How can I encourage my 6 yr old lurcher to accept a new puppy?

Question

At the moment she growls every time the puppy comes anywhere near her bed and has had the puppy in her mouth shaking her when she's come too close. They are fine together outside but the puppy is too young to go walking as she's only had her first jab. We're giving the older dog lots of attention and chastising the puppy for tormenting. However it's all a bit upsetting and exhausting! Should I keep them apart until they're able to make friends on walks (another 3 weeks)? I've thought of building the older dog a safe enclosure that the puppy can't get in, but will that make her more insecure? Does anyone have any experience of this level of aggression towards a pup and if so, can you reassure me that the older dog settles down in the end? How long will it take?

Answer 1

There is no real answer to this one, all animals handle things differently just like humans do..you wouldn't put an infant with an old person who no longer has kids and expect them to be okay together...
When you introduce the puppy to her make sure you are holding the puppy and let her know it is not acceptable when she growls, also keep them apart until the puppy is a little bigger. Remember the puppy can not defend his/herself against and older dog. Suggestion from me would be when you are in the living room together then have the puppy on your lap, allowing the older one to come and sniff when it wants to, to check out the new addition to the family and then add a little floor time for the puppy with the other one in the room, they will adjust to each other but the older one will teach the younger one where his/her place in the new family is and the older one may always be a bit hard on the puppy.

Answer 2

Remember that this is a stressful time for your older dog. We ask alot of our dogs- how would like it if someone shoved a new person into your family without asking and then expected you to just get on with it?
I use crate training with puppies, and this has advantages for introductions as it allows the older dog to get used to the puppy before it is allowed the run of the house. Always supervise introductions, and remove the puppy if the older dog is not coping with it. My own dogs are very patient with puppies, and would let them maul them all day long, but I do not allow this as it will only create tension later on. Also, the older dog may resent that the puppy now gets all the attention- this is a mistake families often make. Cuddle the old dog too!
The final thing is that dogs have a natural pecking order- and showing another who's boss is a perfectly normal and necessary part of dog behaviour. Some people feel the need to liberate the submissive dog from the shackles of oppression- by making the other dog give up toys etc- this is a mistake. Some older dogs totally dominate new arrivals (I have one of these!) and will make sure they eat first, get closest to me, go through doors first etc. I do not get in the way of that. Other dogs are happy for another dog to become pack leader. I should add that whenever two dogs are together they form a pack. If you make sure that the puppy respects the older dog's boundaries, in time they will be fine. I am sorry the lurcher seems so agressive now, but keep an eye on things and the puppy will learn not to go near the bed. Also, B*tch-B*tch is the worst kind of two dog household for conflict. They will bicker!

Answer 3

Unless your older dog drew blood, don't worry too much. Its the job of older dogs to teach the new pups good manners. It looks fearsome but they rarely hurt them.
Find out about crate training for your new pup, and give your dog a bed out of the pups way so that when she's had enough she can get away. Don't expect her to play with the pup or spend too much time with it, the less stressed she feels by it the better.
Make absolutely sure that your dog knows that the pup is yours, that it carries your scent and is under your protection. As long as you're top dog she'll respect that.
Things should settle down soon, but then when your pup reaches maturity it may flare up again so keep an eye on the situation. You need to make it clear to the pup that she ranks under your dog, it'll help her accept it and cut down the trouble later on. If you have two females you could be in for fireworks later.

Answer 4

the older dog is teaching the pup what he can and can't get away with. Her bed is her spot as the dominant dog. Intervene with the pup as soon as she growls, and don't gate the older dog! that will just make the problem worse! gate the puppy. He's the one who needs to learn boundaries. Don't worry, the pup will learn quick not to torment her if she is telling him off. She will settle down eventually, but if not after a few weeks, then I'm afraid your lurcher needs to be the one and only dog in the house.

Answer 5

Dogs are territorial and reign over their territory by establishing dominance. The puppy has to be taught to stay away when the older dog growls. Make sure their beds are spaced apart and put the puppy in it's own bed when the other one growls. You can't leave puppies on their own to learn. They have to be taught.

Also, you have to be established as the most dominant entity in the household so the older dog obeys. Don't let it get away with growling or bad behavior. If they do it with a puppy, they may also do it with a small child who invades their territory. It's all the same to them and a behavior that needs correcting.

Answer 6

I had an elderly dog who just didn't like puppies - she growled and snarled at them and got really upset when they went near her.

Over the years she had to get used to three new pups and she got worse and even less tolerant as she got older.

Each pup was clueless and didn't seem to realise that going near the old dear was not a good thing to do. Chastising didn't seem to work - I did lots of distracting the pup rather than telling it off.

It was up to ME to protect my old dog from the pup. I made sure that she had somewhere to go to get out of the way and that the pup couldn't reach. She didn't need extra attention from me she just wanted to be left alone by the puppy.

Yes it is exhausting and you can't leave them alone together but it is very unfair on an adult dog to expect it to be tolerant of a new pup if it isn't in her (or his) nature. Some dogs are great with pups and act like surrogate mothers but others, like yours and mine, just can't cope.

It took my old dog several weeks to get used to each pup and as I said it was harder as she got older and less able to cope. However she did get used to them and I started taking each pup out with her but made sure that she got a decent walk without be harassed by the pup.

As each pup became part of the canine family I don't think anyone could have guessed at how hard it had been to achieve.

Answer 7

It'll take all the time your first dog needs. Believe me, I've gone thru this, and I feel for you. My older dog really hated my puppy at first, to the point that I was also scared. Then all of a sudden, once the puppy learned her boundries with him, and it did not take too long, they were fine. She learned quickly to watch her step around him, and they've been friends for 3 yrs. now. Good Luck.

Answer 8

Dogs are no different to babies you will have to give her loads of attention & slowly include the puppy in the playing.Goodluck

Answer 9

Same happen to my lurcher, hated puppies. When they grew a bit bigger she began to play with them and became big buddies. Sadly she died last year, love to have another one.

Answer 10

Just one bite at a time..