Slight Aggression?

[sooty.pepper]

Hi there all,

Now, I have a 1.5 yr old Collie x Husky - lovely dog, well mannered most of the time. Yesterday we acquired a 7 month old pure Siberian Husky bitch. Apon arriving at the house we noted the many beautiful dogs they had there. Unfortunately this little girl was in just an awful state - smelly, dirty, matted and looked like she'd been left to her own devices for a long time. She'd had some of the matts on and around her neck removed but still had many under her chin and around the rump area.

Training wise she's not had much - had only just been collar trained & is aware of the item called a "lead" but still not sure how it all works. The poor thing didn't look like a Husky at all and if I hadn't taken her I'd have felt incredibly guilty. Apon arriving home we bathed and clipped her to the best of our ability. She loves the drain hole idea, and plays in shallow water but heck if you wash her you'd swear I was murdering the poor thing! She showed no signs of aggression, and even seemed to be wagging her tail when she was screeching at the top of her lungs.

Our other dog, Sooty, has been the biggest SOOK. He cries and seems quite intimidated. I think he's realised this one isn't a 'visitor' and belongs to us too. She is very very willing to play and bounces around him but he seems to just look at her as if to say "get this thing away from me..." even though he's very happy to see other dogs usually.

My main question is about Pepper (yes, this is her name - as in peppermint as she's all white). I had clipped out lots of dirty smelly matts this morning too, and got the brush out to see if I could get any little knotts out with that.. and she started to moan loudly (tail wagging) and then it seemed like she went for my hand (twice, tail still slightly wagging). Is this a sign to be worried about aggression in the future? She seems to tollerate being pet and everything else. Is it just a puppy thing? And how should I train her at this late age? She did have a name too - Sheila or something, but she didn't know it. She seems to perk up to anything in a high pitch lol.

I've got her booked in to be clipped right back so she can just grow a fresh clean coat that I can keep clean and well groomed.

Thanks everyone.. any thoughts on Sooty's behaviour also would be greatly appreciated..

Alix

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Puppies mouth hands, it's not necessarily aggressive. I've had a more aggressiver mouther and that was dominance but some breeds will grab hands in their mouths and are not hurting you, puppies sometimes need to be trained out of it. I have enclosed my hand around my dog's mouth and he learned not to do that within 2 weeks. I'm not an expert on that and it may be impractical with some sizes of muzzles or breeds.

You, your dog and her will all need to go through an adjustment phase - it's at least 2 weeks at first and then I find I see how things will be permanently within 2 months. She has to learn a lot in a new environment so please be patient, take it easy with her, not too many outings or visitors at first.

When I'm introducing dogs (I rehome for Doggie Rescue), I'm looking for two dogs to either be good friends right away, or ignore each other. Both those scenarios are good. If there is a lot of aggression at first, sometimes that won't work out. I think here you are looking at an overall adjustment for all, I don't think there's much to worry about.

[Nekhbet]

Get a good trainer/behaviourist to visit and make a plan.

Make the rules and boundries very clear from the first day, dont treat her like a charity case. Huskies dont just bark they can yodel and screech so dont let it put you off. If hse came from such a poor home then she probably has not been very well handled - consider her to be an 8 week old puppy and socialise that dog as much as you can.

Make sure she's been well vaccinated and wormed too

[Animal House]

Id say she might have had enough for one day.

Probably was complaining because you brought her to a new environment (was she a neglect case?), bathed her (probably her first time), clipped her and cut out matts, then today you wanted to brush out more knots. They probably hurt!!

Let her settle in, you dont want her to associate you with unpleasant things, but obviously put her at the bottom of the pack.

I would second what Nehkbet said, find a good trainer to come out and assess her.

[Ira]

Id say she might have had enough for one day.

Probably was complaining because you brought her to a new environment (was she a neglect case?), bathed her (probably her first time), clipped her and cut out matts, then today you wanted to brush out more knots. They probably hurt!!

Let her settle in, you dont want her to associate you with unpleasant things, but obviously put her at the bottom of the pack.

I would second what Nehkbet said, find a good trainer to come out and assess her. :D

Ditto to Cazablanca, It probably would have been uncomfortable for her and clearly she hasn't had any grooming what so ever. Give her time and be patient.

[Erny]

Get a good trainer/behaviourist to visit and make a plan.

Make the rules and boundries very clear from the first day, dont treat her like a charity case. Huskies dont just bark they can yodel and screech so dont let it put you off. If hse came from such a poor home then she probably has not been very well handled - consider her to be an 8 week old puppy and socialise that dog as much as you can.

Ditto to Nekhbet's post here. Your Huskie's behaviour may well have had benign intent - we can't tell that one way or the other from this side of our computers. I agree with the "socialise ... as much as you can" as if your dog was a pup, but remember that your "pup" is 7 months old .... which really is more "young dog" than pup ........ a time when they are entering adolescence and a time when you need to be able to clearly, firmly but safely exhibit your leadership skills. If you're not sure about your dog's behaviour now and whether you need to worry, it would pay to have someone assess the situation for you and help you with being a firm but fair leader.