[sammmazing]

We have a four-year-old Husky - his name is Balto and he is an angel. He's incredibly well-behaved, friendly and patient. He receives frequent socialization and we very, very rarely have any behavioral/training issues with him. He's even raised two litters of puppies after the mama walked away from them.

A few days ago, we adopted an Aussie puppy from a local rescue group. Her name is Tazzy and she's between five and six months old. She was fostered with another dog (a two-year-old Aussie), and according to her foster mom, she and the older Aussie were very playful with each other and Tazzy was great with the other dogs in the organization, too.

BUT - it seems Tazzy is afraid of our Balto. He just wants to play - and is showing the typical physical signs of wanting to play (gentle barks, the playful crouch, tapping her with his paw to get her attention). He's very gentle about it all, and is very cautious with her. But she won't play with him. She'll hardly look at him. She doesn't behave aggressively, and she doesn't cower. But she freezes with fear, and if he gets too close, she starts to cry/yelp like he's hurting her (when I know he's not).

She's bonding well with us, but I don't know how to encourage her to bond with our Balto, and I don't know how to soothe her fears. It will break my heart if she can't move past this; especially given that she was adopted specifically because he needed a companion.

What can I do? I know it's only been a few days, and she's under a lot of stress with adjusting to a new home - will it just take time? Please help!

 

[CptJack]

Don't make a big deal of it. Don't comfort her when she gets scared/yelps by him - or it'll look to her like you're rewarding her fear, and it'll reenforce it. That said, don't let him pester her/be too rough - make sure she gets some time alone with you guys, and her crate (room, whatever) is off limits to him. It IS going to take time for her to gain confidence, but it will happen.

Frankly, Kylie is 4 months old (nearly) and she will yelp like a lunatic if a big dog that looks like it wants to play rough (ie: barrelling down on her, pouncing, etc). You know that 'ouch' yelp people tell you to do, to stop puppies mouthing? Same thing. It's her way of getting him to back off. That's all right!

 

[hanksimon]

Give her a couple of weeks to get used to him. Everything is new to her, so his obvious play behaviors are being ignored, and she's focusing only on the 'predator' behaviors .... which is how a husky plays ... I think she'll realize that he isn't going to hurt her as she gets some calm time with him.