Help introducing another staffy.

Sorry for the long post. An elderly lady who owns a staffy fell and is unable to walk Tilly. I have been walking Tilly for her. Unfortunately Tilly doesn't really get on with other dogs. Tilly is so well behaved and very obedient in every other way and such a lovely girl. My worry is that Tilly's owner will be unable to cope with dog ownership for much longer. I would love to take Tilly into our home if this does happen but unless I can get Tilly to get on with our Gus this will never happen. My question is are there any tips to help them get on or is it a no hoper? Any help will be much appreciated.

make sure you introduce both dogs on neutral ground and both on leads,walk with them with you in the middle and the dogs on the out side of you,if and when they are comfortable with this try walking with the dogs side by side only when they look comforable with each other thou,it might take a good few walks until this happens thou,keep an eye on their body language at all times,Gus should be fine and will probably just want to play with the other dog so make sure he does'nt get over excited as pups do!!

I agree with the above but would add a couple of bits. The most important is that you don't try and do this on your own. You need another sensible, dog savvy person to walk one of them while you take the other. Given we're talking about a dog that's iffy with other dogs and a pup, it's important you get this right so as not to worry Gus. I'd suggest you find a good dog trainer to do it.

Failing that, you need somone who either knows what they're doing or someone who can follow instructions, who will take things slowly and keep relaxed - that last bit's essential.

To elaborate on what Stella says, you start walking in the same direction on a wide track/quiet road with no other dogs, and you start as far apart as you can. The objective is that you get both dogs walking individually, no sniffing each other, just walking. They can stop to sniff the ground but otherwise you keep going until you feel both of them switch off from the other, and you feel Tilly has relaxed. There should be no tension in her body at all.

Then you can allow them to drift together gradually but take them apart again after a few seconds, then closer, then apart, so that Tilly don't have time to focus on Gus and he doesn't get excited by her. If she shows any tension at all, go back to full distance until she relaxes again.

It's really important to work with Tilly on a relaxed lead, even when calling them apart it should be asking her to move away from Gus for a treat or something, not pulling. Any time you pull on the lead you will create a feeling of tension that will make her tense, which is more likely to cause a reaction from her.

You'll probably find one of two things. Either she finds she can do it with possibly one of two moments of uncertainty along the way that you need to work through, or it's really hard for her and it will take a good few walks for her to learn. Given Gus's age, I'm hopeful it'll be the former.

But if at all possible do look for a trainer, it would be fantastic if you can get it to work and such a shame if it doesn't for having not had the right person with you. There's also a safety element, dog reactive dogs can be tricky even in their owner's hands. You don't want anyone getting bitten.

Thank you so much for replies. The biggest problem we have is Gus he just wants to play all the time haha. We will put your tips into practice this afternoon. Thanks again.

You have great advice from Stella and Liz. My friend uses the lose lead walks with foster dogs & nearly always has success. I sometimes go on walks when an extra person s needed as I'm laid back & relaxed. I really hope it works out for you. It's so nice of you to help the lady out with walks

do let us know how you get on 

Hi just thought I would give an update. We have been walking them separately but meeting along the way. Yesterday we walked them alongside each other and got to a point that they were walking right next to each other. For the most part was great occasionally Tilly gave Gus a warning when he got too close in her face but a lot less aggressive than at first. Hoping to get long training leads to have them in a field together. Lots of work and long way to go but we are making progress!

Well done! Sounds very good progress. Keep the updates coming.

That's a terrific start, well done

Today has been brilliant. We let them off their leads and they just ran and played the whole time.  

Fantastic! Well done u. I bet the elderly lady is delighted her girl is getting out

Great stuff James, sounds like things are all going in the right direction

Wonderful! It's lovely to see dogs getting on so well! Well done you!

I bet Tilly can't quite believe it!

It just shows what these 'dog aggressive' pooches can do when they are set up right. Well done everyone, but especially young Gus, the true star of the show.

Thanks everybody we still have work to do but so nice to see Tilly enjoying herself now, she's even lost some weight haha. The forum has been invaluable for us. The video Liz put up of the dogs play fighting was especially helpful in getting us prepared for what was to come

The gang says they're glad they helped. They do like to be useful, just occasionally.