does this sound like a bad situation?

[naydz]

my boyfriend and i are moving in together next month - he has a 6 y/o lab/boxer/pit mix (J) and i have a puppy poodle (S). they met at J’s house and it went okay - J was very excited/got the zoomies, but S is still shy around bigger dogs. eventually they fell asleep near each other. J has dog friends and has been fine sharing toys/water bowls. also, my old dog snapped at J while she was on J’s bed (lol) and J ran away and slept elsewhere. but i’m worried because J has gotten into quarrels at the dog park twice. both times, dog was humping her/cornering her to hump her and she gave them about 5 seconds and then snapped at them, but didn’t bite (we stopped bringing her to the dog park because we couldn’t avoid dogs who hump). she also once snapped at a dog when we were jogging with her on leash and an off leash dog ran up to her from behind. now every time J and S are together im visibly terrified J will snap at S and i’m dreading the 4 of us living together. we wouldn’t leave them alone together, S will be in a playpen in the bedroom and J will have the other rooms to herself. but does J seem dog aggressive based on those incidents/does it sound like a bad idea for them to live together?

 

[bongani]

@naydz You aren't reading the situation correctly. Here is what is actually happening

J: stop now.

J: please stop.

J: please stop now ok?

J: Yo! Cut it out

J: F÷/&#:G STOP IT RIGT NOW

 

[seaweed09]

@naydz Dogs have their own way to communicate. J told aggressive dogs to back off. Your dog snapped to say 'I'm in the bed here'. Same behavior. I think you're smart to not leave them alone together but that's only because any new dogs need time to get to know each other. Don't let your fears mess up totally normal dog behavior.

 

[blacksabbath]

@seaweed09 Don't let your fears mess up totally normal dog behavior. Well said.

I want to add that being humped or charged at from behind and giving a correction is very different from resource gaurding. J is being a good dog and they are protecting themselves from unwanted behavior. Your dog was gaurding J's bed unprovoked.

The biggest problem here is that you think J is having ageessive behavior (when they absolutely arent) and think your dogs resource gaurding is funny. It's not funny and that is how someone will get hurt.

Reevaluate the situation and start working with a trainer. The trainer will be for you, as you are the one who needs training. Work on your pups resourse gaurding with a positive reinforcement trainer.

 

[sevilodorf]

@naydz I don't think it's bad on its face. I think it has the potential to be so, but that your plan not to let them be alone together unsupervised is a good one and will mitigate serious risks.

It sounds like J has a pretty clear trigger, and doesn't have a history of actually harming other animals, or even getting defensive unless triggered. Most dogs have the capacity to be aggressive or snap if their boundaries are violated. So as long as you monitor them when they're together, and make sure to intervene if S starts being annoying (as puppies are wont to do) the risks here are pretty low.

The biggest challenge, IMO, will be the puppy/adolescent stage, and guarding against human failures. You all will need to be careful not to get so distracted with cooking dinner, or playing a game or whatever while the dogs are together that they'll cross each other's boundaries, especially as S starts testing them as an adolescent dog. That's just what adolescent dogs do.

A few baby gates in your house/apartment could do wonders while you get through that stage and they adjust to living together.