[Fade]

Let me give you some background. I adopted my Basset hound Flash who grew up with another dog before coming to me. Before I married he was with my family and I and their dogs. So when I did get married he became an only dog. So soon after the wedding with purchased a injured Siberian husky from a accidental litter. I usually prefer to adopt my dogs but no one was taking him because of his injury I was worried what would happen to him. So we ended up with Leonidas. he is perfectly healthy now after some chiropractic adjustments.

Leo is very attached to Flash. He is very attached to us. He is very clingy which is common with the husky breed. We tried to socialize him at a young age but we lived on a farm 15 miles from town and he would pee and poop as soon as he got into the car. so i had to bring the people and dogs to him. Which I thought was enough. He always did well with company and other dogs.
So after moving a few states over there was a pit bull in dire need of rescue. We knew their potential issues with other dogs but this one was taken to dog parks and had other dogs in the house. he does super good with dogs, cats and people. We didn't want a 3rd dog but we had to take him he is a diamond in the rough.

All 3 dogs are males and all 3 are neutered for the record.

We brought him home and Leo's went right after him. Which is normal for pack dogs to create their place in the pack. Leo is relentless. He nipped at Vader and barked at him non stop for 3 days and Vader didn't respond. Finally Vader went after him, it was mostly doggy cussing and bluffs. but this scared Leo and he ran and hid under the bed. Leo came back once he got his courage back and Vader wasn't having any of it. then it stopped being a minor dominance spat from then on they wanted to seriously injure each other. We worked with them for a long time. with muzzles and finally we chose to keep them apart. SOOO many people have said
" oh they just need to get their place in the pack just let them go at it." I know my boys Leo is so possessive and never gives up, and vader being a pit bull carries out what he starts. Leo is 55 lbs and scrawny, Vader is 84lbs and growing and very powerful to me letting them duke it out is just wrong.

I am perfectly happy to keep them apart. we purchased a home with an attached kennel and a large fenced in yard, they both have lots of room to play , big comfy beds, and get lots of play time with us and with the neutral basset hound. they go for walks but all of this is done without them ever even seeing each other.

I was just curious. Do you think I went about this the correct way? Or should i work more with training them? My 2 cents is. even the best of dog buddies get into it once and awhile. Even with the best of training could i REALLY be confident something someday wont spark a fight between them? Vader could do serious damage to Leo in a 2 second time frame. I personally don't want to risk it.

 

[Nil]

Hopefully others will chime in later, but if you don't want to risk it, don't risk it.

I would have introduced them on neutral territory. Have them both on a leash and go for a walk with one person holding Vader and another holding Leonidas someplace neither dog has ever been. Also, it seems like you allowed Leonidas to pester Vader to the point where Vader needed to step in and settle it himself. It is your job to protect your dogs, not their job. I would have removed Leonidas from the room every time he tried barking/pestering Vader. Eventually he would learn that if he is a butthead he doesn't get to spend time with everyone else.

I wouldn't ever let dogs "duke it out". Dogs can be like children and a minor spat can turn into to a serious fight because neither party wants to back down. With a lot of work and vigilance you might be able to get them to at least ignore one another. Otherwise they just need to be separated. I don't think you could ever be confident that they wouldn't ever fight again. I wouldn't ever trust them alone together, period. If you don't want to risk it and you are confident in your abilities to keep them separated, then don't risk it. Up to you.

 

[Fade]

I didn't fit allthe details in. When we first introduced them it was on a walk together letting them sniff and get acclimated to each other. from the point vader stepped out of the car and Leo saw him, Leos heckles went up and he flipped out. but did ok on the walk after they walked for awhile. and I DID verbally scold leo and remove Leo for his pestering, and eventually crated him for bad behavior. But as I mensioned he is relentless. he would fly right back to him as soon as he could. Vader spent a couple hours in the kennel too when he first got into the house letting Leo sniff him and get use to his presence. Then i Let vader out on a leash and leashed Leo. these tactics persisted for 3 days. with sometimes positive results. Leo became a little less of a pest, instead of trying to follow him around he would watch him and involve himself in anything Vader did besides walk. This is Leos possessive problem and his territorial issues. but that's when vader went after him and any progress came to a stop.

