‘We wanted to give two dogs a home, and we won’t give up on them now’: A ruff start left two rescue dogs saved from an overcrowded shelter at odds , but their determined pawrents refuse to give up on them, turning to trainers and daily behavior work

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Sep 5, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Sometimes biting off more than you can chew can really come back around to bite you back, especially in doggo adoption, it seems. As the couple who feature in today's story found out the hard way. They hoped that they could do double to good by adopting twice the amount of doggos that are usually adopted in one go.

On paper this sounded excellent, two puppers get to live a life of happiness, and the couple's family grows by eight lovely paws all in one go, what could possibly be wrong with that? Well, as it happens, the two canine children they brought into their home, turned out to have a bit of an issue with one and other. The kind of issue that meant they could not be left alone, not even for a moment. And while the pawrents were indeed overwhelmed by the madness, they did not let that dampen their mood and instead did everything they could to bring these two puppers together, but did it work?
 

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  • 01
    My partner and I are struggling with what to do with 2 recently- rescued dogs that were getting along until one thema** d the other recently (nod drawn, but he wouldn't let go of the other dog who was
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  • 02
    screaming). We also want to start a family in the near future, and I have a looming feeling like this won't be able to work out with the aggressive dog. I'm falling apart because we love both of them and they are sweet to us. I feel like I failed them and
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  • 03
    made a dumb decision to get 2 dogs that's now harming everybody. Any advice or even just words of sympathy would be helpful! Backstory: we rescued two dogs about 1.5 months ago from a shelter that had over 200
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  • Wow, now that is certainly not something you would expect to have happen when you rescue two dogs that have come from the same place. Sure they might not be siblings, but they have been living together for some period of time and should have some sort of familiarity, at least enough for the shelter to know if there are any issues between them.

  • 04
    dogs. We let the shelter know we were looking to adopt 2 dogs. We picked 2 dogs that did not know each other (shelter didn't mention they had any bonded pairs) and we had no history of the dogs, but they were featured at the rescue so we felt
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    good about that. "Heart" (1yo, Female med-sized mutt) was described as dog-friendly but likes to jump on other dogs. "Buddy" (5yo, Male, large ACD mix) was described as a sweet boy and dog- neutral. We wanted to get 2 so that they could have a companion.
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    After a few weeks, we found out that Buddy (5yo) is very anxious and reactive (barking, lunging, growling) towards strangers and dogs, ears are up and alert and pacing as soon as we step out of the house. Heart (1yo) is more confident and slightly reactive to
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  • 07
    two dogs play fighting in a field
    via sue via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    some dogs and people. Both dogs have never hurt us or shown signs of aggression towards us, and we feel very safe with them. Both dogs seem bonded to us. The dogs did not get along at first. Specifically, Buddy didn't like Heart in
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  • 09
    his space. With many walks together and by gradually decreasing their distance, we got them to a point where, for the last month, they have been best friends, licking each other, play-fighting together, sleeping on each other, riding in the
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  • 10
    car together. We felt like a close-knit, loving family. My partner and I have been doing basic obedience training and exposure therapy/counter- conditioning with both of them every day.
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  • 11
    This week, I let the 2 dogs in the same room, and as usual, they began playing. Almost immediately, the fight escalated and Heart was screaming on the floor, Buddy's mouth was gripped around her mouth. I tried to pull him off and he wouldn't
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  • Ah nuts, after all that progress and investment of time and effort, it is so sad that they slipped back to their old ways so quickly and easily. But at least these two know that their new pawrents truly care about them with the amount of attention and effort that are being put into them.

  • 12
    release. Eventually, I pried his mouth open and he easily released. There was p. p on the floor. I ended up with a Level 3 bite on my hand, but I don't know from which dog, and I don't think it was intentional. I couldn't find any signs of d
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  • 13
    drawn, although there was b d on the white of Heart's eyeball a day later. I was watching them the entire time leading up to the a ck, and I didn't see any obvious triggers (strange people, dogs) or any warning signs from Buddy, like growling or
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  • 14
    showing teeth. Now I realize there were signs that he was agitated before the attack--pacing, nervous tail wagging, ears up. I have a few theories about what the trigger could have been--my partner was cooking and it was making a lot of
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  • 15
    noises and smells, he had to pp, Heart accidentally scratched his nose. They are only guesses though. Aftermath: The dogs now stay in two different rooms separated by a baby gate. Heart seems affected by the fight and
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  • 16
    two medium sized dogs play fighting
    via jonnysek via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    scared of Buddy, although she has shown him affection through the gate. Buddy seems unaffected and happy- go-lucky.
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    Now: It hasn't yet been a week, but we have a dog behaviorist who will be coming in 3 weeks. We have Buddy signed up for a reactivity group class that will begin in 2 months. Heart will continue to go to PetSmart classes. I will
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  • 19
    start doing muzzle training with Buddy. For the immediate future, I'm committed to taking them on more walks and playing more fetch, more money on professional help. I know about the 3- 3-3 rule and want to check back in after 3
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  • 20
    months. I want to do my best to help Buddy, but I'm scared I can't predict his triggers and don't want Heart to learn his behaviors. I'm also scared about how my partner and I can start our family.
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refuse behavior dogs trainer determined give up reddit story saved wont rescue dogs crowded pawrents ruff dog story animal shelter home
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