Need advice - existing dog and new puppy

[OnionPatch]

Last edited Fri Mar 8, 2019, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't post here often but am in desperate need of some advice.

We just got a new puppy from a shelter. She's four months old, a pit/lab mix and as sweet as can be. We already have a 7 year old dachshund/husky mix (yes, you read that right.) He's 50 pounds but rather short, lol. We brought him home as a puppy to an existing pit/lab mix who passed away about a year ago. He loved her! So he's used to being around at least one other dog and we thought he'd be glad to have a new friend.

We followed all the suggestions for bringing home a new dog. We took him to the shelter where he met the new puppy. They sniffed nosed and seemed fine to walk along side each other. But now that we have the puppy home, he growls at her a little when they interact. Just a low rumble. But still...We've been keeping them separate but allowing them to see each other and take walks together with one person walking each dog. We let them sniff noses, etc. He seems excited and happy and wags his tail when he sees her but once they start sniffing for a minute, he growls low and sometime his hackles raise a little. That's when we separate them and continue walking. He seems fine when she's in the same room, mostly ignores her and only acts this way when they meet face to face. He seems curious, not in an aggressive way. But I'm no dog-mind reader and am having trouble interpreting this behavior.

We're really worried now about his growling. If we let them just be around each other, and don't separate them when he growls, will he attack her? Or is this low growl a fairly normal response? The puppy is sweet and licks his face and acts submissive, so it's not like she's being at all threatening. She's a little scared of him, which makes us feel sorry for her. Not a nice way to experience a new home.

Can anyone here give us some advice on easing these two together? Any insight about this particular behavior? Thanks in advance.

[pamdb]

1. Alpha

We’ve had the same thing with introducing a new dog, sometimes even just a dog from another family member. With us, it’s always been just a growl to show “ I’m the boss here so learn that”. We would give a little extra attention to the older dog to show him he’s not being supplanted. I would separate them, maybe put the puppy in her crate, when you leave the house. Once the older dog understands the puppy is not leaving, he’ll settle down and accept her.
Our first dog was a pit lab mix. She was the smartest dog I ever had and I grew up with dogs.

I suppose you could mention it to your vet but I think he’d tell you the same thing.

Rescue dogs are the best. I’d post a pic of our beloved Mocha Jean but I don’t know how to do that on DU.

[OnionPatch]

2. Thanks so much.

That helps a lot.

I've had a lot of dogs too and our old lab/pit mix was the sweetest dog I've ever had and smart too. I miss her so much. The new pup seems to have a very similar personality so far. Wish I could see your Mocha Jean. I know how to post pics here but you have to have them on some other website, I believe, and I don't keep my photos on the cloud.

[OnionPatch]

3. I wanted to mention

That sometimes the older dog's hackles raise a little when they come nose to nose. What's that all about? Could he be afraid of her? She doesn't act the least bit threatening, she wags and even licks at him and cowers down a little. But he's a kind of nervous dog in the first place. Sigh. The last time I introduced two dogs they hit it right off. I never had this happen before.

[catbyte]

20. Here's a link to a free site where you can post pics:

https://imgbb.com/

You don't need to create an account, just upload the file. Under the Embed Codes pull down menu, choose the BBCodes full linked option. When you paste the link to your post, you can delete all of the code before the "http" begins & "jpg" ends.

I used to use http://tinypic.com but I've been getting a lot of error codes lately.

Good luck!

[OnionPatch]

21. Thanks! I'm going to try it.

Here's Junie, our new puppy:

[catbyte]

23. She's beautiful!!!!

Brindle coats are so pretty. I'm glad it worked.

[OnionPatch]

24. Thanks!

She's stolen our hearts. But not maybe Baxter's. He's acting a little bit better today though, btw.

[Rhiannon12866]

25. What an adorable puppy!

[fierywoman]

26. Oh! I'm in love!!

[OnionPatch]

22. It worked!

Thanks, catbyte!

