By Sarah Groves Dog Training - your puppy trainer covering Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot
So you’ve brought a new 8 week old puppy home with all good intentions that pup would be the PERFECT addition to the family and a BEST FRIEND for your older dog!
BUT...
Your already established dog is taking a disliking to your puppy straight away with growling when pup gets too close, showing teeth, hiding in another room or just seeming generally uninterested in engaging with the pup.
What do you do?
Now this is actually a VERY common problem – so please don’t panic!
Your already established dog has lived their whole life as an only dog, and is no longer a youngster, so to all of a sudden go from this to having a young, bouncy, ‘in your face’ land shark in the house who doesn’t have any concept of personal space can feel VERY off putting!
Your older dog will come to love your younger pup EVENTUALLY, but there are a few things that you can do to help with easing the pressure and making your older dog as comfortable as possible with the new changes!
1 - Give your older dog lots of space
Allowing your dog lots of space will help to prevent conflict and will allow them freedom to move away if they feel uncomfortable and approach when they feel more confident to do so.
2 - Make sure that your puppy has their own spcae too!
Your puppy will need lots of sleep and time out for when they become overtired or overstimulated.
By providing your young pup with a crate or playpen for downtime, you can help to prevent puppy from becoming ‘over the top’ for the older dog.
3 - Make sure that both dogs have seperate resources
Prevent conflict by making sure that both dogs have separate toys, chews, feeding bowls and at the moment are fed separately from each other.
You may need to feed your pup in their playpen/crate for now, or feed both dogs in different rooms separated by a baby gate.
4 - Share the love!
Having a new, cute furry friend in the house is an exciting time!
Make sure that your older dog still gets loads of attention and fuss in the same way as they did before the pup arrived!
5 - Get training your puppy ASAP!
Training will help to calm a crazy puppy, will help to teach valuable life skills and will make it easier to redirect your puppy’s attention if you can see they are about to become an annoyance for the older dog.
Make sure puppy has LOTS of chews to redirect those needle sharp teeth onto so that your older dog (or you) don’t become the chew toy!
6 - Reward the good behaviour
If you notice that your older dog is becoming brave enough to interact with puppy, is voluntarily get closer, or even lying down to chill close by, this is a good time to give a treat, lots of praise and encouragement.
7 - Avoid telling your dog off for growling
Growling is your dogs way of communicating that they are feeling uncomfortable in a situation.
Instead of telling your dog off, listen to what they are trying to tell you, and move the puppy away.
All in all, in the majority of cases, the older dog will come round to the young pup being home – it just takes time!
If, however, after some time you feel like your dog is still very stressed, consult a vet to rule out any underlying conditions which may be causing pain or discomfort, and a good qualified dog trainer who can help with making further assessments and give the correct advice for your specific circumstances.
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