seeking some advice...

erniesmom

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Apr 14, 2013
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ernie
Hello Everyone,
My bulldog, Ernie, is 1.5 years old. He has lived with my senior boxer his entire life and they have never had an issue. I am currently fostering a two year old submissive male boxer and ernie keeps picking some nasty fights with him. I was hoping to bring this foster into my home for good because my senior boxer is 14 and I did not want Ernie to be alone when he passes. This dog is not going to work out. I am wondering if I try a female bulldog pup if that might be the only combination that will work. My question is....for those of you that have dominant males....were you able to successfully bring in a puppy? thanks!
 

2BullyMama

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Male and female is an easier mix with two pups... bringing in a younger female would have better chance
 

izstigspunks

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How long have you fostered the younger boxer? We brought then 4.5 year old Punkin home when Stiggy was 1.5 years old. And from what I distinctly recall, it was a stressful first couple of weeks ... non-stop monitoring because Stiggy was being dominant. After a lot of work it turned out well. When no one's home, we separated them. I think it was 3 or 4 months after that we felt comfortable leaving them alone together without any barriers.
 

Pati Robins

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The fact that you have have another dog living on Ernie territory and he has been absolutely fine is encouraging. Often if anything dogs will be more hostile if ones brought on their territory then when they meet them out and about on neutral territory.
Usually again just speaking generally sometimes its easier an opposite sex will be excepted that bit better sometimes then a same sex. At the end of the day though especially if same sexes the most important thing is that the temperaments of the individuals compliment each other. Get two fiesty pushy ones who may compete and neither will concede then you can have a problem. Doesnt usually seem to matter quite so much with opposite sexes are opposites will often take more cheek and be tolerant of each other in the main, but same sexes depending on personalities and temperaments are often not quite to tolerant. Another consideration too perhaps, is if Ernie problems with new foster stem from insecurity or protection of resident dog.Then if the new one is an uncertain nervous type himself then it can sometimes have a detrimental affect as they can influence each others behaviour, so if he were a nervous reactive type you could find it may make Ernie worse . A bombproof laid back gentle non reactive dog can be beneficial to a nervous uncertain one and give them confidence providing of course they like each other and get on.

Usually its better for introductions to take place on neutral territory take them for a walk and then if thats going well, then let them sniff and interact, again if that goes well, then its usually best to then bring them home together and supervise
Taking Ernie into the house with several dogs there may make him feel disadvantaged and be more reactive -even tho its his own territory-first few weeks for both of the dogs will be crucial , the trick is to make them both feel not left out ,while new foster will take time to adjust and "find his own place in the house" Ernie also will need to adjust to live with another dog
As a guide the most common triggers if they are going to have a scrap are food, treats especially long lasting ones and if high value and especially if left discarded, toys, attention from owners, confined spaces, and times of hyper excitement like door bells ringing, visitors coming or owners coming back. So usually its best ot avoid and manage these situations closely at least for the first few weeks until the dogs are integrated and have an established routine. Sometime with a rescue dog at first you dont see any problems, as they are on best behaviour working out how it all works and where they fit in (unless they really dont like each other from the very start ) its often 2/3 weeks down the line once they have established themselves more that the true personalities really start to emerge.
 
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erniesmom

erniesmom

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Ernie met the foster dog on a neutral place and walked awhile with him then ran around with him in a neutral yard. It started over Ernie's toys. They were all put away but one was found under the sofa. Foster dog is a very nervous dog so maybe that was the issue? Foster dog is being adopted regardless(high prey drive with my four cats) but we have always been a two dog home and really want Ernie to have a friend when the senior passes. Ernie has been going to doggy day care once a week to make sure he keeps up with his dog social skills. He has been described as pretty pushy with the other dogs(he is the smallest dog there) and can get in other dogs faces. We practice daily obedience at home and he is walked a few miles every day. I have never seen aggressive behavior out of him before and it really shocked me. I am hoping it was the foster dog as sometimes it is very hard to tell in a dog fight who started it because it can be so subtle. My breeder(of course) has one female pup available. My worry is that if the toys come out Ernie might be not so nice to her and as they grow up not so nice. I think a female pup is the best chance and maybe he will always view her as a "baby" and things will be good. wishful thinking? I do not have a lot of experience with the bulldog breed....I have done boxers for 20 years and they are very different bully breeds. I think one of the hardest things about Ernie is that he is absolutely expressionless. He does not wiggle, wag or change his facial expression so it is harder to read him.
 

