how long will it take approximately for Phoenix & Pinky to really like each other & play nice? There's not really any problems, she has now stood her ground & Phoenix doesn't bug as bad as he used to. When he tries to play with her, she won't? I've never had two dogs, so I am new to this, so it would be great if you could share some of your experiences with me if you don't mind

Honestly I bet it took Fred and Alice a good month to really get used to each other. I think I posted a while back how do you know if your dogs actually "like" each other because I was feeling the same thing. I really think they go in cycles to though. One day they love each other and the next day they annoy each other. I mean they are together 24/7 so there may be times one wants to play and the other doesn't. I have learned to just butt out and let them figure it out on their own. I will only get involved if I hear any growling that sounds to serious, which I have not yet. I think they have to get used to each other their routine. Give it time but let them do the figuring........

I would highly advise letting them work it out, under supervision of course. They WILL work it out. The goal is not necessarily for them to "LIKE" each other (although that would be nice...), but the goal is for them to work through being able to live together.

Expect some sibling rivalry. Phoenix probably doesn't like an intruder moving in on his territory and vying for your attention, and it's not surprising that he's not warming up to her immediately. Bring them together for short periods when you can supervise. In the meantime, feed them separately and give them both plenty of attention. Let Phoenix have something with Pinky's scent on it to help him get used to Pinky....at the very least, he’ll learn to tolerate her, and as Pinky becomes more comfortable with the surroundings and her new environment, their relationship will stabilize. Seniority usually rules!

That is so true Nora, in our case Fred is the Alpha and he has the seniority. We do feed seperate and give attention to both. I have found when we watch them is when they act the worst. When we aren't looking at them they play so nice.........

This is such an interesting topic to me.  As you know I've got 4 dogs but I didn't get them all at once....Loco was here first, then Mitzy arrived in 2004, then Mayfly in 2005, then Skipper almost 1 year ago.  Now Mitzy and Mayfly love each other, Skipper and Mayfly love each other.  But Mitzy and Skipper are more complicated....they will play together, sometimes lay next to each other but Skipper is very careful to give Mitzy her space as she is a very dominant female.  They had some real squabbles at first and I separated them several times...no blood or hair missing but it looked and sounded awful!  Skipper had already fought other males and had the weight advantage on Mitzy so I would stop those squabbles.  Now they rarely even have arguments.

Mayfly, although she loves Skipper and he grooms her, etc. yesterday he tried to take her bully stick - and the evil gremlin came out!  She sounds somewhat like a hobgobblin when she growls sometimes and she looks ferocious.....he argued back.  We just watched them and sure enough he backed down without them ever even touching each other.

Loco - she's neurotic and nervous and tends to trample the little ones so they put up with her but she's very submissive and lowest in the hierarchy.

Very true Janie! Thanks

Why is it there can be 1,000 toys on the ground but they always want the same one?

She really did "come around" fast, Mary Beth.  She was quite self-confident and clearly a survivor.  From the moment they let her out of the shelter cage, we could clearly see she was not hand-shy and probably had never been human abused.

We got her mid-September and I was pretty sure we were going to be able to keep her by Thanksgiving.  I had my doubts the first month, I have to admit.  Button just kept on insisting Zipper play with her, and that went a long way toward getting Zip to feel comfortable in her new home.  Considering how well-honed her "survival skills" were at age 5½ mos, she must have been stray at least two months.  No dog learns to hunt for food that well in a week or two.  Honestly, it's a testimonial to her survival drive that such a young puppy was able to find enough food to live on and survive on her own without either being hit by a car or being killed by a larger stray animal.  These little pups are sooooooooooo tiny at 3 months of age!