We took Rogue as a rehome when she was only with the other family for 6 days (she was 9 weeks old when we took her), and she guarded bones, her food, her bowl, got really pissy when you tried to pet her when sleeping... I really do think this is common for pups somewhat depending on how they spent the first few weeks of their life (i.e. Rogue was from a puppy store). There's definitely ways to nip that in the butt and quick. It only lasted about a week for her, each day her reacting better. But I can understand that if you don't have the time to work on issues with integrating a new dog and working out the kinks, you probably shouldn't have another one at the moment.

Myndi wrote:

I thought the same thing and was just kinda shocked for a few seconds. I had anticipated some issues introducing them, but they took to each other perfectly. We met at a playground a few miles from my house that neither were familiar with, then the back yard, and then in the house. As long as there weren't any toys, treats, or even bowls around, Ava and Miya were fine. Introduce one of those things and it got crazy (although after about half an hour of hard-core playing they drank side by side for a few minutes). Ava was really confused by it and I was too.

When people bring a new dog into the home, I ALWAYS suggest taking away all toys for a month. Introduce treats and toys on YOUR terms, not theirs. Don't give them something to guard. Guarding is VERY common with new additions.

When we first got Hailey, not only would she not let Koda near her without baring her teeth, she'd attack him over a tennis ball. Once they finally started playing regularly, which was within a few days, anything worth anything was a reason for her to guard. And she'd snap... but that's expected. She had no idea what was hers, what was Koda's. Everything was up for grabs. So we quickly made sure she realized that ALL TOYS were MINE. Not hers. She can't guard something that isn't hers.

These things take time, much more than a few days to work out with ANY rescue.

I don't think she's had a rough life or anything. I'm guessing the breeder wasn't the best because they didn't tell her family anything about huskies, from what I've been told. She was about 8-9 weeks old when she left the breeder. I can understand a little bit of them guarding things in a new environment, but this was downright scary. I almost wish that I had a video clip of it so I could share.

With Hailey snapping, did she do it over random objects? I still don't know what exactly Miya was trying to guard in my kitchen that she got so worried over, but there aren't any toys/treats/bowls in there. It was toward both Ava and myself/my parents too, so is that something that you'd think was normal? I've just never seen reactions like that so extreme, let alone in a puppy.

Koda could have walked by her funny and she'd snap. It's totally normal. Introducing a new dog to the home is a lot more complicated than people think. It's rare that both dogs will love each other and have no issues from the start.

You have to remember that these dogs have no way to really communicate with us other than using their voices and actions. To her, a snap is a warning... it says "I'm not comfortable with what you're doing right now!" It seems "aggressive" to us, but that's only because we don't speak dog

She came into a new home... her third home in her very short lifetime. All her rules and expectations have now gone out the window. That's why it is SO important to be super strict and consistent when introducing a new dog. She needs to know what to expect at all times so that she doesn't feel so insecure.

I don't mean to make you feel badly, but nothing you have said has made me feel like this was a particularly bad case of resource guarding. It sounds like a normal rescue to me, but it's moot if you're unprepared to deal with it.

Consider also-- she had no issues playing with Ava because she knows how to play. She is good with other dogs. What she clearly doesn't know is how to LIVE, coexist and share with another dog. That's a whole different ballgame. So her getting along with Ava and playing right away doesn't mean anything other than she likes to play and will play with Ava. That doesn't mean that she's not incredibly insecure and unsure of how to behave in a home with another dog.

Maybe I was wrong then? I just don't know. Everything that you're saying is making sense, but in all of the dogs that we've rescued and rehomed before, I've never seen something like that. She is back with her owners and I don't think they're going to rehome her again because they really want to try and keep her, so I think its still probably the best situation. After I started talking to them about her things, they did say that she didn't like her toys or food messed with, even by them, so I'm hoping that we can work on that and get her out of it. Do you think that socializing her and building her confidence overall would help in fixing that issue? I still want to help them so that they can keep her - and maybe let her play with Ava some too.

Socializing will help for sure, but it's important that she gets exposed to other dog as well as Ava. She needs to be taught that the toys are not HERS. They are her owners.

They need to be practicing Nothing In Life Is Free. She shouldn't get any toys or treats without working for it. She should be made to sit and wait for her food until her owner tells her it's okay to eat. It's important that anything good or positive comes from her owners and she is made to work for it. There's no reward for existing. She needs to work for it. This teaches her that she is not the leader of the pack, YOU (or her owners) are. Hand feeding works, but I think it's more effective to make her sit and wait for her food while its prepared. Let it be down on the floor in front of her while she waits. She's only allowed to eat when mommy and daddy say so.

Boundaries. Rules. These things are just as important for dogs as they are for people.

I'm sure it has a lot to do with inexperienced owners having her and not properly working with her from the start. Rodeo would very much get nasty initially over food (not even in the bowl, just any food) as well as toys. He would steal from everyone but if someone (dog) walked by him... That wasn't cool!

It took at least 2 months for him to truly relax and be normal. Just in this past month does he cuddle and lay on the girls which to me signals he really has meshed into our home.

I know it's scary to see, especially in a young pup.