Help! New shelter dog hates my current dog!

With only seven days to make a decision, the new one might have to go back to she shelter. Not fair to Sadie at all, but you do have to look out for the well being of the whole family.

You dont know Sadie's background, and it sounds to me as if she sees your dog as a threat to her security.
Most dogs will get on if the owner takes the role of leader and makes the intro gradual and non threatening.
If it wasnt for the surgery I would suggest two of you (humans) taking the two dogs for a long walk together, close enough so they can be in each others company, but under enough control so they dont fight.
Repeat and repeat, making the whole walkies thing fun, making sure to wear them out in the process.
The new one has to feel that it is a regular member of the pack, and I've always found that this is the best way to do it.
I acquired a nervous wreck not so long ago, and he fought like hell to head in the opposite direction to any dog that was approaching.
Several weeks of walking with all of my dogwalking friends, he now runs freely with "the pack", and has become so laid back he now allows our cat to curl up and sleep with him in his bed.
For a trained Greyhound, that's not bad.

Dont give up.....dont give either a cause to be jealous and be firm and take the lead when bad behaviour happens. She'll calm down in the end, I'm sure.

I not an expert on dogs meeting, exactly.

A certain old cowboy on a2k said let's let the dogs meet, they'll work it out, no leashes.

He was correct, although I was in full panic.

I post this as a placemark - Roger may be right on this, I don't know.

Brilliant - makes good sense.

And what is your newbie doggy's name? (Not that it is any of my business)

Thank you I will try the walk tonight with my mom. I am really hoping it works out

My current dog is Sophie
New dog is Sadie

Yes, I know. And wish them both very well, preferably together.

I was wondering about the name of Lordyaswas' new greyhound rescue. Lordwhatsit seems to have a lot of experience in all this.

Totally agree. I looked after my sister's dog. Scrappy hates my murphy. I took them for a ton of walks and Scraps learned to tolerate my hound. Now they can be in the same room with no problems.

Do you know how to do a phrase search on Google with parenthesis? ("not friendly" new old dog.)

What do you mean? I'm not following.

Well, you don't know what Sadie's past background was like, in terms of her experiences with other dogs. She may become easily defensive and aggressive because of those experiences, or she may not have been well socialized to be around other dogs. And Sophie's initial enthusiasm and "welcome" might have frightened her. In addition, I don't know what kind of surgery that Sadie just had, but she might be in discomfort and feeling rather on edge because of that, coupled with being in new, unfamiliar surroundings.

Don't panic. I don't think what you're describing is at all that unusual. I really think the problem will work out with time, familiarity, and some obedience and aggression training for Sadie.

Fortunately, your dog Sophie seems to be more accepting of the new dog who has suddenly appeared on her turf--probably because she is used to having foster dogs in the home.

Continue keeping both dogs on a leash, and apart, when you bring them together in the same place--you shouldn't put either dog at risk, and you shouldn't risk getting bitten. Try giving Sadie little treats when she remains calm in Sophie's presence, even for very short periods, and tell her, "Good calm". Don't let her get close to Sophie at all, until she is completely calm (and so is Sophie) through several of these "meet and greet" sessions. You might consider using a harness on Sadie with the leash, rather than attaching the leash to her collar, it's a firmer, less painful (for her) way of holding onto her, and keeping her body away from Sophie, if she starts pulling on the leash.

I think you have to start obedience training with Sadie ASAP. She has to learn to respond to you, and your commands, now. She needs to learn "sit" and "stay" so you can control her in Sophie's presence. She has to learn to inhibit her aggressive behaviors, certainly toward Sophie, and she has to learn how to calm herself, with your help. She's capable of learning all of that.

There is plenty of advice on the internet for dealing with this sort of problem. Here's one site, but there are loads of others.
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/4_12/features/5417-1.html

There are also You Tube videos that address the problem.

You might also consider taking Sadie to some puppy classes, even though she's not a puppy, or to some regular obedience classes, where she'll be around other dogs while she's learning.

Given time, patience, firmness, and consistency, in training Sadie, and in helping her to adapt to her new surroundings (which include Sophie), I think it will all work out all right. Hang in there.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family.

Thank you so much Firefly I appreciate this so much and you have restored my faith.

She was just recently spayed but now that she has become comfortable in our home and the grogginess of the surgery has worn off her true personality has come out. She is still very energetic like a puppy and LOVES to give kisses and snuggle up on the bed.

We are taking her to get her first check up tomorrow as well as update all of her vaccines. If the vet gives me an O.K. that she is ready for obedience I will enroll her starting next week. Again thank you so much! Your answer was very helpful