Leo is a natural alpha and My friend who has a sled dog rescue and raced huskies for 50 yrs. said he would be what they would consider a lead dog. and that this dominance issue is stronger then even the average male husky, which leads to his issues with Vader and that he probably wont ever get along with a dog that will not submit to him.

now the theory i was told is that if your alpha ( which we are ) we have the right to set what our dogs actions are with each other 100% and that they should eventually listen in this area if we are very assertive with this, but it would also involve eliminating causes for possession and dominance. Which a lot of times can be a couch or the bed. Ive made the mistake of allowing my boys to sleep on the bed and couch which is suppose to undermine the whole alpha totem pole with the dogs. I personally would rather have my personal heating "pad" and cuddly buddy in bed next to me and my couch potatoes, then try to get the dogs to tolerate the other. they have a grand life and are spoiled and loved and I made that choice. so that might put a wrench in the training issue if i'm not going to be willing to eliminate the couch and bed. lol

 

[Amaryllis]

The dominance stuff is bunk. It's been disproven for a long time. Yes, dogs will resource guard spots on the couch, but the couch isn't the problem, nor does it cause the problem.

Leo is dog aggressive, or just hates Vader. Dog aggression is a continuum, not an either/or. Leo could be DA to some dogs, but not all. And, just like people, not every dog gets along with every other dog. I don't like every human, do you?

 

[Niraya]

Like amaryllis said the dominance stuff is bunk and if you use dominance theory based training with your dogs you may have very well perpetuated the problem yourself.

Also; Siberians are prone to being SAME SEX aggressive(doesnt really have anything to do with being a "leader"). Which is why they tell you to get the opposite of what you have when adding another dog.

I can tell you right now though that my Siberian is allowed on all of the furniture and beds and not once has she ever planned to assassinate me because of it.

 

[Niraya]

Apparently my phone posted twice. Apologies.

 

[Fade]

I know about the same sex hate problems with male huskies.We started with a male basset hound who really needed a companion . through research and thought we chose a husky and well basset hounds get along with EVERYONE that is why we chose the combination. I knew that intruding a even dominant male Husky wouldn't cause an issue with Flash the basset.We wanted an active dog to counteract our Bassets tendency to want to sleep around the house. and it worked amazingly well. its a good combination of dogs. Flash our basset has a lot more energy they both enjoy each others company. and the basset hound in turn tempers the huskies tendency to never want to sit still. Leo and flash are very attached to each other. and leo is perfectly content laying next to flash on the couch. as much as flash enjoys chasing Leo around the yard. the only down side is the basset hound teaching the husky to bark this is not enjoyable lol.

anyone could have seen problems coming adopting a male pit bull into a house with a male husky. I expected this when we made the decision. I have a love for the pit bull breed and always wanted to take one off the street and give it a loving caring home, having the money and the space to do so i made the choice. and I don't regret it.

What sparked my want for opinions was I have been corresponding with a profession trainer specializing in the pit bull breed and male to male aggression issues. and he told me that he could have my dogs sitting together next to each other on a couch in a few weeks, and sort of implied me keeping them separated was unnecessary. This instantly shocked me and made me doubt myself. But your advice has made me feel more confident with my decision thank you for the advice.

 

[Niraya]

What sparked my want for opinions was I have been corresponding with a profession trainer specializing in the pit bull breed and male to male aggression issues. and he told me that he could have my dogs sitting together next to each other on a couch in a few weeks, and sort of implied me keeping them separated was unnecessary. This instantly shocked me and made me doubt myself. But your advice has made me feel more confident with my decision thank you for the advice.

Some people just like to toot their own horn and make claims because [most] people will fall for it. I'm not saying this person could or couldn't but hopefully you get what I mean. The worst thing you can do is doubt yourself especially if you have a situation that is working now and you're fine with it and the animals are happy.

I really like what Nil said:

I wouldn't ever trust them alone together, period. If you don't want to risk it and you are confident in your abilities to keep them separated, then don't risk it. Up to you.

 

[Fade]

thankyou. for all the advice I will keep doing what i am doing, it works well and i have 3 healthy happy boys because of it

also your husky has very similar markings to mine she is beautiful

 

[Niraya]

As they say "If it aint broke..."

Aww well thank you very much

Leo is quite the looker himself I love the breed with all mah heart <3