, particularly an elderly one, to deal with. Her whole life has come crashing down and she's probably feeling extremely stressed.

It's so good that your Staffy has not retaliated when the Spaniel has shown aggression, such a good girl.

Once the old lady begins to feel better and acclimatises to her new life, you may well find everything settles down.

I wouldn't separate them at this point, unless you are out of the house, then I would. Be watchful. I take it the Cavalier has not actually bitten?


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

I would be inclined to give Crystal time to get better with you rather than going back to kennels.

With careful management they can get to know each other outside the home and, hopefully, once the infection has cleared up and Crystal is pain free she will settle with Mabel.

It's been a major upheaval for Crystal.

However, only you can decide if you can cope with them in the house together while she settles and you work out if they will get along.


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## Beau994 (Jan 17, 2017)

Sweety said:


> I wouldn't take Crystal back into kennels.
> 
> She has had such a traumatic period in her life. Her owner has disappeared, she has found herself in kennels amongst strangers, she's been ill and she is now in a whole new situation.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for the reply 
You're right, Mabel has been very good with the whole situation, apart from she is now quite nervous about approaching Crystal and needs a lot of encouragement to do so (partly why we have used the baby gate).
I do feel very bad for Crystal and everything that she's been through in the past month - which is why we offered to adopt her in the first place.
Crystal hasn't yet bitten Mabel, although I think that on the second occasion when she chased her the only reason for this is that Mabel was able to get away slightly faster!
The main worry is that before snapping, Crystal didn't show any other signs of anxiety or aggression (no growling or body language) apart from watching Mabel. For this reason it's hard to know how she is feeling and also how close we let them get to each other. Do you have any advice on this? And any techniques we could use tomorrow to make them both feel more comfortable?


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

I am a little concerned about the following "we corrected Crystal and settled her on her bed on the floor instead"

How did you "correct" Crystal and what were you "correcting" her for?

She has the right to object to a dog invading her space and it is perfectly normal.


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## Beau994 (Jan 17, 2017)

smokeybear said:


> I am a little concerned about the following "we corrected Crystal and settled her on her bed on the floor instead"
> 
> How did you "correct" Crystal and what were you "correcting" her for?
> 
> She has the right to object to a dog invading her space and it is perfectly normal.


We simply said 'no' to her as we were in shock.
We then reassured both dogs and put Crystal in her bed to sleep as she was sleeping on the sofa (where Mabel usually sleeps) and we weren't sure if maybe she was being possessive over the sofa and it might be more equal for both dogs to sleep on the floor.

We do not hit any of our dogs and with Mabel we always use positive reinforcement training as she had a difficult start in life! I'm not an expert though which is why I am asking for help ...We just want to do what's right for both dogs.


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

I think Crystal feels unwell and stressed and is simply telling Mabel to leave her alone.

I think she needs time to get over her UTI and adapt to her new life.

I wouldn't correct Crystal, Mabel seems to be accepting what she's being told, so I certainly wouldn't encourage Mabel to approach her. As you say, Mabel needed encouragement to approach, so likely she was aware it wasn't wise.

I would allow things to settle down and take their own course. Don't push the issue.

If you feel out of your depth at any point, I would think about employing a professional to observe the behaviour and advise you.


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## Beau994 (Jan 17, 2017)

Sweety said:


> I think Crystal feels unwell and stressed and is simply telling Mabel to leave her alone.
> 
> I think she needs time to get over her UTI and adapt to her new life.
> 
> ...


Okay thank you for the advice. We'll keep Crystal with us and hopefully she starts to feel better and get used to her new home


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