What to do?

[WhoisRebecca]

We rehomed a lovely rescue husky malamute, who is really friendly and great with people. We were told by her previous owners that she was great with other animals - they just didn’t have the time to walk her for miles, but we devote hours to running and walking with her. She’s a happy dog, but a couple of incidents have got us worried.

She gets on well with our miniature shitzhu, but on one occasion she snapped at him when he ate a treat she had dropped. Unfortunately she damaged his eye and he lost that eye. We’ve since been very careful where food is involved, but today our shitzhu was barking loudly and she snapped at him again to tell him to stop. She isn’t feeling well today and has been off her food and luckily she didn’t cause any damage - but he could easily have lost another eye. The size difference means that a nip can be dangerous. It’s not feasible to keep them separated all the time so I’m not sure what to do.

Oh god, what an awful situation. It sounds like it is beyond trying to keep them separate when there’s food around, when the husky has already caused such damage to your little dog and if she seems to react even when there’s not food around. Do you think the rescue would be able to rehome her? I know it’s not ideal when she’s already been through the system. But it sounds like she would be much better suited to be an only dog with no other pets or children (with an active couple like yourselves). Must be a horrible situation to be in. 😢

It’s heartbreaking, she’s such a lovely dog. We rehomed her directly from the previous owner so she never went into rescue originally.

I just think even if we tried to keep them separate there would always be the risk there.

I think you’ve had a name change fail, OP

Ah so I have - back to original name now. The app signed me out.

So did you rehome her privately or was it via a rescue but straight from the original owners ( like blue cross do sometimes) , if it was via a rescue then I think unless you can commit to keeping them completely separate that you need to go back to the rescue and tell them they need to find her a new home .

It was privately. The owners were going to give her to a rescue and we agreed to rehome her. She does have an upset tummy today and is a bit irritable because of that. I’m desperately trying to thing of ways we can keep her, but I don’t want to put our other dog at any risk.

This is why you should never rehome from a private person.

It is likely she was also rehomed as she doesn't like other dogs.

I would contact a breed specific rescue to see if they can rehome her (is she a Husky or a Malamute or a cross of the two?) Its not fair on your other dog. How would you like to live with a other human who'd injured you so gravely you lost an eye?

Did they get her from a rescue ?

Yes, I’m realising that now. My mum knew the owners and I trusted her when she said she was great with other animals. She’s a mix of husky and malamute. She’s not actually aggressive- it’s just the size difference that’s the issue. Shitzhu’s eyes pop out easily and can be damaged very easily - so even a warning nip (which this was) can be very dangerous. Our other dog has been perfectly happy with her since and they are fine together - it’s just the risk that concerns me.

They didn’t get her from a rescue no. She’s extremely placid and friendly with people. I just don’t trust her now with our other dog - I can’t risk it happening again.

What a difficult situation you're in. Really the bottom the line is that you're risking your little dog being left blind. I think rehoming again would be best around, hopefully he can find a home with no other animals. Best of luck.

So sad. Have you made enquiries with local or breed specific rescues?

She’s not actually aggressive- it’s just the size difference that’s the issue. Shitzhu’s eyes pop out easily and can be damaged very easily - so even a warning nip (which this was) can be very dangerous

Unfortunately OP you do have an aggressive dog on your hands. It doesn't matter that the aggression only occurs around food/with one specific dog - the fact is this dog snapped and scarred your other dog for life. That's not a warning. A warning would be a growl or an air snap - not something like you described.

I know that's not nice to hear but unfortunately this is one of the risks you take when you re-home a dog via a stranger instead of going through a rescue.

Nobody is going to say "My dog needs a new home as she's aggressive to other dogs and prone to snapping and severe food reactivity".

I think you need to prioritise your existing dogs and take her to a breed-specific rescue - and make sure you're 100% honest with them about her aggression and what she did to your poor shih-tzu.

Spot on!