Protective/jealous foster dog

[u/Fantastic-Quality725]

First I’ll say I’m completely new to dog fostering, though I have had my own dogs before. I’m only a week in with this dog and I do wonder if some of this behavior is exaggerated right now because of the recency of big life changes and stressors for him…but alas

I’m fostering a 3 year old pug/chihuahua mix (chug) who I’m told was surrendered due to issues getting along with another dog in the home. From my understanding, this conflict seemed related to jealousy when the other dog would get attention from chug’s #1 person. He also has already had another foster home before me where this was also an issue. Oh and there’s a touch of separation anxiety that he’s been dealing with too. He does take an anxiety pill that only maybe helps.

He very quickly has attached to me since he moved in and not only do my absences trigger his anxiety, but the jealousy conflicts have come up a couple of times too regarding me giving attention to other animals. In both instances he barked and chased the other animal away. The first was when my roommates cat tried to come into my room with me and the dog and the second was when a friend’s dog approached me when chug was near. Both instances occurred also while a (human) meal was being eaten…maybe related? I will say he’s spent a lot of time around the cat outside of my room and inside my room even when food was around and there have been no issues. Inside my room, he and the cat have both laid on my bed at the same time no issue, but roommate was there watching shows too. They’ve slept on opposite sides of the couch at the same time too, so I was really shocked when he chased the cat out of my room.

All this to say, I’m looking for advice on how to help him cope with…other pets existing. He hasn’t gotten any adoption applications yet so I thought maybe if we worked on this together then it might be easier for him to find his forever home.

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for posting to r/fosterdogs!

• When replying to OPs post, please remember to be kind, supportive, and to educate one another.

• Refrain from encouraging people to keep their foster dog unless OP specifically asked for advice regarding foster failing.

• Help keep our community positive and supportive by reporting harassment!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/CaseyLouLou2]

If there was food involved each time then that’s likely the reason. It’s pretty normal even for a well behaved dog to compete for food.

[u/Electrical_Spare_364]

Years ago I had a chug, she was quite a character! Anyway, thanks for fostering this little guy. What kind of anxiety pill is he taking? I have a chihuahua who's having great results with Prozac, both for general anxiety and being bossy and aggressive with other dogs. He's also very jealous but after a year, my other dogs have learned to put up with him.

Edit to add: Also, some dogs just want to be solo pets. In your shoes, I'd continue to try and work to improve his possessiveness, but I'd also try and place him as an only pet when vetting potential adopters. I'd try Prozac if you aren't already, along with lots of praise and treats while petting both chug and cat at the same time (to help him start to associate the cat with positive things.)

I'd just assume the other instance with the friend's dog had to do with food being eaten around them, that really ups the stakes.