I have questions about how/where I should have two goldens meet. Due to family skeds, I will be doing a road trip w/our dog to house & dog-sit for our son, who will be gone for a couple of months. (Hey! Dad's retired, & this'll give him something to do!) I want to ensure the smoothest time there, but realize there's no second chance for a first impression. I see the possibility of problems w/our Sadie; fear I'm over my head here, & would appreciate help from folks who may have done this sort of thing before. Apologies up front for the lengthy post; I thought a profile of each dog might help a bit. Our son adopted Roxy a month back; she's three & is his first dog. Roxy is from rescue & appears a typical golden: gentle, loving, good-natured, submissive. I see no evidence of physical mistreatment (shying from hands, etc.) but I pretty certain she's been thrown at, chased w/brooms & positive she's been screamed at. (She absolutely melted the first -- & only -- time he raised his voice at her.) He is learning clicker training himself to help bring her out of her shell -- good results already -- but is hindered because she's just not food oriented. She actually leaves food in her bowl for hours, even though she's currently on a weight reduction program. The sound of a regular clicker had some sort of bad association -- it was taking forever to "charge the clicker" -- so he shifted to Pryor's electronic clicker w/its different sounds. She is now doing well w/the trill noise as a marker. Our Sadie is nearly four, also a rescue golden; suffered significant physical abuse at the hand of her first owner. (Early on she had numerous problems, but we've worked past most of them; few people today would view her as an abused dog.) Sadie gets along well w/other dogs w/two exceptions. She won't permit mounting (no problem there, w/gentle Roxy); but she does not share. At all. She doesn't care to run w/other dogs; play keepaway, tug, or anything else; she just wants to race after any thrown object & retrieve it. (We know her history, & I'm told her line was bred to compete in field trials, so I suppose it comes from this; Sadie's the only field trials golden I've been around, so I'm pretty ignorant there.) Should another dog approach while she has a high-value item, she gives the proper (& escalating, when necessary) signals to warn off the intruder, then doesn't back down. She intends to keep whatever that possession is, regardless. Regarding food, she's highly attuned to anything she could eat. Morning or night, that rounded cup of kibble never lasts more than 45 seconds; sometimes less than 25. Outside these two situations, she has no problems whatsoever w/any well-mannered dog. My preliminary plans: Have a very lengthy exercise session w/Sadie, prior to first meeting. First meeting should be off leash, also, I think; then the dogs manage themselves. But where? local dog park (neutral territory)? Inside Roxy's house? Her back yard? I tend to think bringing her to Roxy's house leaves Roxy a little more confident. (Sadie's pretty confident.) Obviously, no food, bones, or any other eatable items around. Ongoing: Keep Sadie away from Roxy during all feeding. For bones (the pet store 3-4" ones), I plan to get at least a dozen (all the same) & literally cover the floor w/them; that way, there will always be multiple ones available. Good idea? Bad? Continue clicker work w/both; I've shifted Sadie to a different marker sound on the electronic one so I can work w/both dogs. Use timeouts if Sadie oversteps: exiled, alone to the bathroom for a couple of minutes. Also, I'll give both as much exercise as they can manage, especially during the initial week or so. Constant supervision, of course, early on. Thanks in advance to all who reply. I fear I may be in over my head w/this, but I'm the only one available in our family, & I want to do what's best for the two dogs. John