So I am considering adopting this beautiful 3 yr old, 60lb German shepherd pure bred (Zelda) from her foster family, where she lives with another GSD and a Pomeranian with no issues. She was found as a stray about 10 months back and was only 28 lbs and covered in fleas/ ticks and is heartworm positive. They are already going through that process, she should be done with treatment by EOY. I have had my dog, Sophie, an 11 yr old, very well trained, 45 lb shepherd mix for 10 years. My girl really wants someone to play with, which is my main reason for adopting another dog. Ever since we moved out of state and she lost her dog friends, I feel like she’s sometimes a bit bored. After much deliberation with the foster dad, I did a meet and greet in my back yard 2 days ago. So the pros: Zelda is very well behaved though clearly needs more training, which I am up for. I actually consider it a bit of a perk to work with her the way I’d like to. She sits, is now house trained (foster had to work on that), takes treats very gently, and seems almost docile with humans. Very calm. As a whole she’s exactly what I’d like to have as an addition to my home. She was great. Cons: Then it was time to introduce the dogs in the yard. We started with them on opposite sides of a wire fence to test out. Sophie immediately put front legs down and rear up in the play position and Zelda started barking. Okay, nbd. Dogs bark. Keeping Zelda on the leash we brought her into the yard. Sophie walked up cautiously to do the initial greet and sniff and Zelda let out a low, deep growl. No teeth, but it was clearly a warning growl, not playful. Sophie left her alone but any time she’d try to come close Zelda would growl and bark. Nothing that seemed super ready to fight, but clearly a warning to leave her alone. Which Sophie did, just started wandering the yard while Z watched. This continued for the entire hour+ visit, with Zelda staying attached to foster dad’s hip the whole time. My questions are this: Is she possibly guarding the foster dad? I would not be surprised due to her breed. Should I try to meet on more neutral ground and maybe have him away a bit? When he handed the leash to me and called my dog over for treats, Zelda was patient and sat by me, though obviously had a bit of jealousy and tension in wanting to get back to him. When he sat on the patio furniture, she jumped up and laid next to him and again deep growled every time Sophie came within 5 feet. She just was not having it. I cannot tell if Zelda for whatever reason just doesn’t like Sophie (it happens, some dogs just don’t get along) or if it has more to do with the foster dad being around. How would I get them accustomed to each other if I did adopt her? Would a muzzle (temporarily) help in the sense that Zelda at least can’t bite if she chose to? Zelda is crate trained, I can see where that would help in getting them used to each other. My biggest concern is that Sophie is historically very unforgiving to dogs that have tried to fight her, she doesn’t offer second chances, and if Zelda did try to go after Sophie she would definitely win that fight. Is there a way to fix this long term or should I mark it as not a good fit? Since this is supposed to be a friend for my girl, seems kind of against the point if they can’t get along eventually.
submitted by /u/Sarebear2687
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