[Polly Hennessey]

4. I have an older Golden Retriever.

Our Corgi died last September. I wanted to adopt another older Golden and ended up with a six-month old mix. We think German Shepherd and Labrador and I suspect some Pit. Scout is now almost eight-months old. She is turning out to be the smartest dog I have ever owned. Her enthusiasm is boundless. Caleigh, the Golden, does not want to play with her and lets her know by growling. I also let Scout know it is unacceptable behavior. We have taught her to stay at the entrance of the kitchen while the cats eat; we have taught her not to jump on kitchen counters; we are in the process of teaching her not to jump on people. She is learning. We let her know we are the boss by reminding her who owns her space. I am consistent. I also have Luci, a high school student, come and play with and run with her two or three times a week. One thing that I do is I get on the bed with her and have conversations. I tell her she is going to live a great life, that we love her, that our primary purpose is her well-being. I speak in a normal, conversational voice. I emphasize to her that it is important to remain calm at all times. Surprisingly, all of it is working. She is part of the family, but there are, and always will be, rules that must be followed. It is amazing how much she seems to understand our behavior. It is important to give just as much attention to the other dog. The cats not so much. They see Scout as an annoyance and wish she would stop getting dog spit all over their favorite catnip banana. So there. 😄

[OnionPatch]

5. I have been giving him lots of attention.

Funny, my cats don't mind the puppy at all. They don't try to interact with her or anything but their attitude seems to be "Oh, another one of those things....meh..."

So far the puppy hasn't even tried to play with Baxter (the older dog.) Just sniffing noses at this point. Her behavior seems fine to me.

The internet is full of contradictions for this situation. Some say be firm, some say don't punish the older dog for growling, etc. etc. I'm confused.

[pamdb]

14. talking

I love that idea.

I would take our new rescue and rub/scratch his ears and he would kind of moan and I would tell him how this is his forever home and he'll be in a cage again.

[samnsara]

6. I have Golden Retrievers and every 4-5 years i bring home a new puppy from the same breeder...

...NEVER did they take to each other right away. One female..my heart dog and sweeeeeetest dog in the universe turned into CUJO! I never expect any of them to play or get along for 3-5 weeks. Just protect each other from puppy teeth and big dog snaps and growls but remember this is establishing pecking order and if the pup has the potential to be a bigger, stronger, more aggressive adult than the older dog..then this is good for the pup to develop a healthy respect for your established pet.

[OnionPatch]

8. Yes, she's going to be bigger than him.

He weights 50 lbs. but is short. I forgot to mention he has a deformed leg. It doesn't slow him down a bit. But I wonder if it doesn't make him feel more vulnerable sometimes. So far they haven't been close enough together to try to play. All I want at this point is to be able to have them in the same room together unleashed.

The weird part is Baxter seems so curious and interested in her and wags when he sees her. I don't know how to interpret this. Sigh.

[samnsara]

28. thats what ours did.. they observe from a distance then they get curious...

..inch their way towards each other and then they play starts. I always thought maybe this was a survival thing to protect the new pup. I mean you dont want an over exuberant 80 pound dog bounding playfully upon an 8 week old puppy.

[Bayard]

7. I've had to separate a number of bad introductions over the years

The Pyr's have been the worst--try pulling two 150 pound dogs apart! The only good thing was that their fur is so thick, there's not much damage. We learned the value of a muzzle the hard way. Now all 3 are great together, but it took awhile.

Its always the hardest to introduce a newbie to a dog that already owns his house and humans. Can you let them play on neutral turf?

Another thing to try on the older dog is Rescue Remedy, just to mellow him out a little. But he's going to exert dominance until the new kid learns who's boss. Be patient and forgiving.

[OnionPatch]

11. Rescue remedy! I hadn't thought of that!

I don't have that exact product but I do have some "calm cookies" for dogs I could give him! Thanks for suggesting that. I'll try it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. Late to the party, but this might work..

I bought powdered colostrum, it came in tablets, for dog/anxiety. Like using instant mother smell. Calms the critters right down.

In your case, perhaps rubbing a wee amount over the new comer's coat would mellow the older guy right down.

Or....I have used it sprinkled on their food. good storm prep, it turns out. Our golden was seriously afraid of thunder/fireworks, etc. and this really helped him.

[sweetloukillbot]

9. When we got a new puppy a couple years ago

There was a lot of growling. I was kind of alarmed but then I noticed the growling sounded kinda odd, and it never progressed past a playful gnawing on each other’s faces. Keep an eye on it, but it might just be a game.

[OnionPatch]

13. It seems a little mixed.

Like he's excited to meet another dog (in a good way) but then gets nervous.

[pamdb]

10. me again

I just wanted to add that growling wasn't a one off, it would happen a few times. Of course our older dog is a tripod, (BooBoo is 13) so he would usually be on the couch. After Mocha Jean died, (she had bone cancer at age 13) the day after the Night of the Red Hats, as I call the election of 2016, we waited a few months and adopted Buster a lab and we-dont-know-what mix who is somewhere between 5 and 8. Now they snuggle on the couch together.

