# My Male Golden is Depressed about New Dog coming into our house



## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Rufus*

I would take Rufus in for a vet check, it is possible he isn't feeling well.
I believe that after dogs are fixed that might lessen some of the aggression.
I would ask the vet about it.
Also know that it takes time for dogs to get along.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

This pairing may not work out. When you adopt a new animal, the happiness of your first animal should take precedence and it sounds like Rufus is not happy. You could work through the Bloodhound's issues (getting him neutered may help in this particular situation) but is it worth it to put Rufus through the stress if your main goal was to get him a friend.

Can the bloodhound go back to where he came from (and if you give him back, I would do it as soon as possible)?

p.s., as long as you have the Bloodhound, feed them separately and only allow toys when they are separated by a physical barrier. Also do not try to drag or force the Golden into or out of areas, he sounds as if he is VERY stressed and scared, which is causing him to want to protect himself.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Well... first of all.... please don't be leaving these two dogs alone together. Whenever you introduce a new dog into a household, they need a lot of monitoring - especially if they are adults. 

I suspect them being intact or not is not going to make much of a difference. There are plenty of really obnoxious and aggressive neutered dogs. Your dogs should not be left together, particularly if the new guy is bullying the other. 

We've always kept at least two male dogs together. Until we got the collie, they have always been intact. If there was any suspicion of the dogs not getting along or if one dog was bullying the other, they would be kept SEPARATE if there was no adult human being to intercede. And I'll be honest here, the only case of "bullying" that ever occurred was when we had a rambunctious puppy who would chew on our 11 year old who refused to put the puppy in his place. That minor bit of obnoxiousness meant that the puppy was NEVER left together with the older dog. I have never had any dogs showing actual signs of aggression - if I had, you can bet I would NEVER EVER consider leaving the dogs together until some future point when I knew the dogs had an understanding and were comfortable together. You may be several months away from that point with these two dogs.

The other thing - 5 acres does not mean these dogs should be left outside of the house and free. Even if you have a fenced in yard. Especially if you have them on e-collars. That is irresponsible, especially since they are both intact. 

Please keep them both inside the house. And if they are fighting, they need to be either crated or kept in separate rooms. They should not be left together until you are 100% sure that they are getting along and have an understanding.

When you are present, they both need to recognize that they are not allowed to growl or posture - period.

The bloodhound should be going to dog classes. I would look around your area for a obedience training place and follow through. 

And I would definitely get your other dog in to the vet to rule out any injuries or health problems.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Please do not force him to come out of his hiding space. He is retreating for a reason.
Plus if your young children see you modeling this as a way to handle Rufus...theya re likely to imitate it and risk getting bitten.

Im guessing that JD and Rufus are not playing all that well and that Rufus is really stressed at having a grumpy dog terrorizing his home. Again, just guessing that there has been stress between the people in the house worrying about and managing the conflicts between the dogs which adds to Rufus' stress level.


How long have you had JD the bloodhound?
Are you in a trial phase...can he go back to his breeder?


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

We have always had three dogs (almost 2/3 of my life). 
We have always separated them for meals, even if it is just around the opposite side of the island. Sometimes there has been different foods to worry about (why do they always want the one that isn't theirs) or amounts. When I gave out treats, I simply call out their name before I hand it over - it keeps the others from lunging for it. A bonus is it builds trust and patience.
Neutering is a huge help. Bailey has always been our Alpha (she is old and cranky now), but Banker was challenging her in subtle/not so subtle ways until he was neutered and the testosterone wore off. This was my first experience with waiting to neuter until 18 months old and it has been easier than I thought for his recovery.


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## Capt Jack (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm sorry your having this problem.I too would look after Rufus first but it's hard to just give up.I've been thinking hard about a friend for Jack but am afraid of the same issue your.having.He'd love it during he day when we're out but I don't think he'll want to share his "people time"Good luck let us know what you decide


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## jennifer.chamberlaine (Mar 12, 2012)

No they are absolutely NOT left alone together. Yes, the Bloodhound can go back to where he came from. We asked the Couple for a few days to see how Rufus would do with him, since he was meant to be a friend for Rufus. I hate to just Give up or to see the dog go back to a bad situation in either regard but.....But my Golden is my family and I will not tolerate anyone or any dog for that matter hurting him. Rufus is very submissive to other dogs and this Bloodhound is very dominate. The other dog is truly a sweet dog also, but very protective of food and toys as most rescue dogs are. I don't mean to paint him in such a bad light. If he was that bad, I have three little ones He would be GONE for sure!! 

I will say I do leave Rufus to come and go as he pleases. He is trained to come in and out of our back room as he desires to potty or sunbathe. There are no neighbors or other dogs for miles for Rufus to come in contact with. I don't use shocking collars if thats what your talking about? Rufus was trained to stay in our yard and our immediate yard only. He is free to roam only if we are outside to supervise or playing on four wheelers, he likes to get wet and muddy too  I trust Rufus and I know he would never leave us. He walks my girls to the school bus and loves to be there in the afternoon to greet them. 

