Anna asked:


I have this dog, six years old, 18 in. tall, Blue Heeler mix, named Dingo, who is the love of my life. He’s an awesome guard dog, which is the main reason my dad keeps him around. The only problem is…well, there are actually two problems. The most pressing one is that he’s very aggressive towards other dogs, at least while on the leash. He got out once and made friends with a stray pack of dogs, so I know he can make friends with other dogs, as long as it’s on his terms. The other problem is that he’s a genius, and that gets to be a problem when he’s bored. We recently went on vacation to Nashville and when we got back, Dingo had a huge scab on his face that looked like he’d run into a sausage grinder. Turns out he had jumped over the 5-foot-tall wooden enclosure he has in the garage and shoved his face through the plywood garage partition trying to get out, maybe to another dog. He also chewed on the two garage doors.

Enter Tramp. I’m volunteering at a vet’s office, and there’s this little rescued stray there that I call Tramp. He’s a little smaller than Dingo, very submissive, calm, sweet, all the things needed to balance my dog out. I believe that, if we adopt him and he submits to Dingo and they become friends, it will keep Dingo from getting bored and destructive and aggressive towards strange dogs. I’ve just about convinced my dad to let me get him, so my question is, what’s the best way to introduce Dingo to Tramp?

Dingo will be the more dominant of the two, and I want to avoid a fight at all costs. Any ideas? Thanks!

Garage Doors