[iangb]

We have recently brought home a new dog that we found as a stray. She's a 1 year old husky.

We have two other dogs in our house. Seven year old Male and Eight year old Female.

We are (currently) having two problems with the new dog/old dogs.

1. The new dog is exhibiting high anxiety when in a crate. We are slowly trying to introduce this to her as a safe place. Offering treats, praise, kind words etc. When she goes in. Not responding to the anxiety while she's in. And giving no response when she comes out. Any further advice on how to proceed? How long must we keep this up?

2. The older dogs are not accepting the new dog. Well, not sure if that is exactly correct. They are for the most part ignoring her. In human terms, I would describe it as the two older ones forming a "clique" which leads me to believe they have not really accepted her into the pack. Also, the new dog, being young, is quite playful. She offers play bows to the older dogs, they don't respond. She'll paw at them, placing paws on their backs and such, which I'm guessing may be attempts/interpretted as dominance challenge. The older dogs growl and snap.

[labman]

At a year old, she still wants to play like a puppy. Less so males, but many dogs lose interest in biting games as they mature at about 3. How much do you see the older dogs playing? If they are ignoring her, that may be as much as you can hope for. In time, they may accept her better. Wouldn't hurt to give her a chance to play with some younger dogs as much as you can. Be sure and give the older dogs as much or more attention as they are used to.

Good leadership on your part is important. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position

One good technique with the crate is the Kong filled with peanut butter or soft cheese. It takes a dog a long time to lick the peanut butter out of a Kong. Longer yet if you freeze it. Not sure how long it will take. I once kept a stray Husky for about a month, and he never accepted the crate very well.

Thank you for taking her in. We have so many nice dogs needing homes.

[RubyPitbull]

Hi iang! It sounds like you are proceeding on the correct path here. Please follow labman's advice. You may want to check around and see if there are any doggy daycare groups in your area, or dog runs, to let her burn off that excess puppy energy.

As labman states, the situation may be as good as it will ever get. The only way to know is to give it time. These things don't work themselves out that quickly. You have a major age difference in the dogs. Your two older dogs are used to each other and having your family's attention. Throwing a much younger dog into the mix is upsetting to their regular routine. They all will eventually find their places in your pack and among each other. Continue with the crate. Considering what is going on now, she needs a place that she can go off to for comfort. She may not like it now but you seem to have a good handle on the "not making into a huge issue" situation. She will eventually settle down and view it as her safe haven.

I ditto labman's sentiments on your bringing another dog into your home. Had she gone to a shelter she might have been euthanized due to lack of space. Thank you for having such a kind heart. We need more people like you in this world.