# I adopted a second GSD today



## kirsten (Jun 25, 2013)

She is a black female around 1 year 6 months old came in as a stray. Appears to be purebred? I have named her Xena. I thought she was spayed but last minute the shelter informed me she wasn't, so she was sent to the vet to get spayed and I picked her up and brought her home. Not the ideal situation to bring a new one home as she is most likely in pain and groggy, now thrown in a new situation. 

She is doing good so far though. I am keeping her crated, goes out to go potty and did two nice firm stools. She has done great with my 3 small pugs and doesn't seem care about the cat. 

I took my 7 month old female GSD puppy Riley in to visit her at the shelter and they got along great there. Played a ton, Xena was very gentle and let Riley climb all over her. They played with a toy together too. Xena was also kept in a kennel with another dog; a female lab mix. 

However the few times Riley has stopped to visit Xena in her crate, Xena will show her teeth and do a low growl. Hopefully just letting Riley know to stay away since she doesn't feel like playing? I am trying to keeps Riley from peering into her crate and taking them out separately so Riley won't try to play. I will start taking them for small walks together once Xena is feeling up to it. 

She only wanted to eat a couple pieces of cooked chicken breast for dinner tonight. 

Just thought I'd introduce Xena. Any tips on older adult adoption introductions or spay healing tips would be appreciated. Riley is next on the list to get it done.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

congratulations, she is very pretty!

She sounds like a sweetie Some dogs are possessive of their crate space, and that's probably why she's sneering at Riley, so yes, I'd try to keep him from bugging her/peering into her crate..

Spaying, you want to keep her toned down for atleast a good week/10 days, so she can heal


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Thank you for adopting this pretty girl!

I wish you luck with your 2 girls, 2 females that close in age can be a disaster but some have success!


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

She is really beautiful. I don't have any advice, but thanks for adopting her!


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

If you just brought her home after a spay surgery and she was not eating well, she was not feeling well. It might be best to keep Riley away from her for several days until Xena has time to feel better. Her entire life has been changed in many ways pretty quickly and she is in pain from surgery. Keep her quiet and on a leash for several days. 

It is often several weeks before you will see true behavior in dogs that are brought in to a new home. Stay watchful and vigilant. My friend is going through this right now with a GSD that the shelter reported to ignore cats. The dog had "shut down" at the shelter. Now that she is in a home again, she grabbed my friend's seventeen year old cat twice and now needs a new home because the initial report of being cat-neutral was not accurate.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

WVGSD said:


> It is often several weeks before you will see true behavior in dogs that are brought in to a new home. Stay watchful and vigilant. My friend is going through this right now with a GSD that the shelter reported to ignore cats. The dog had "shut down" at the shelter. Now that she is in a home again, she grabbed my friend's seventeen year old cat twice and now needs a new home because the initial report of being cat-neutral was not accurate.


Yes, good point!

OP don't leave your girls out together alone and unsupervised!


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## arby665 (Nov 21, 2012)

My Karly is very possessive of her crate and Briggs knows not to go near it. Luckily this is the only thing she is possessive of. I think she is entitled to her own space so I let it be. Good luck with Xena!


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## kirsten (Jun 25, 2013)

Xena is feeling much better today. She ate and is wanting to play but I've been keeping her quiet. She will always be crated when I can't supervise her. Same goes for Riley. So far Xena has been the perfect patient though.


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## Rbeckett (Jun 19, 2013)

LaRen616 said:


> Thank you for adopting this pretty girl!
> 
> I wish you luck with your 2 girls, 2 females that close in age can be a disaster but some have success!


My girls are 5 days apart and both 25 months old. There is no competition between the two at all. The inside dog asserted herself the day she arrived and life settled down and smoothed out considerably since. There is no turmoil or question that they have a social structure, but Mom and Dad rule the roost and what we say goes. Congrats for adopting, cast offs need homes and love just like a brand new unused puppy. Used dogs also tend to be more lovey dovey for some reason I don't have any empirical evidence to support that but all of our girls have been rescues and saves and they have all been excellent pets after a brief learning phase. Good luck, now that you have your hands full with two!!!!

Wheelchair Bob


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## kirsten (Jun 25, 2013)

Well tonight she showed some aggression at Riley over a toy they of course both wanted. Riley has no concept yet of personal space and that she can't just take whatever she wants. Riley has gotten away with bossing the pugs around. She backed off totally when Xena told her to, but she did give Riley a nip on the nose. I hope this isn't a bad sign but I know Xena is totally stressed (who wouldn't be) as she is panting a lot, plus the pain from her spay. Riley is one crazy energized puppy too even though Riley spent the whole day with me at the barn and should be exhausted!


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## sewwitch21 (Aug 29, 2011)

Congrats to you and thank you for adopting!
Laurie


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

kirsten said:


> Well tonight she showed some aggression at Riley over a toy they of course both wanted. Riley has no concept yet of personal space and that she can't just take whatever she wants. Riley has gotten away with bossing the pugs around. She backed off totally when Xena told her to, but she did give Riley a nip on the nose. I hope this isn't a bad sign but I know Xena is totally stressed (who wouldn't be) as she is panting a lot, plus the pain from her spay. Riley is one crazy energized puppy too even though Riley spent the whole day with me at the barn and should be exhausted!


I had a toy and food aggressive dog so please listen when I say, *take ALL of the toys and food away!* I would not allow them to eat near each other and I would not allow toys out while both dogs are out. 

Xena biting Riley was a *warning*, once you have an actual fight then they may never get along again. They say that once females fight then they will always fight.

You will not see Xena's true personality for a couple more weeks, once she gets comfortable in your home her real personality will come out.


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## kirsten (Jun 25, 2013)

Thanks for the advice. I took away all the toys they had interest in and figured they can play with them in their crate if they want. Luckily Xena doesn't seem to be food aggressive but I am keeping them separate when they eat just in case. I just hope she won't start being possessive of me next. She is a really sweet dog.


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## kirsten (Jun 25, 2013)

Since I took away the balls and nylabones (the toys they both really wanted) there have been no issues. I also renamed her Kala as my husband didn't like Xena. She is fitting in great!


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