But are you saying the aggression is Not normal in the beginning or even the saddened part is that also not normal behavior? If not then this other dog is out of here. It is not worth my dog possibly getting hurt or even upset. We had a happy home and a very happy loving dog before this. I wont try for him a companion again if this is how he will be about another dog coming into the house.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

jennifer.chamberlaine said:


> No they are absolutely NOT left alone together. Yes, the Bloodhound can go back to where he came from. We asked the Couple for a few days to see how Rufus would do with him, since he was meant to be a friend for Rufus. I hate to just Give up or to see the dog go back to a bad situation in either regard but.....


I don't necessarily feel that you need to quit. But you need to be on the ball. Train. Monitor.



> I will say I do leave Rufus to come and go as he pleases. He is trained to come in and out of our back room as he desires to potty or sunbathe. There are no neighbors or other dogs for miles for Rufus to come in contact with. I don't use shocking collars if thats what your talking about? Rufus was trained to stay in our yard and our immediate yard only. He is free to roam only if we are outside to supervise or playing on four wheelers, he likes to get wet and muddy too  I trust Rufus and I know he would never leave us. He walks my girls to the school bus and loves to be there in the afternoon to greet them.


I don't mean to be hurtful here, but if you have an intact dog - I don't care if you live out in the boonies. You have a lot of responsibilities to that dog and as a dog owner. Please do not leave the dogs out loose when you are not home or not keeping an eye on them.

I do not help with animal shelters and stray dogs as much as others here on GRF, but what little that I have helped out with I've seen a LOT of litters that could have been prevented if the dogs were not left out to wander around and impregnate other dogs who were left out to wander. And I've seen a lot of dogs who have strayed far from home time and again, mainly because they were left out in a fenced in yard. With fences. 



> But are you saying the aggression is Not normal in the beginning or even the saddened part is that also not normal behavior?


It's normal... for the situation as you describe. It sounds like the one dog is untrained and uncontrolled and the other dog is stressed.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Intact males will travel many, many, miles to find a female in season...and when they do are often gone for days and days (while the bitch is in season) - then struggle to find their way back home.
Please, please fence your dog or keep him inside when you are not around to supervise his activities. I would hate to be the one to tell your little kids that their dog is lost forever.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi, I would also try a bit longer and see if it works out. 
I took in a purebred intact male Collie a few years back. He was a stray, showed up and I put him in the sunroom at night for the first few days. At first Thunder, my lab mix that is neutered was not thrilled but not aggressive. Toby, intact male, wanted to play. 
I was not sure if I was going to keep the collie, so I contacted a rescue and they told me, they would take him in, if I could just keep him a while longer. Okay, I did. Well, turned out that the Collie became more confident and started to boss Toby, my golden around, growled at him and would not let him get to his food bowl. He started playing with my lab mix and not with Toby. Toby was sooooo miserable.
This sealed my decision to let the rescue have him. After three weeks of misery for Toby, the collie went to a fosterhome and then got adopted fast. 
As soon as the collie left, Toby went back to be his happy, playful self.
So, it does not always work out with new buddies, they may just not click, like in this case. 
I took in a stray intact dachshund a bit over a year ago, no problems whatsoever with him and Toby and Thunder. The dachshund has been neutered though. They all get along great. 

So, you never know and it does not always work out. My previous golden was an only child and he loved playing with other dogs but he was miserable when I was dogsitting for friends.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

jennifer.chamberlaine said:


> No they are absolutely NOT left alone together. Yes, the Bloodhound can go back to where he came from. We asked the Couple for a few days to see how Rufus would do with him, since he was meant to be a friend for Rufus. I hate to just Give up or to see the dog go back to a bad situation in either regard but.....But my Golden is my family and I will not tolerate anyone or any dog for that matter hurting him. Rufus is very submissive to other dogs and this Bloodhound is very dominate. The other dog is truly a sweet dog also, but very protective of food and toys as most rescue dogs are. I don't mean to paint him in such a bad light. If he was that bad, I have three little ones He would be GONE for sure!!


That he is immediately guarding resources in your home is troubling. It would be different if Rufus, the resident dog. was doing the resource guarding. And Rufus is obviously suffering as shown by his behavior.



> But are you saying the aggression is Not normal in the beginning or even the saddened part is that also not normal behavior? If not then this other dog is out of here. It is not worth my dog possibly getting hurt or even upset. We had a happy home and a very happy loving dog before this. I wont try for him a companion again if this is how he will be about another dog coming into the house.


Whether the aggression is normal or not is not really the question. For the Bloodhound, it obviously IS normal. The question is is this the right dog for your household? You can find many dogs to rescue that do not resource guard and would not bully Rufus and in this case it sounds like the issue is really the Bloodhound being a bully (which is not uncommon in Bloodhounds). Why subject Rufus to the stress and threatening behavior this dog is displaying.

As to whether neutering will help, I think in this case it may. Yes, there are nasty neutered dogs, but the testosterone in the Bloodhounds system is making him more willing to act on his baser instincts, especially at about a year when they are swamped with testosterone and are not really used to it. It is sorta like roid rage or like a cocky 18 year old guy who wants to prove himself by doing things that he was too scared to do when he was younger or too smart to do when he is older. 

If giving the Bloodhound back would put him in a bad situation, look for a Bloodhound rescue, but please don't sacrifice your Golden's happiness for your desire to rescue a dog.


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