[OnionPatch]

12. Oh gosh. That's terrible.

We were up all night crying. I can't imagine losing a beloved pet the day after that national tragedy.

[pamdb]

16. and on top of that

We were both crying and my husband had to go teach!

[OnionPatch]

18. I called off work.

I was lucky to have the flexibility at my job to take the day off. The election results made me literally sick. It must have been a grim day at work for your husband. But then again, the distraction of working probably helps some people.

[Polly Hennessey]

15. Dear Onion Patch,

if only we all lived close to each other. We could form something like a book club only about our dogs instead of books. We could be the Bow-Wowers. I have a sense everyone of us could happily spend great amounts of time talking about our dogs. Looks like I’m the long-winded one.

[OnionPatch]

17. I like reading about people's pets. I could spend a lot of time talking about my pets, too.

They may be a lot of trouble, but ultimately, they are part of what makes life worthwhile.

I'd love to see pics of your dogs. Wish I could post mine too. We named the new one Junie and she's just precious. And Baxter is a real character. I want so much for them to get along.

I also have two cats that I love dearly but I won't go into that right now.

[Duppers]

19. I'd rather talk about my dog than my son. 😂

We've been very lucky to have had the sweetest dogs in the world, 2 Labs, 2 BC's and we have loved them to the "MAX."

A yr ago we had to adopted my mother's 9yo lab mix when she entered a nursing home. With the exception of his friendliness with people, her dog is the most disagreeable, unpleasant thing I have ever been around. He loves people but not *any* other animals. He growls at our sweet Missy and is appropriately corrected. Poor Missy humbles herself by licking his muzzle, always wagging her tail, and letting him go first with their shared water bowl and fetching the treats we throw. He has not been socialized with other dogs and that explains some of the behavior, but he's basically an alpha asshole hunter who'll kill any critter can, including neighborhood cats. We've learned that we cannot let him out to run, even at 2am. He is always leashed on walks.

His kill list includes a small squirrel and a small rabbit that he ate.

One early a.m. when I had let him out (before learning), I heard horrible growling directly behind our house and went to ck out the commotion. He had an opossum cornered but the little critter was holding his own until my presence emboldened our alpha asshole who then grabbed the opossum by the back of his neck and ran off with him across the field. I pursued, running as fast as I could to catch him. I had his leash in hand. He was wearing his lit collar (love those things). Found him standing over the opossum whom he had dropped to the ground. He still had him in his grasp. I had to beat him off the poor critter, who was "playing possum." That saved the critter's life.

I've given up hope that that dog will ever be kind to another animal, even to his sweet, sweet sister.



When Ogee dies, we plan to adopt a kitten, as a companion for Missy. She loves my son's kitties.

[samnsara]

29. oh my! when my mother died i adopted her two dogs because my sisters were too prissy to..

...one was a hound dog who hid all day from my dogs. I finally rehomed him with a friend of mine. The other is a chihuahua mix who fear bites everyone except me and my father who is in a nursing home 75 miles away. He even drew blood on my hubby. I have one chance to muzzle him and get him to the vet for shots, nail trims, wart assessment and doggie downers.

[DetlefK]

27. I heard a similar story about a dog and a toddler.

As long as the girl was small, the dog treated her like a puppy and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted.

But once the kid grew older (~5 yo) the dog started treating her like a fellow dog and tried to assert his alpha-role by growling at her.

The problem was solved by having the kid walk the dog on a leash.

[OnionPatch]

31. This happened with my daughter and our old German Shepherd.

She put up with her as a toddler, but once my daughter got to a certain age, the shepherd constantly challenged her "leadership." It wasn't until my daughter was about 10 that the dog finally accepted her authority.

[OnionPatch]

30. UPDATE:

Hi all. I wanted to write back and update you on the situation.

It took about a week where we kept them mostly separated with a gate between but finally one day Baxter decided the pup wasn't a threat. Slowly he became more curious and even seemed to want to be around Junie. We took them on a lot of walks together side by side and finally allowed them to be together.

I'm so happy to report that they've become great friends!! I knew it was a good sign when I looked down one day and Baxter wasn't laying by my side. This is very unusual. He sticks to me like a burr. But he was hanging out with my daughter and Junie! Now he wants to hang out with her all the time. In fact I just looked down and he isn't there! I know where he is......

They love a good game of tug-a-war with one of their many toys. Junie, the pup, is on the right.




Thanks so much for all the help and encouragement. Things are working out great now. Junie even gets along well with the cats so we're all a happy family once again.