Under one woof: When pet owners merge households, fur can fly

They didn’t realize how bad things were until Christi McDowell found herself in the emergency room with a bloody hand.

Before they were married, Christi and Michael McDowell each had a rescue dog: Christi had Sierra; Michael had Mildred. The dogs were both roughly 2 when Michael and Christi started dating. They would shuttle back and forth to each other’s houses, dogs in tow, and all was generally harmonious.

Then Christi and Sierra moved into Michael’s house, launching a soap opera peppered with canines, humans, overprotective snarling and isolation.

When couples or roommates move in together, and both people bring pets into the household, the transition can be very bumpy. Many times it means bared teeth, snarling, lunging and enraged barking. And every now and then it has the capacity to draw blood.

Anytime you introduce new pets into an established household, there’s potential for chaos. When trying to get everyone to co-exist, remember that some animals react strongly to major changes in their lives, says Audra Houghton, a professional dog trainer who has also dealt with these issues personally, as a dog owner.

“Some dogs who were previously housetrained may begin to have accidents in the house,“ Houghton says. “Some may chew things, and some may become aggressive.”

And if you realize that friction might accompany a move, be prepared to do something about it, says Stacy Hiebert, a canine behavior therapist.

“My biggest thing that I’ve heard old-school trainers or vets talk about is the theory that (dogs) will ‘work it out,’ “ Hiebert says. “Never, ever do that."

Meeting and introductions "should always be slow, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you need to call a professional who knows what they’re doing. Don’t just let dogs duke it out.”

But what “should“ you do when your new husband’s Rottweiler wants to have your bichon frise for an amuse bouche? Or when your girlfriend’s terrier starts eating the door frame in the guest bedroom? Here’s how some local families have managed to bring together their animals -- with varying degrees of success.

The overprotective aggressor

Owners: Michael and Christi McDowell

Pets: Mildred (black Lab mix) and Sierra (golden retriever-Lab mix)

The problems: One night last year, Michael and Christi were watching TV, with the dogs both lying on the floor. Mildred -- previously known as Michael’s dog -- got up and started making her way over to Christi. Sierra jumped up suddenly, bared her teeth and went berserk on Mildred, prompting a full-on dogfight. Thinking it was a fluke, the couple decided to ride it out. But not long afterward, it happened again. The dogs were both happy as larks in the back yard, until Christi walked out. Sierra became territorial over Christi, and the fight was on. Christi went to break it up, but got her hand in the middle of gnashing teeth. She was bitten, and it was off to the ER.

Curiously, the dogs never had a problem when the two of them were alone together. On any given day, they frolic in the back yard like best friends. And Sierra and Mildred never have a problem when they’re with just Michael. The common denominator is Christi: Every time Christi’s in the presence of both dogs, Sierra casts herself as Christi’s protector and treats Mildred as a menace. “If Sierra thought Christi was being threatened,” Michael says, “she would go to the ends of the Earth to protect her.“

What they’ve tried: Three different dog behaviorists, including one who charged $250 for an hour, and, according to Christi, “gave me a laundry list of all the things I do wrong.” Michael says one behaviorist worked with them a bit, which spurred some progress.

“But we’re still not where we need to be, as far as having both of them totally relaxed,“ Michael says. “ The behaviorist’s solution "was instead of trying to make them become best friends, try to teach them to ignore each other.”

Meanwhile, Christi is working on trying to assert herself as more of a pack leader, to plug them back into their basic instinct of the pack mentality.

However, it’s sometimes easier said than done -- especially for Christi, Michael says. “My wife’s such a sweetheart she has a hard time not just coming home from work and just loving on them, and it’s a big stress reliever for her, too. She doesn’t want to have to come home and be the boss of dogs.“

How they live now: Christi can’t be alone with both dogs in the same room. A recent photo shoot told the story: Sierra was placed in her dog crate in the living room. Things were copacetic . . . until Mildred entered the room. Then Sierra went ballistic, snarling and barking as if an ax murderer -- or the mailman -- had burst into the house. This provoked Mildred to bark back. Later, with Sierra still barking angrily in her cage, Mildred lay on her back, contentedly being stroked by Michael. Michael remarked: “And this is an improvement.”

