Magdalena is not transitioning well into the pack structure.
We did get her to a vet and had a heartworm test done. It came back negative, thankfully. We also got her some heartworm / flea / tick preventative medication. We have to take her in next week for her next round of vaccines and to get her spayed.
She has had several knock down, drag out skirmishes with Major Tom, and once she attacked Sirocco. Food triggered it each time. We’ve been trying to feed her away from the other dogs but none of the dogs finish their food in one eating. I’ve taken to removing their food bowls if anything is leftover when they finish.
When she attacked Sirocco it was my mistake. I had a small treat for each dog and was handing them out on the porch. Sirocco dropped his and as he went to get it, Magdalena pounced on him. Sirocco screeched and I grabbed Magdalena quickly and dragged her aside then rapped her on the head. Sirocco was scared and crawled into my arms. I took him inside and looked him over but couldn’t find any signs that she’d bitten him, or at least not deeply.
She has had the least amount of trouble with Houdini. Magdalena came over while I was working on the computer, and Houdini was on the floor at my feet. He snapped at her once and that was the end of things.
We’ve kept Magdalena separated from the other dogs unless we can supervise them all. She loves sleeping by the wife, and stays on the doggy bed under the wife’s desk. We bring her in the living room with the other dogs so we can keep an eye on everybody, and they usually behave.
We aren’t sure if Magdalena has ever had dog toys to play with or other dogs to interact with. She doesn’t seem to know how to play. She shows no interest in the dog toys, but she does like tennis balls. Even then, she’ll chase the ball for a bounce or two, then loses interest. She watched Major Tom and Sirocco playing for a while in the living room but didn’t show any interest in joining them.
We took Magdalena on the front porch, leashed of course, and brought the other dogs out one at a time to interact with her. She lunged at Sirocco, but it was in that front end down, rear end up stance dogs get in when they want to play. Sirocco wouldn’t have any of it though and kept away. She and Major Tom ignored each other. We didn’t let Houdini meet as I walked him and Magdalena together this morning and they did fine.
Things seemed to be going well until this evening. We left Magdalena in the backyard with her food and water while we took a friend out to eat. The other dogs ate inside. After dinner, we brought our friend over to see Magdalena. They met and things went well. The wife decided to stay at the house with the dogs while I drove our friend home.
When I got back the wife was breathing heavily and seemed distraught. I asked her what was wrong. She said about a minute after I left Major Tom went outside with Houdini and Major went to Magdalena’s food bowl. She didn’t like that and attacked Major Tom, and Houdini got caught in the crossfire. The wife finally got them separated but was flustered and having some chest pains. We got her taken care of and kept Magdalena outside for most of the evening.
By herself, Magdalena is a sweet and loving dog. She likes to be around us and is a snuggler. But around the other dogs she is a time bomb. My biggest concern is if she sees Sirocco as prey or not. If so, that can be a deal breaker. We would have to find Magdalena a new home, one with people who will take care of her and have no other dogs.
One friend tells me that females that act aggressive like that toward other, smaller dogs, don’t ever get over it and it is only a matter of time until she ends up killing them. He says it is in their nature and no amount of training or conditioning will keep it from happening. I can hope he is wrong but I’m afraid he is right. The vet said it can take time, sometimes a few weeks, sometimes as much as three month, sometimes never, to get a new dog to integrate into a pack. We’ll have to keep monitoring things and see how it goes.
We’d like to keep Magdalena and integrate her into the pack, but if not, the wife is prepared to rehome her if necessary. I’ll keep you updated my Hordeling. And if you have insights on successfully integrating a new dog into an existing pack, leave a comment and let me know.
If you’d like to support my efforts, why not buy me a chocolate chip cookie through my Ko-Fi page? https://ko-fi.com/jhusum