Any advice is welcome/old dog vs. pup

[boomersooner]

Old dog/new pup help

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In hindsight, we should have gotten our second dog when Cassie, our 14 year old dalmatian was much younger. She just seems to hate Boomer, our 5 month old springer. When we first brought him home, he was so little, he would just follow her around, and Cassie never sat down or stopped because she didn't want him around her. We let her snarl and stuff at him to let him know she was the "big dog", but being the rude little obnoxious puppy he is, he just doesn't realize she means business. Her back legs are getting weaker, and I don't think she could tolerate him jumping on her (even if she would let him). They sleep in the kitchen together...he in his crate and she on the floor right in front of the crate. We have been taking introducing them slowly and always have Boomer on his leash so he doesn't rush her, but I really don't know what to do. Tonight, she was in the house. He had gone with me in the car. When we got home, I let him try to touch noses with her.....she almost took his face off.... or at least that is what it seemed like. I don't want him bit....he is still 20 pounds lighter and much shorter than she is, and a bite could really hurt him. A lot of the times she will wag her tail when we come around.....or maybe she is directing that to me. When she has tolerated him being close to her, we brag on her and are careful to keep him under control, but then she'll have enough and really snap at him. At this point, I don't know if they will ever be able to be in the backyard or house together off lead. It is just really frustrating because I want them to be friends. Boomer definately wants to be her friend.


Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Heck, they may never be able to get along.....Like taking great great grandma to Chuck E. Cheese and expecting her to want to play in the balls with the 2 year olds.......

[Giselle]

Are they warning snaps or are they "I'm-going-to-kill-you" bites? There's a huuuge difference between the two, and I let my dogs dole out their warning snaps all they want. That's how Giselle lets Ivy know whatever she's doing is not okay. Once Giselle does a warning snap, though, I redirect Ivy and give her something else to do.

Older females usually know how to deal with puppies. They will ignore the annoying puppy as much as they can, but they will growl and grab the puppy with their mouths if they're *really* annoyed. It's not a tight snap, though. It's a big, soft mouth around the puppy's head/neck. It's more like a hand on the shoulder, like, "HEY. That's not okay." So watch Cassie next time. Is it a tight snap or is it a soft mouth "bite"?

[boomersooner]

I really don't know, I'll watch....it is just so unlike Cassie to get that mad at anything....plus, another thing that sort of worries me is that I know her eyesight isn't what it once was so I don't know how good her judgement is about how far away Boomer actually is. I'll watch and make a point to see next time....it just sounds so viscous (that's not how you spell that word, but I can't think right now!) Thanks a lot for the advice!!

[Taz_Zoee]

While I do not have any advice on this subject, I can certainly relate. I just brought home a 2 1/2 month old kitten and my 13 year old cat is not a happy camper about it. But it's only been about 4 or 5 days, so I must still give it time.
I hope you can help work things out between Cassie and Boomer. Good luck!

[chocolatepuppy]

I too am having a bit of a problem with my 9 month old puppy Jake and two other dogs. Lacey is almost 8 and Layla is 2. They are so much bigger than Jake and it seems Jake doesn't heed their warnings when they don't want to play. They are always supervised and I'm sure you already do that. I too find myself getting nervous when one of them warns the puppy, like "is she going to bite him?" We are trying to train Jake to leave the girls alone when they warn and the girls are told "don't you dare" while I get him away from them. Lacey is very good at the "don't you dare" command, Layla is getting there.
My best advice is to wear the puppy out as much as you can and teach Boomer to respect Cassie's warnings. Hopefully, in time, when Boomer settles down a bit, they'll get to be friends.

[boomersooner]

It just is nice to know that others have or are experiencing the same problem. I just don't want him bit the way I think she would bite him...I guess it is just going to take more time and patience. Boomer's increasing (yeah, right....) maturity will help also. Thanks!!! Good luck with your kitten/cat and jake and his siblings!!

[AllAmericanPUP]

My old lab, maggie was the same exact way. She hated puppies in her old age.
luckily our pups got the idea when she would snap at them so we didnt have any real problems.

[lizbud]

My best advice is to wear the puppy out as much as you can and teach Boomer to respect Cassie's warnings. Hopefully, in time, when Boomer settles down a bit, they'll get to be friends.

I agree.Older dogs often have aches & pains that aren't really noticed
much & she's just not in the mood for a "crazy" puppy.

You could devote extra time just training the pup & wear him out some.
I'm sure Cassie would appreciate it.

[boomersooner]

Thank you very much for all of the advice and kind words! I really appreciate it.....I think I just have to be patient, and Boomer needs to grow up a bit. Thanks again!!!