I lost my Candy in Oct....we got Tootsie about seven days later. I had Candy for ten years before I Lost her...she was with me in college and got me through law school and the BAR exam before she left me. She really did...I study too much sometimes and she would just come and sit on my books and make me take a much needed break. Toots is not Candy and I still miss my baby but Toots has her own charm...like when she wiggles her butt when its feeding time or when she wants to lay and she grabs ALL of her toys. I think you just have to look at you new baby as her/his own "person", and remember that she hasn't gotten to know you yet either to be your perfect dog...she needs love right now just as you do. You have to let go of your grief, not forget your old dog, just think of the good times and don't dwell on the end. You said your new dog is a good dog...spend time with him and get to know the quirks and personality of your new family member. He can help you get over your grief if you allow him too. When Candy died I went into deep depression....its hard to sleep all day and cry when you have a bundle of love waiting for you and begging for attention.

Fl-CountryB, You are in a difficult situation. You miss Rocky. You miss her more than Holly does. Holly misses her but dogs seem to have a sense of acceptance about death that we as humans don't. I suspect bringing Buddy home was more for your comfort. This is okay. Thousands of dog lovers do this. We can't help it. We love our dog packs. I have had the good fortune of always adding a puppy to the pack. The puppy has to work for and learn who is boss. I will say I have one male who still tries to challenge the top female. She is old and frail but she is still top dog and number 2 knows this. No one has ever bitten. But there was plenty of wrestling, playing and at times a nip would occur that would make someone yelp. Biting means they have forgotten you are the TRUE boss. It's easy to do. You had two old dogs and they knew the routine. Now, you have to start all over. I would not fret too much. Things will work out but you have to be the Top Alpha in this pack family of yours. Hard work but you can do it. There are two ways to go with this. Different dog trainers use different paths. 1) The first path is You are the alpha who choose the totem pole order.... Holly needs to respect your orders not act like she can push Buddy around. This does not mean that Buddy should not be pushed. He needs to learn your top dog. Buddy is trying to find his place and push her to the max. He wants to find his boundaries. All new dogs and puppies do this. And you can decide which should be number 2. If you decide it is Holly. Buddy will need to visit the crate more often for time outs, he will need to be fed 2nd, get in the car 2nd, he will need to be leashed more and respectful of his place. Since you are the alpha you dictate who does what, where, when, how. Holly will feel happy not to be displaced. She might even be nice to Buddy when you are not looking. And in time she may come to take a nap next to him. Give her time to realize her place will always be #1. Buddy will have to accept this and he will come to respect Holly or he goes to the crate. I personally think this path is the best in your situation because Holly is older and needs your support being top girl. And with her happy, Buddy will fall into acceptance. he is the new roomie after all. 2) The second path or dog training option is to let them work it out.... ( I do not think this path is for you but let me explain so you can decide.) This may be the most difficult . It hurts to watch nature. This is easy to do when adding a new puppy. Puppies never challenge an alpha so the order is set. 2 adult dogs vying for the Alpha spot. Holly has a lot to loose and Buddy wants to survive. All interesting dynamics with a violent nature. If you have a big yard that is the place to "fight it out". Have a friend nearby to help watch them play and possibly call 911 if you get hurt separating them. They COULD work it out. I say COULD because with two adult dogs the fighting could start up again a month from now. Or even 6 months from now. The unknowns are there. If Buddy does win you need to let him be the new top dog. This means Holly has given up. She may be injured when she does this.. I must warn you it is painful to watch. It will be very hard because you are still mourning Rocky. We mourn our dogs centuries later. I still miss my first. But this is the nature of canines. If Buddy becomes number 1 he will need to be treated as such. You will mourn this change terribly with Holly. This is my personal reason for thinking you should go with number 1 path. You are the Alpha in number 1 and making a natural pecking order. Easier to do. Best of luck and don't give up on this. You can make a great home for both. Sorry to be so long, but I truly understand your woes. ~boxerpups