2BullyMama

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Seems you realize his limits and triggers so it would be about spotting them and controlling/redirecting his behavior. My girl, Banks is like this, and it is a daily process with her. Even at age 9
 

ddnene

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I have a boxer who is 10 years old… she has been around 4 bullies, and I've never had an issue w/her and the bulldogs. She is extremely submissive, and personally I think that this is WHY we have been able to keep peace in the house. Having two of the same sex is tricky… she did fine w/our female bully (who was the worst TYPE A EVER) but I had a stray female boxer last winter for just a couple of weeks and Roxie did NOT like her at all. The next bully pup we got was a male, because I felt that things would work out easier and it has. Honestly I think it's personality… some dogs just don't like each other at all, and it doesn't seem to have to do w/the opposite sex issue. I wish you luck on your journey w/your babies...
 
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erniesmom

erniesmom

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I might take the plunge and get the female pup. Housebreaking in the winter.....:fie:
 

Manydogs

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Ernie may accept a pup easier than a grown dog, as it wouldn't be as much of a "threat" to his domain. I have never had trouble introducing a pup
 

mackbob

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Well can I add that if they are actually getting into fights -- the foster boxer is most likely not submissive and that's the issue. Ernie might be a pushy guy, but if the boxer was truly submissive Ernie wouldn't feel threatened by him. And submissive won't fight, they'll just make it known that they are not a threat and roll over or submit in some other way. Dogs sense things that might not be obvious to us - unless we are really paying attention. I don't think you necessarily have to get a female. You just have to get a pup that vibes with Ernie! They are just like us-- sometimes we just don't like certain people because they rub us the wrong way. :)

I brought in a bully puppy and my other guy is dominant (mack) and so is the puppy (bob). Mack couldn't stand him and would literally just ignore him. It was because he was too young and hard to relate to and extremely annoying. So if you get a puppy - you're going to be dealing with Ernie likely being super annoyed for a while. But as bob has gotten older, Mack now loves him and they play all day. Fighting for dominance isn't a big issue with them because I'm the dominant one in our pack. And then after that it's mack, and bob is last. I feed mack always before I feed bob. They seem to respect this order with no issues.
 

boo boo butts mom

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I had two sets of female bullies. One I had gotten together and the other I had gotten separately. The first set was super buddy buddy and got along well because they were same age, siblings. The second set, I rescued a female and thought it would give my girl a friend. She was a beast! Loved her. And the closer boo was to her the easier it made the transition of welcoming a new girl to out home. Only thing I noticed was that while helping the newbee with all her many medical issues which were many. My girl boo began wanting more attention from me. She was to cute when I began noticing this about her. The only real issue of having the rescue and having boo was that the rescue would charge at boo over toys. They hung out and ate together and everything else but if boo had a toy then newbee wanted it and simply let boo know she was going to have it. She stayed here until her illnesses took over and the vet felt it was time to let her go. During the time she was here they did bond so beautifully and when she passed away boo was so sad for an entire month that I became extremely worried. What I learned from this was that my girl enjoys having a friend and to always remember that just because I am helping another doesn't always mean that it will work out. I was lucky and it did but it took a lot patience and awareness of making sure I observe both their behaviors when around me and around one another.
 
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erniesmom

erniesmom

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Thanks everyone! All excellent advice. I cannot imagine Ernie being an only child and we have fallen in love with the bully breed so I am going to take the plunge and meet his possible little sister on Wednesday. I am sure I will have a ton of puppy questions!
 

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