help with dog behavoir

[monkey]

if you need help with your dogs behavour givea
message to me
in bthe subject say yes please
thannx renee

[anna_66]

First, welcome to Pet Talk!
Second, I have a friend who just got a new puppy. Ok, Gunner~the 7 yr (or so) is just not really liking the new pup. He has always been the only one. Is there anything special they should do? Thanks in advance!

[monkey]

yes theree is somethin you should do spend moore time with your dog eg play catch rub his belly do tricks and stuff like that g
good luck
renee

[anna_66]

Isn't there something else they should do to get them to get along any better? Any advice anyone?

[aly]

Could you give us more information? Like the genders, the previous exposure the 7 yr old has had to other dogs, the reaction the old dog has to the puppy, etc.

Introducing a puppy can sometimes be harder on an older dog. For the first few weeks at least I would not leave them together unsupervised. Since its a puppy though, I would crate train and not leave him/her alone with the older dog for months, if not longer. Make sure the older dog doesn't have to share anything at all. Both of the dogs need individual bonding time with the humans and also supervised play time with each other.

[anna_66]

Well Gunner is a male and the new puppy is female, they thought things might work out better that way. Needless to say Gunner gets mad when the pup tries to take his toys, just really don't seem like he wants him there, I guess is the best way to put it. They are trying to give both dogs equal attention. I'm sure he's really jelous (however you spell it) of Memphis. He don't really like other dogs, but he has one friend that he has known since she was a pup and they get along great. Any thing else you need to know? Thans Aly!

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by aly
Could you give us more information? Like the genders, the previous exposure the 7 yr old has had to other dogs, the reaction the old dog has to the puppy, etc.

Introducing a puppy can sometimes be harder on an older dog. For the first few weeks at least I would not leave them together unsupervised. Since its a puppy though, I would crate train and not leave him/her alone with the older dog for months, if not longer. Make sure the older dog doesn't have to share anything at all. Both of the dogs need individual bonding time with the humans and also supervised play time with each other.

In addition, what breed of dog are we talking about?

My first Golden was 7 1/2 when I got my second one many many years ago. She never was overly excited about the pup but she learned to tolerate him. With an older dog you need to realize the difference in age is not 7 people years but 7 dog years. The seven year old is coming into her senior citizen years and dealing with a toddler or adolesent is not always the easiest thing. Especially if the older dog is kind of seditary.

More info please!

[anna_66]

Gunner is a mix (not sure what of!) and Memphis is a Rott-lab mix. If more info needed let me know guys!

[monkey]

well there is one more tying your friend can do and that is
or hold on is your friends dog a indoor or out door dog

[Dixieland Dancer]

I believe your friend is making one major mistake in "giving the dogs equal time." Gunner will adjust to the pup being around better if he doesn't think his position is threatened. He needs to be affirmed as the alpha dog over the two of them. Basically your friend is going to have to give Gunner the first attention, first pet, first to eat, first to go out, first in everything.

Is Gunner neutered or in tact? As Memphis gets older (I assume when you say a new puppy, we are talking under 16 weeks old), and begins to come into her maturity, she may challenge Gunner for the alpha spot but that is down the road a bit. Right now you need to get Gunner comfortable with the situation.

Don't expect them to ever be best buds. Gunner will probably learn to "tolerate" the pup and the pup will look to Gunner as a role model figure! They will need to work this out for themselves.

In short, about the only thing you can tell your friend to do now is to treat Gunner as alpha so he doesn't feel threatened that the pup is taking over. As for the toys, let them work that out too! But if you choose to give the pup a particular toy, then Gunner needs to accept that since the human being is the ultimate alpha over both dogs!

[anna_66]

Thanks for the info, and yes, they got Memphis from the pound and she is only 7 weeks old now. They got her really almost before they were weined, at 6 weeks.

[aly]

Yikes, what kind of shelter puts pups that young up for adoption?

[anna_66]

A really crappy one I'll tell ya! I just heard that the shelter they got Memphis from, all the dogs there had some kind of disease, and they had to put every one of them down. I thought they were supposed to take care of stuff like that before it got out of hand. It makes me sooo mad

[lizbud]

Anna,

Oh my, how terrible. What is the name of the
Shelter, or where in Ohio is it located?

[anna_66]

It is in Sidney, Ohio. It's call the Shelby County Animal Shelter.