I am new to the board and need some help...

I just got a 5 month old dogue de bordeaux(french mastiff) on sunday and she is having a hard time adjusting to my male american bulldog who is just shy of a year old. She is a real sweetheart but I am afraid that she has not been exposed to many people or animals. She is actually fine with my cats but growls and stands her ground with my other dog. I have been working with them both since she has become a little less stressed keeping him on a leash if he invades her space. When she does growl I tell her NO firmly and walk away. I don't want to ruin her or make the situation worse. She is also fearful of other people and stays off on her own when they are here. I have never had this problem introducing my past dogs so this is new to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. She is trying to come around but I believe she is becoming territorial over myself. Thanks jill

 

Right know I would guess they are trying to establish a pecking order. I would supervise them together. As for her being shy around other people. I would socialize her as best as you can. Let her know that other people wont hurt her. You dont want her to only like you cause you will have problems with that later on. Just let both of them know how much you love them. Spend time with each of them together and seperate. Make sure everyone gets even attention. Hopefully someone with some more advice will come along! Good luck with your new pup and we want pics!

 

Welcome, from all the things i have read they say keep them apart and introduce them slowly to each other giving alot of attention to the dog that was there first. She may just want to be boss and you got to show her your the leader of the pack.

 

Thanks kindness I forgot to mention that, about making sure they know she is the leader!

 

What sort of a background does the new dog come from? Is she a resue from a shelter, or any situation where you don't know about her past treatment or care? I don't like to give advice because I'm not an expert... so I prefer to just share my own experiences. And what my experience has been is this... I have always adopted my dogs from shelters, or in the case of my present dog Rusty, we found him abandoned and rescued him from the side of a highway. And what I have experienced with all of these dogs is that they came with a few issues... whether it be fear from being treated mean, abuse, neglect, etc. And with pretty much any of them, they were a bit defensive, nervous, and anxious at first. And what it brought out in them is the natural instinct in dogs to try to sort of find their place in the pack, so to speak... by showing dominance in different dog type ways. And in some cases, like with Rusty, he was very little and afraid. He didn't know at first what living with us would be like, if he was going to have the things he needed, if he would have to fight for survival any more.... all of those things. So the first few days he did show a few of those behaviours. But within a fairly short time, he started to see that it was going to be okay, that he was loved and cared for, and that he and the cat really could live in peace under the same roof, because they were both going to get all of the food, shelter, and attention they needed.
And even if your dog doesn't come from anything bad in her past, maybe just the tension of adjusting to everything new is still a bit hard for her.
Have you tried maybe just letting her sit back and see how you treat the other dog... how he gets attention, and played with, and all those good things? Maybe she needs to see second hand that being a dog in your house is a good thing, and has it's perks.... She sounds shy, and like she may need a little time to feel secure and find her place in your "pack"
Anyway, just a few thoughts.... if you continue to have a hard time, it might be worth calling around to see if there is a good trainer or dog behaviour person in your area. I'll bet she's a beautiful dog!

 

thank you all.....

I want to thank you all for the advice. I will take it all into consideration. I am sure it will take some time and am willing to do whatever I need to so that she can have a good home with me. I dont know how to post a picture so if anyone can help me I will do so. She is adorable and my other is very handsome.... Thanks again[/img]

 

Sounds to me like she hasn't been socialized properly.

I get alot of puppies like this.

The best thing I know to do is to constantly supervise them at home, and expose her to all kinds of situations. Take her and him to pets mart or a dog park. Let them be around many people and other dogs.

Also. When they are at home. Give them both equal attention. They are going to spar here and there. Thats natural. They have to establish the pecking order.