daggett, I have 14 cats and 3 dogs, two of whom are herders. Pippin is an Aussie with moderate herding drive, and Tasha is presumably an Aussie mix with VERY intense herding drive. All of my cats have lived with dogs for as long as the cats have been members of my family. Even so, they are wisely nervous and cautious around dogs they don't know. When we adopted Pippin as a newly neutered young adult, he came from an Aussie rescue where he had been fostered with a cat or two. I was told he was curious about the cat but not at all pushy, so I thought he'd make a great fit for our family. When he arrived, he was, indeed, curious about the household cats and spent some time trying to follow them around until they hissed and backed him off. He took their reprimands well and left them alone. The next day, Pip and the other dogs came out to the barn with me for morning chores. The eldest cat, Billy, had gone out earlier to start his daily farm sentry duties. As soon as Pippin caught sight of Billy, he took off after him with bloodlust in his eyes. This was no playful romp. This was a hungry wolf after a rabbit. I screamed at Pip and ran after him, but he could not be called off. He was after a kill, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. He didn't know me yet and hadn't accepted me as his pack leader. He also didn't know Bill and hadn't identified him as part of his new family pack. Gratefully, Billy escaped into the hayshed before Pip caught up with him, and I eventually caught up with Pip and dragged him back to the house, screaming at him along the way. If I hadn't had Pip flown up to me in MN from TX, I would have returned him to the rescue that day. Because that wasn't an immediately available option, I decided on a different tactic. I purchased a muzzle and put it (and a leash) on Pip when he came outside with me. He continued to be fine with the cats indoors, but it took about a month before I trusted him outdoors without the muzzle. With Pip, the key was to give him time to identify and integrate into his new family pack and to understand and accept the pack order. Over the course of a month, he realized that all of the cats were part of his new pack, and he never chased one of them again, inside or out. In fact, Pip is submissive to all the cats (he's a submissive personality, anyway). It wasn't until I got Pip into basic obedience classes, however, that he fully accepted me as his alpha pack leader. Tasha was and is a different matter altogether. We adopted her as a tiny puppy, so she was raised in a household full of cats. Even so, she has always been much more problematic for the cats than has Pippin. Tasha is MUCH more intensely driven than is Pip, and she's also a very pushy alpha personality. Everything in her universe BELONGS to Tasha, is DOMINATED by Tasha, and REVOLVES around Tasha ... everything except me, that is. She knows and accepts that I am her alpha leader, but everything and everyone else breathes her air at her pleasure and mercy. With Tasha, it is obvious that herding drive is an extension of prey drive. The intensity of her herding behavior is really quite remarkable. I have no doubt, though, that she would have turned into a killer if I hadn't set very strict behavioral boundaries on her and if I didn't continue to enforce them on a daily basis. I am still constantly having to tell her to leave the cats alone. She simply wants to dictate every move every animal (or toy) makes in her world. Unfortunately because of her cruciate problems, I can not allow her to exercise as much or as vigorously as her mind requires, so keeping her behavior within controllable limits is a constant challenge. As I noted in my earlier response, herders are amazing dogs, but they are NOT easy! Now back to your dog. You made a MAJOR mistake by ever allowing your dog to chase your cats. Not only has the dog been rewarded for his bad behavior by achieving the desired effect of "herding" the cats, but the cats have now learned that you can not or will not protect them from the dog. They have lost trust in you and in the safety of their own home. They are trapped with the enemy - an enemy that they are very much aware can and may want to kill them. Of course they're hiding. Every instinct they have tells them they must hide for their self-preservation. They have no experience living with passive dogs, so all they have to respond to are their own instincts. As I mentioned earlier, you must keep your dog either leashed or locked securely away from the cats at all times until and unless your cats adjust to his presence and give you the opportunity to train him properly. Do NOT in ANY way try to force your cats out of hiding or into the presence of the dog. They must be allowed to make peace with his presence in their own time and way ... if it's going to happen at all. Most likely, they will start coming out under cover of darkness, late at night after everyone has gone to bed, the dog is securely crated, and all is quiet. Once they start reaffirming their safety under those conditions, they will probably slowly start to appear during daylight hours. If you do NOT allow the dog to approach them or intimidate them in any way, your cats will eventually get braver. It may take months or years, but if you assure their safety and work to regain their trust away from the dog, they will probably eventually come out of hiding again. You can help your cats by spending lots of time alone with them in whichever room they are hiding, trying to coax them out of hiding just to enjoy some petting, playing, and treats. Like I said, they have lost trust in you, and you're going to have to work to regain it. Let them know that they still matter and that they can safely spend time with you without risking interaction with the dog. Unfortunately, you won't be able to teach your dog to accept the cats as part of his new family pack until and unless the cats come out of hiding and start reintegrating themselves into the household. It's a waiting game now. Make it impossible for the dog to get anywhere near the cats on his own, and give the cats the supportive loving they need to feel safe again. Hopefully in time the cats will give you a second chance to be their protector in the presence of the dog. Good luck, Laurie

Thank you Raven! These pet food recalls seem to happen with way too much frequency. Before choosing the food for our new dog, I spent several hours of time researching the various brands, the location of manufacturer, number of past recalls etc. Thankfully, I located one that has not ever had a recall and is made in the USA.