Hello, everyone. I have a potcake dog (a mutt-butt, basically) named Missy whom I adopted three years ago. She is a rescue from the Turks & Caicos islands. She was with her foster for about five months before I adopted her, and she lived with another dog while she was there. The foster did make me aware of her leash reactivity, though.
Missy was ~18 months when I adopted her. She has a problem with aggression towards other dogs, but not people. The reason I call her "finicky" is because she likes some dogs, but not others. For instance, in the past my neighbors have left their pittie/mutt and boxer with us for 1-2 weeks at a time while they were on vacation or traveling for work. Missy really loved it and we didn't have any problems during their sleepovers.
When she is with a dog she likes, she wants to play, play, play! She went to "socialization class" at a local doggy daycare every weekend for about a year and progressed wonderfully, but the trainer kind of hit a wall where she would want to play and then, after a few hours, get tired and snap/pin any dog who tried to play. Of course we still do counter-conditioning, but since we now live in a more rural area we're learning not to fear cows, horses, and miscellaneous livestock on our walks - a bit different than dogs lol!
I would like to adopt another dog as Missy really enjoys their company if they are the "right" friend for her. I am working through the same rescue Missy came from to adopt a puppy that will hopefully be her playmate.
When we do our "meet and greet," how would you suggest going about this? She is fully muzzle-trained just as a precaution (a Baskerville muzzle; I promise she can bark, pant, and drink with it on) for when we have to travel to the vet where there are a lot of pups.
Her reactivity is mostly on-leash and the suggestions I've found on the internet include having the dogs walk near each other; this isn't great for Missy. Since I've adopted her we've done a lot of counter-conditioning using positive reinforcement; she's come a long way but I think being on a lead is something she really wouldn't do well with for an introduction.
Side note: she's never been aggressive toward a dog I brought into our house, but all the resources I have found online say to meet in neutral territory. Is it possible Missy is friendlier with dogs in our home because she feels safe?
Thank you, and sorry if this is too long of a post! Here is a photo for attention
Tl;Dr: Tips on introducing a resident dog with leash reactivity to a new dog (puppy) for the initial "meet and greet."
Missy was ~18 months when I adopted her. She has a problem with aggression towards other dogs, but not people. The reason I call her "finicky" is because she likes some dogs, but not others. For instance, in the past my neighbors have left their pittie/mutt and boxer with us for 1-2 weeks at a time while they were on vacation or traveling for work. Missy really loved it and we didn't have any problems during their sleepovers.
When she is with a dog she likes, she wants to play, play, play! She went to "socialization class" at a local doggy daycare every weekend for about a year and progressed wonderfully, but the trainer kind of hit a wall where she would want to play and then, after a few hours, get tired and snap/pin any dog who tried to play. Of course we still do counter-conditioning, but since we now live in a more rural area we're learning not to fear cows, horses, and miscellaneous livestock on our walks - a bit different than dogs lol!
I would like to adopt another dog as Missy really enjoys their company if they are the "right" friend for her. I am working through the same rescue Missy came from to adopt a puppy that will hopefully be her playmate.
When we do our "meet and greet," how would you suggest going about this? She is fully muzzle-trained just as a precaution (a Baskerville muzzle; I promise she can bark, pant, and drink with it on) for when we have to travel to the vet where there are a lot of pups.
Her reactivity is mostly on-leash and the suggestions I've found on the internet include having the dogs walk near each other; this isn't great for Missy. Since I've adopted her we've done a lot of counter-conditioning using positive reinforcement; she's come a long way but I think being on a lead is something she really wouldn't do well with for an introduction.
Side note: she's never been aggressive toward a dog I brought into our house, but all the resources I have found online say to meet in neutral territory. Is it possible Missy is friendlier with dogs in our home because she feels safe?
Thank you, and sorry if this is too long of a post! Here is a photo for attention
Tl;Dr: Tips on introducing a resident dog with leash reactivity to a new dog (puppy) for the initial "meet and greet."