Harley and Newman

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shawn

Inactive Member
OK guys,
I have a new problem and I need some advise quickly.

Newman and Harley (great dane/mastiff mix that is 220lbs) met yesterday and things looked good until we went into the house.

When the dogs were in the yard, they got along fine. They played and ran and everything was good. When we went into the house (Harley's home), Harley was VERY protective of his now family and my family. He never tried to hurt Newmie, but he would bark and try to get between Newmie and whoever Newman was standing near.

I realize Harley is an alpha male and Newmie never has been, but I don't want the next 2 years of Newmie's life spent with him being corrected for trying to love his family. Do you guys think that Harley won't be so aggressive if he isn't at HIS house? I really hate for Lisa to lose Harley, but my first priority is Newman.

Any advice will be GREATLY appreciated.

For those of you who don't know: Harley belongs to a friend of mine who is pregnant with twins. She already has 2 other children, so when the other 2 get here, she kinda needs a help with some of her responsiblities (Harley) for a couple of yrs.
I had thought of being Harley's foster mom, but not at the risk of Newmie's happiness.

PLEASE HELP!!!
shawn
 
A

AmyPC

Inactive Member
Hi Shawn,

I guess all you can really do is get the boys together at your house and see how it goes. Maybe when your friend Lisa isn't there - Rich or someone could go and get Harley and bring him to your place for a couple of hours.

It would be WAY too hard to have both battling for your attention so much that it causes problems between them.

And you're right, it's not fair on Newmie to introduce a new dog who won't accept him.
 
Sound Bay Newfs

Sound Bay Newfs

Active member
Two male dogs together can be a problem especially if one is an alpha dog. But it sounds like Harley is just being protective of his family. So he may be fine in your house. He will be on someone else's turf then. Hopefully that will work better. Your heart is in the right place helping out a friend, so I'm sure things will work out for you.
Lynn
 
Nicole

Nicole

Inactive Member
Hi Shawn
Just wondering if you got Newmie and Harley together at your house and how it went?
It is a great thing that you want to do but it is not fair on Newmie if they are not going to get along.
Maybe it will just take a little time.
Please let us know how things went.
 
bridge2itnf@aol.com

bridge2itnf@aol.com

New member
U know i just dont know if i would ever be able to trust harley around Newmey, he SOOOOOOOOOOO big, it probally can be corrected , with alot of work, if you are willing to give it the time though.
Bridget
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Until We Newf Again
 
S

shawn

Inactive Member
Nicole,
No we haven't brought Harley to our house and I'm not sure when/if we will anytime soon.

Newmie and Harley are actually about the same size in height, but Harley out-weighs Newman by about 100lbs! I really don't think Harley would hurt Newman, but if he is going to make Newmie back down everytime Newmie wants to love us, then it would be SO UNFAIR to Newmie. He just gets so excited when we come home and just wants to love on us. And if Harley is here to keep him away from us (his Family!!!) then I think Newman would be so depressed and would feel so left out and unloved.

I am going to talk to Lisa today. I REALLY don't want her to lose Harley for good, but I just feel that he needs to be the ONLY dog in a family.

Harley is 5yrs old and is already such an alpha male and Newmie is not 1yr old yet and such a baby at heart (and I don't want to break it!)

shawn

[This message has been edited by shawn (edited 02-22-2002).]
 
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Kanela

Inactive Member
Perhaps calling Great Dane or Mastiff Rescue? Not all, mind you, but a lot of "no-kill" shelters won't take such a large animal and you may encounter difficulty trying to get them to take Harley. Sadly, they seem to think giant breeds have low "adoptability".


Here are the sites:
Great Dane Rescue

Mastiff Rescue. About half-way down this page, you'll find regional rescue organizations near you.

Good luck and please keep us posted on Harley's situation.

Kanela

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"To err is human.
To forgive, canine."
Newfieland.org
 
H

HPond

Inactive Member
Shawn-Here are some other Great Dane rescue links:

South Carolina: www.angelfire.com/sc2/danerescue/index.html

North Carolina at Chapel Hill: www.gdca/org/rescue.html

I think you mentioned something before that Harley just needed a temporary home for 2 years. Maybe you can work out something with them where Harley can be placed and then can go back to your friend. I hope things work out ok.


[This message has been edited by HPond (edited 02-22-2002).]
 
S

shawn

Inactive Member
THANKS GUYS! for all the responses!

I talked to Lisa today. She is leaving tomorrow to go to Charleston and I am dog sitting Harley this weekend. Before I could voice my concerns, she said that she and her husband had talked about the "get-together" and thought that Harley needed to go to a home where he was the only dog!!!!!


I was so relieved! I really hate that because they had such a GOOD time while they were outside. She actually has someone in mind and the lady that rescued Harley in the first place lives in Charleston and since Lisa will be there over the weekend, they can work on the problem at hand.

Thanks again guys.

shawn
 
M

mochaspa

Inactive Member
Hi Shawn!

I'm glad that things worked out so well for you. It was great of you to try to make things work with Harley, but I agree with you--it wouldn't have been fair to expect Harley, an established alpha dog, to behave any differently around Newmie, and it definitely wouldn't have been fair to have Newmie kept away from his family that he wants to connect with and love so dearly!

Geoff
 
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