So now, whenever Christi’s home, the dogs are rotated in and out of their crates. While Christi and Michael watch TV in the living room, one dog hangs out with them, while the other chills in her crate. Later, they’re switched. The couple realizes it’s not an ideal solution, but, says Christi, “we deal with it.“

Outlook: “ I think eventually we’ll get past it,” Michael says. Meanwhile, they’re looking into a fourth behaviorist, one who works with you for the lifetime of your dog. On down the road, Christi worries: “The real fear is what would happen if we have kids. I don’t think I could deal with the way things are now, with kids.“

Angus the angry joins the family circus

Owners: Audra Houghton and Andy Thomas

Pets: Angus (English bulldog), Marlo (Great Dane), Tyson (boxer), Wee Dog (Chihuahua mix) and Bill the lovebird

The problems: Dog lover Andy Thomas had good fortune; he fell in love with a professional dog trainer. His girlfriend, Audra Houghton, has been training dogs professionally for six years, after completing a 120-hour course through PetSmart; she’s also earned certifications as a K9 handler through the National Narcotics Detector Dog Association.

When Andy moved in to Audra’s house in Dallas a few months ago, he brought Angus, who is a sweetheart with humans but slightly aggressive toward other dogs.

And Audra has a bird and three dogs of her own, plus a few she fosters -- and that’s not counting the dogs she occasionally trains and boards as part of her business.

In their living room on a recent October afternoon, there were just four, plus the lovebird in his cage. Angus snorted his way around the room, overturning a coffee table. And as Tyson stood on his hind legs and pawed visitors, Wee Dog tore around like a tiny dervish. All the while, Marlo happily wagged her mile-long tail, giving a hearty lashing to unsuspecting thighs, faces, and fire pokers.

When Andy and Angus moved in, the couple wanted to make sure they could trust Angus with the other dogs -- notably Wee Dog, who is, well, wee.

“And when Wee Dog runs, he looks like a rabbit sometimes.” Which no doubt looks just scrumptious to Mr. Angus. But Angus has also been known to snap at Marlo, who, despite the fact that she’s as big as a pony, is still pretty much all gangly puppy, at a year and a half. Marlo wants to play; Angus does not.

One other issue needed work: the relationship between Marlo and Bill the lovebird. “She’s so big she could easily knock that cage over,“ Audra says.

What they’ve tried: With Audra’s training, the couple say it really didn’t take Angus long to calm down considerably. As the McDowells are learning with their brood, the humans must assert themselves as the pack leaders. As for what happens with the rest of the pack status, Audra says it’s best to let the dogs establish their own pecking order. It’s tempting, she says, to label a dog “dominant,” “submissive“ or “alpha,” but she says those aren’t really labels so much as descriptions of behavior that’s occurring at a specific point in time. “The small ones can be in charge,“ Audra says.

Another important element was making sure each dog had its own space. Angus usually stays in the kitchen with the baby gates up, or in the living room. Marlo sleeps in her crate, and Wee Dog and Tyson stay loose in the house.

Audra has also used a technique respected among trainers that’s called the “Nothing in Life for Free” method. How it works: Whenever you’re rewarding your dog with anything -- a treat, a scratch behind the ears, a walk, affection in general -- make the dog work for it by giving him or her a command, such as “Sit.“

“Your dog needs to have a job,” Audra says. “Setting guidelines and rules can really help to mentally stimulate them. It causes them to need to think instead of just reacting.“

How they live now: There’s a relative -- albeit cacophonous -- harmony in the house now, with pets mostly knowing their place in the pack. There are a few issues to work out with Angus, who can still tense up around other dogs.

Meanwhile, Marlo and Bill have established a bit of a Tracy-Hepburn-like rapport. When Marlo presses her face up against Bill’s birdcage, Bill occasionally bites her on the nose.

Audra notes that the dogs weren’t the only ones who had to adjust to the move: Andy has had to learn to sleep with the noise of so many animals in one house -- licking, scratching, snoring, lip-smacking, nails click-clacking across the hardwood floors in the middle of the night. The solution: sleeping with fans on to drown out all the animal noises.

Outlook: The couple are betting that one big life change in December will help everyone: They’re moving to San Antonio, into a place that’ll be new to everyone. That means all the dogs will be on neutral territory, which is generally easier on blended-pet families, Audra says. One thing is certain, she adds: “Our dogs are very important to us, so getting rid of any of them is not an option.”

Reference: www.freep.com

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