Introducing new rescue to dog aggressive dog at home?

[Lexi Stone]

I am going to rescue this super sweet pit bull, and he loves everything, and they said that he passed the temperament test with flying colors and he loves everything he lays eyes on at the shelter. Horses, dogs, people, cats, children. Anyways I'm super excited but my mom has a rescued shih tzu brat. He doesn't like other dogs. When they get near him he growls and snaps. He's not super bad, like lunging and full out attacking or anything. He just hates other dogs in his face. He warms up after a few minutes though. I just don't want any dogs in my household to become aggressive. Should I just bring him home and keep a watchful eye on them? Or should I make a point to introduce them? They say to introduce outside, but my mom's dog gets noticeably crankier outside, because it is August and we live in Florida, also he sports a long coat and is usually inside except for potty which is usually done in the early hours of the morning and at night. How do I go about bringing a new dog in? I have 2 other dogs, but I am perfectly confident they will love each other, I'm just worried about the male shih tzu.

 

[JenVT]

I would never bring another dog into a home where there is already an aggressive dog. The rescue passed the temperament tests, but you are bringing him into a home with another male dog (mistake number one) and a smaller dog at that (mistake number two). I guarantee that when that little dog makes a lunge for the pit his prey instincts will kick in and you will have a bloody mess on your hands that will be blamed on the pit. Don't bring another dog into your home until the aggressive one is gone or until you have your own place.

 

[Blazzzzin]

Yes you need to introduce them in a neutral place.

 

[? Memphis Belle ?]

What does your mom do when the Shih Tzu growl or snaps at other dogs? As you describe the dog as a "brat", then does your mom over indulge & under correct or let the behavior pass? In the absence of a real correction to make a dog think better on snapping or growling, it will continue to exhibit the behavior because it has learned it can get away with it.

As there are already two other dogs resident in the home, I suspect that the root cause may be a lack of firm calm fair leadership to teach the dog that control resides with the human not the dog, & it has the choice of toeing the line or being corrected for stepping over it. If that is the case then your mom needs to teach him he ranks below her & to respect her authority over the dog, before a fourth dog is purchased.

If on the other hand the Shih Tzu is dog aggressive by nature that is genetic & set in stone, & may not tolerate a new dog in the same way it does the two other resident dogs.