Years ago I rescued a male basset as my female was depressed when she lost her mate, He came in and same thing fur flying it really upset me yet when out walking they ran together happily but soon as we were back at home they would start again. I kept intervening but rang the breeder from whom I had rescued the new boy and he said let them get on with it that my bitch would soon show him she was boss ( He said the bitch is always boss) and three weeks of hell for me but then Ben submitted he turned into a corner of the room looked at the floor and that was it they were best friends for the rest of their lives together.

Yes still had the occasional squabble and we always Had to feed separate as Ben was food aggressive he even bit my partners foot when he bumped into his bowl but easily remedied we just avoided contact while he ate.

I hope things sort themselves out for you I know its hard watching two doggies you love fight it out to see who is boss and like I did you can always step in if things get too out of hand but I'm sure its just teething problems the same as I had. x

Thank you so much, everyone, for your wonderful input.

Wys - food guarding is the worst, so they are fed separately and I've reduced treats for now - none today, and maybe one biscuit each if things are calm. I'll give the treats as Trouble suggests.

I've been to work this morning, and Baz says all has been pretty quiet.

However, when I came in Len came downstairs, and Bun came out of the crate in the lounge, both to greet me. I spoke to both, but did not make a fuss of either. There was a little bit of "lip lifting" but nothing serious.

We are definitely adopting the "no nonsense" attitude and don't feel sorry for either of them. To be fair to Bun, Len is being a tad antagonistic too, and considering little tiny Bun could kick his butt, he's displaying the usual male stupidity

Len is now sunbathing on the patio, and Bun is in the crate (door open) so I'm going to try to have a shower now..... let's hope WW3 doesn't break out.....

I'll post often on progress and I appreciate any extra tips anyone can give. We are willing to try everything, obviously, as Bun is here to stay

Vicki you could try popping a muzzle on each of them so they can have some good sniffing time around each other where you can be totally relaxed as they will pick up on your body language and tension feelings.
I muzzled Lily at night when I first started leaving her with kyiro and also when the situation because of something going on was likely to spark a problem. I know with greyhounds they are used to muzzles more but it really does give you some peace of mind so you can get them together without one being able to hurt the other and then have a problem of realiation or aggression starting in the other.

Oh crap..... after a relatively peaceful day, with just the occasional curled lip, Len and Bun have just had a horrendous fight... Baz and I had real trouble separating them... there was even a smear of blood, but from a mouth I think as there are no wounds....

No wounds should make me feel a little better, but it doesn't.

We were going to go out for a couple of hours now and leave them free-roaming. This won't happen now. They have to be separated.......

So sorry to hear this Vicki I have no great words of wisdom, coz like I said, mine always hit it off straight away, and the only older dog ever introduced here was Georgie. Cassie originally let him in her house after they had a couple of walks together, she followed him around, then when he went to go out the back door, she put her head over his shoulders, growled, curled her lips and he just stayed there, so she carried on, but I didn't intervene, as this was HER house not his and she was entitled to do that to him if he was going to stay.

Anyhoo, as my friend held me back, we then saw Georgie turn around with his ears flat back and lay down on the floor and submit to her which was a very good sign. We then let them out the front into the garden, and they played and played and played, until we had to stop them for fear of total exhaustion and from that day forward, they were the very best of buddies.

How on earth are you going to work tomorrow you two now? I hope you come up with some solution or other and most of all, I hope they end up best friends even if it does take time.

I was told by a very knowledgeable doggy friend of mine that I had to make more fuss of my existing dog, and to also make sure I greeted them fierst, just to let them know that they are still top dog around here until the new one settled in, which I found very hard with a cute little puppy, but they got equal fuss in the end, so did Georgie, but have to admit, he was a bit left out in the initial stages purely because I didn't want to upset Cassie at that time, it just wasn't fair considering it was her home afterall.

All the best, let's hope things change later for you.

Oh Vicki try not to be too upset about it, it happens unfortunately but you have to stick to your guns and carry on regardless while obviously making sure nothing can happen in your absence.
You can't decide for them which one is going to be top dog they have to work that out for themselves and favouring either will cause further rucks. Try to remain impartial and carry on as if nothing has happened. Do you know what triggered it?

It's weird - they both sat not two feet apart watching Baz make toast in the kitchen.

Baz brought me mine and I was sitting at the PC eating it.

Baz went back into the kitchen to sort his toast out, and they just kicked off. I'm not even sure who started it, but I strongly suspect it was Bunnie.

We are definitely not favouring either of them and are just ignoring the incident and carrying on - as we must for some time yet, it would seem.

We both went for a shower this morning and left them downstairs together - there were no problems at all, so I can only think it was the toast, even though there was no inkling of either of them getting any at all.

Fortunately, I can separate them easily, but it's not really ideal for them, as they need to sort it out.

Since the incident, Len has gone upstairs (I feel so sorry for him) and Bunnie is in the crate sound asleep and looking like butter wouldn't melt.....

We are taking them for a walk shortly....

Ah Vicky I am so sorry that things are not going as smoothly as you had hoped, but the mix is a little tense, you have a bitch due in season and a grieving castrated male, she thinks all her christmas's have come at once and a dog who wants to be friends but on the other hand would prefer Mya back, (as all of you would). I would treat them exactly the same if you fuss one the other gets fussed aswell, etc., etc., only treat good behaviour, I am sure they will settle down once Bunnies season is over and she is spayed. Good Luck the only way is up. Gayle.

When Frankie and Diesel used to go for it they only ever did it when one of us was in the room, even if we were ignoring them somehow we managed to trigger it, just being there was enough, it didn't actually require food, or attention from us for them to kick off. The other thing that used to trigger it was the doorbell. They really used to go for it being terriers but we got there in the end.

I think you could be right about the toast, if Bunnie is so food orientated maybe she wanted to make sure Lennon knew that any food being made was going to be hers.

I'm sure you will sort it all out, but it just isn't what you needed after all you have been though lately xxx