# Good or bad idea??



## Flak (Jul 29, 2008)

We have been searching for a dog to adopt, primarily as a companion for our current 1.7yr old goldendoodle. Who has become insecure after two attack incidents (any idea's how to break her of this would be much appreciated). So it has made the adoption process harder then we originally thought it would be.

One thing we have realized in all this is that "foster" dogs tend to be more normal (for lack of a better term) then shelter dogs. However, with saying that we have found a shelter dog that we like a lot. They think she is some sort of staffie mix. She is young, maybe 6 months at the oldest. She was awesome with us on the two meets. The second time we saw her we brought our dog. Keep in mind after the two attacks our dog has been very insecure. They wouldn't let us take the dogs for a walk, we were only allowed to introduce them in an outside kennel area. The puppy tried playing with our dog, but our dog kept putting her in her place (growling with light nipping at the mouth). After maybe 15mins of the puppy following our dog around well she smelled everything there was the usual puppy bowing play going on. There was another dog in the kennel right next to us growling and barking, so our dog would stop playing then go sniff the fence where the other dog was standing.

Maybe after another 15mins of playing off and on, the staffie puppy turned and lunged at our dog growling and teeth bearing. The shelter worker grabbed the leash of the puppy to restrain her. We called our dog to our side, as we tried to leave per the workers instructions the puppy kept trying to get to our dog, the whole time growling and barking with teeth showing.

My question(s).... ahh what the hell could have happened? Is this something worth chancing? We always hear how shelter dogs are totally different once they get home.


Thanks
-Flak


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## TeddieXRuxpin (Sep 11, 2007)

Did anything happen that could have made the pup react? Was your dog sniffing him?

I would try to take you dog back if possible to meet the dog again. Were they on or off leash? That can make a huge difference. 

(I use my last foster a lot to explain things, lol)

I brought home a 14 week old American Pit Bull Terrier 5 months ago and the first thing that happened when he met Buster (Lab/Dobbie) was snapping from both dogs, chasing, jumping and then Buster put his mouth around Britches neck. Holding him in places and letting him know where he stood. After that they were great the entire time I had him.

This past week Britches was adopted out to a family that has a teenage Great dane. When they first met we had them on leash, but as soon as we let them off leash in the yard everything went fine.

Something you should do before adopting another dog is your Labradoodle needs to be socialized. If she's scared of other dogs in general it's going to make it hard to bring in a strange dog to "her" house.

Welcome to DF.  Have fun posting.


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

Flak said:


> (any idea's how to break her of this would be much appreciated).


Don't avoid other dogs because you're afraid of another attack. That is the biggest piece of advice I can give you. Wheedle any friends and family you know that have well behaved dogs into having play dates. Get her out to meet as many dogs as she possibly can that are going to react well with her. Treat this like resocializing a puppy. It needs to be a proactive event, not just something that kinda happens. LOOK for opportunities to get her out and meet well behaved dogs, preferably in off-leash areas, as a leash is a very big factor in both aggression and fear. Having the dogs feel controlled exacerbates everything.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> =Flak;362833]We have been searching for a dog to adopt, primarily as a companion for our current 1.7yr old goldendoodle. Who has become insecure after two attack incidents (any idea's how to break her of this would be much appreciated). So it has made the adoption process harder then we originally thought it would be.


If I understand you correctly, your goldendoodle was attacked twice by some other dog. Yes? If so, then I would encourage you to expose her to other KNOWN dogs who are safe, so she doesn't come to associate bad things happening when other dogs are around. 




> Maybe after another 15mins of playing off and on, the staffie puppy turned and lunged at our dog growling and teeth bearing. The shelter worker grabbed the leash of the puppy to restrain her. We called our dog to our side, as we tried to leave per the workers instructions the puppy kept trying to get to our dog, the whole time growling and barking with teeth showing.
> 
> My question(s).... ahh what the hell could have happened? Is this something worth chancing? We always hear how shelter dogs are totally different once they get home.


 Hmmm. Hard to say without having been there to witness what happened. Is it worth taking a chance? I wouldn't. Look around, and you'll come up with a better match.


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