Steely
Active Member
I think you all know the story, but I will do a brief re-cap.
Matt moved to AZ last July, and wanted his dogs to live with him. They were always "his" dogs, as they were given to him as gifts, so I let them go back to their "Dad". God I missed them. I had cared for them while he was in his programs, and of course even before that they slept with me. We have had them 5 years and I was definitely their mommy. We also had Chester who was a little cocker spaniel and he ruled the house. When Diesel and Steele moved back in with Matt, Chester basically died of grief. He was 15, and that was just it for him. OMG it was horrible. Horrible! I had to put him down 2 weeks after I got fired. %$^&
I waited months to get another dog, because I just had to get over MY grief. Then I put tons of thought into which dog to get because I wanted the new dog to get along with Diesel and Steele. Diesel is 1/2 Husky and 1/2 Pit - and Steele is 1/2 Coyote and 1/2 Lab - both are a bit dog aggressive. However, Chester could take them down with one bark. So I decided on a 6 week old female, who was obviously very submissive -Tesla who turned out to be a Carolina Dog.
I started immediately introducing Tesla to D and S by dropping over each day with her. It did not go well. She did all the right things, rolled on her back, no eye contact, bowing. Steele hid - because that is his M.O. - but Diesel was literally shaking as he resisted the urge to attack. When I had Tesla on my lap to protect her he would sniff and be OK - but if she was on the ground then he would growl and bear his teeth. There was curiosity there, and some restraint, but it felt dangerous. So I stopped the whole process, and accepted that perhaps Diesel would not be broken of his natural aggression.
So now Matt is leaving for Idaho for a month. Although in the other post I said it felt like he was just dumping the dogs on me - he has actually made me a list on how to take care of them, and is very concerned for their well being. He told me last night that he would never move without his dogs, they were his babies. So that is positive. However, while he is gone, I would really like for Diesel and Steele to be able to come over to my house with Tesla.
What could I do to make this experience one that would not endanger T? I am not too worried about Steele, because he is very submissive, and one command to stop, and he stops in his tracks. It is Diesel that has the strong pit bull upper body and the energy to go with it that I am worried about. Tesla is about 40 pounds, and lean and lithe. She is made for running, but not for defending herself.
Any ideas? Maybe it is hopeless - and I can accept that. It would just be easier on me if somehow they could all get along.
Matt moved to AZ last July, and wanted his dogs to live with him. They were always "his" dogs, as they were given to him as gifts, so I let them go back to their "Dad". God I missed them. I had cared for them while he was in his programs, and of course even before that they slept with me. We have had them 5 years and I was definitely their mommy. We also had Chester who was a little cocker spaniel and he ruled the house. When Diesel and Steele moved back in with Matt, Chester basically died of grief. He was 15, and that was just it for him. OMG it was horrible. Horrible! I had to put him down 2 weeks after I got fired. %$^&
I waited months to get another dog, because I just had to get over MY grief. Then I put tons of thought into which dog to get because I wanted the new dog to get along with Diesel and Steele. Diesel is 1/2 Husky and 1/2 Pit - and Steele is 1/2 Coyote and 1/2 Lab - both are a bit dog aggressive. However, Chester could take them down with one bark. So I decided on a 6 week old female, who was obviously very submissive -Tesla who turned out to be a Carolina Dog.
I started immediately introducing Tesla to D and S by dropping over each day with her. It did not go well. She did all the right things, rolled on her back, no eye contact, bowing. Steele hid - because that is his M.O. - but Diesel was literally shaking as he resisted the urge to attack. When I had Tesla on my lap to protect her he would sniff and be OK - but if she was on the ground then he would growl and bear his teeth. There was curiosity there, and some restraint, but it felt dangerous. So I stopped the whole process, and accepted that perhaps Diesel would not be broken of his natural aggression.
So now Matt is leaving for Idaho for a month. Although in the other post I said it felt like he was just dumping the dogs on me - he has actually made me a list on how to take care of them, and is very concerned for their well being. He told me last night that he would never move without his dogs, they were his babies. So that is positive. However, while he is gone, I would really like for Diesel and Steele to be able to come over to my house with Tesla.
What could I do to make this experience one that would not endanger T? I am not too worried about Steele, because he is very submissive, and one command to stop, and he stops in his tracks. It is Diesel that has the strong pit bull upper body and the energy to go with it that I am worried about. Tesla is about 40 pounds, and lean and lithe. She is made for running, but not for defending herself.
Any ideas? Maybe it is hopeless - and I can accept that. It would just be easier on me if somehow they could all get along.