Few Problems with New Dog....

We got Gypsy (3 year old EBT rescue) two days ago and although she is besotted with Storm (Collie cross Lab 2 years old, who we've had for a year), he doesn't seem to like her at all.

Gypsy is very dominant and will keep jumping on Storm and when he gives her warning lip curls, she doesn't always give in and back off straight away, which leads to her being seriously told off by Storm, and then she gets the message....For a while anyway. Also, when we are out walking, if Storm goes off lead and wanders off a little, Gypsy will start going mad with high pitched barking and biting at her lead/harness to break free and get to him!

Storm really doesn't seem to like her very much at all and won't play with her as she is just too boisterous and bossy. He also moves away whenever she comes near and if she runs up to him, he stiffens up and moves away. Last night, we took them both into an enclosed small recreational area to have a bit of off lead time, and as soon as we let them both off lead, Gypsy ran straight up to Storm (as she always does), getting in his face and following him around and he suddenly started what seemed like initiating play with her. He was running around barking at her in a sort of playful way. Then he found a ball (he is possessive of toys) and Gypsy kept running up to him and he told her off each time she got too close, until she was totally avoiding going too close to him.

Today though, in the flat and while out in the back yard, she kept going up to him and trying to jump on his back (putting her front paws up on his back end), which of course he didn't like! So, he now avoids going too near her because as soon as he does, she wants to play or jump on him! She isn't spayed, but we will be getting that sorted as soon as possible. Though we're not sure how to find out when she is due is season, as the previous owners haven't got back in touch to tell us when her season is due/last one was.

Do you think that it sounds as though Storm is never going to come around to Gypsy and her boisterousness, just like some people take a dislike to each other? Or could it be too early to tell? We really don't want to hand Gypsy back to the rescue as she is a lovely dog and we really want to give her a good life with us, without being pushed from pillar to post.

I apologise if I haven't worded this post very well, but I don't really find it too easy typing out what I'm trying to say most of the time!!

I don't have much experience with Bullies but I think her antics are just playing. I could be wrong though.

Storm is used to being the only dog isn't he? So give him time to adjust, have no favourites and allow him and her to settle.

Others can help you more though.. but it does sound like playfulness to me..

I think Gypsey needs to learn manners around Storm. Storm sounds like he is correcting her. As long as there is no fighting, and Gypsey does get the message evenutally, they should be fine.

It will take time for them both to get to know each other, so two days really isnt that long. Give it a couple of weeks and see how their getting on and re-assess the situaiton then. Hopefully Gypsey will learn manners around Storm and they will get on.

Keep us updated.

HTH

Kiki didn't seem keen on Casper when we first got him, and I spent weeks wondering if I'd made a mistake. I couldn't walk them together as Casper had to stay on-lead but spent the whole on-lead walk trying to jump on Kiki, but if I let her off-lead then he wouldn't let her come back near me at all - again with the OTT pouncing on her. Thankfully I could get someone to help walk them together occasionally, but I think the solo walks I did with each of them probably helped build a bond with Casper but also not let Kiki feel left out.
He was also a bit too intense at home, especially in the garden, so for a while I kept him on-lead for everything, even pee breaks, so he couldn't practise the behaviour.
After about 3-4 weeks, he learnt to tone down his behaviour but Kiki also learnt to engage a bit more with him. They soon levelled out to find a playstyle that suited the pair - and now Kiki probably fights dirtier than Casper so give it time. Personally I wouldn't leave it up to Storm to constantly correct Gypsy, I know some people prefer to leave the dogs to settle it but you don't want Storm to feel like he constantly has to be on-guard and his only interactions with her being negative. I'd maybe keep Gypsy on a houseline for a while and closely watch her for signs that she's about to jump on Storm and just call her away, or lead her off with the houseline, so she doesn't practice this behaviour again and again. If they can have positive interactions that you end on a good note, that's got to be better than every good interaction ending with a bad one.

All sounds very normal if you ask me! I would not worry about Storm "not liking" her. He doesn't "not like" her; his nose has just been put well out of joint by her arrival and it will take him far longer than a few days to adjust. It is quite discontenting (from Storms perspective ) to be the centre of attention for a long time, only to have to share your owners, your house, your space, etc., with another dog.

EBT's are pretty in-your-face based on the ones we meet around here. I know my girl Bo LOVES any Bullie type because they play hard and rough. This type of play is probably not appealing to your Storms' Border Collie side, as they don't typically like to engage in such shenanigans.

From a slightly different perspective, it took my Labrador months to tolerate my younger dogs being near him. He would growl whenever they came near, often refused to be in the same room as them and if they touched him, he would jump up as if they had some kind of infectious disease! this 'phase' thankfully only lasted a few months and he will now play with them, sleep next to them, etc., and they get on great.

Sounds normal but also a bit annoying for Storm. I'd keep them separate when you are not there (certainly for the moment) and also ensure that Storm has somewhere safe to go where he can def. get away from her (and also ensure that he and you have some time together, very important).

Good luck. Also try taking them both for long long long tiring walks on lead together(longish leads) - it works well as both dogs usually calm down and also learn to be with each toher but without any argy bargy going on

Wys
x

Sorry I'm a bit late replying, but thanks for all the advice!

Well, they are getting on a little better now and have even had spurts of playing time together.

In the flat, we have started stopping Gypsy from constantly going up to Storm and getting in his face and she does spend some time in her crate too, to give them both a break. They do also get some outside walks/play separately and also some time playing outside.

The problem is with Gypsy, when they are out together she always has to be right by Storm's side the whole time, whether he is off doing his own thing, or they are walking on lead. Earlier we went to the local river and we were throwing a ball in the water for Storm and it ended up getting into a bit of a scrap because Storm can be very toy possessive with other dogs and Gypsy was always right by him every time he had the ball. So, we put Gypsy back onto her lead, so that Storm could play with his ball on his own for a while. But as soon as the ball was thrown and Storm ran into the water to get it, Gypsy started yapping and whining non stop until he came back to her, then when we threw the ball back into the water she started again! This went on for the whole time, until it got too much and we had to stop throwing the ball for Storm.

Does anybody have any ideas as to what we can do in this situation? Obviously Storm's got to be able to go off and do his own thing when they're out together, otherwise he just (understandably) gets really annoyed with her. We try to just ignore the barking and whining, but she won't stop and it is very loud and gets to you after a while!!