How can I make an adult dog and a puppy get along?

Question

I have a 5 year old chocolate lab/golden (male) retriever and a 6 week old beagle (male). My lab is very jealous and hates just seeing the puppy in its crate. The lab will bark and push the crate while the puppy rolls around in the inside trying to play with the lab. What would you advice me to do? AND NO I WILL NOT LET THE PUPPY OUT of the crate, I'm afraid the lab will kill him.

Nicole K

I got my dog from a Beagle breeder/farmer in Indiana. He had like 2 dozen adult beagles and 3 puppies.

I know I can't make them get along by force but I want to know what I can do to help them get along. The puppy is extremly friendly, he even got along with our cat.

kakapobirdthing
Yea...no. The puppy isn't living in a box. I'm crate training him and no he isn't in a cage most of the day. I only leave him in a cage at night time and when we're not home. Both dogs are kept separate but equal.

Answer 1

let the pup out but the first few times hold the pup in your lap and pet the lab with the other hand and pay a little more attention th the older dog. he needs to know he is still needed and not being replaced.

Answer 2

I almost didn't answer this question, but quite frankly, the two longest answers were, uh, WRONG!! Rather than let someone tell you that a dog WON'T kill a puppy and fuss at you about how it should still be with mom (okay, debatable, but my bitches wean their pups no later than 5 weeks, and a bad mother is significantly worse than a surrogate), why don't we address the big problem - the fact that you are either allowing your lab to torment the puppy or that he won't listen to you when you tell him to stop. If you have that little control over your older dog, that's a serious problem! Yes, older dogs will kill puppies .... if they feel that their territory is invaded, do not respect you as the boss, because they're just plain brats, many reasons. While it is acceptable and even desirable for an older dog to take role in modifying the puppy's behavior, it is UNACCEPTABLE for an older dog to be allowed to be jealous - and that is your fault and only you can correct it. First, get you older dog trained!! I can bring in a flock of geese, a litter of puppies, a box of cats into my home and every single one of my dogs (2 bulldogs, 1 clumber, 3 Shiloh shepherds) will sit and ignore whatever it is until I give them PERMISSION to visit and then they will behave in an acceptable, civilized manner and I will ensure that they do! I do not let my dogs pick on puppies and I never let any puppies pick on my older dogs, either! Teeth are not acceptable toys in my house - either on people or on other dogs! My rule is simple: my dogs may not treat any living thing in a way that I would not allow them to treat a 2-year-old child! Period.

Meanwhile, if you have no control over your lab, get some before the beagle learns that he too doesn't have to listen to you. (Say, did you get YOU another dog or did you get pet for your lab?) You will not want them alone together for many months to come .... I've personally known of one dog killing another - in a home where they grew up together! So you are responsible for the safety of both animals and must have the control to take that responsibility!

Regarding male dogs fighting ... hogwash, pardon my french! Packs of dogs have multiple males and if they always fought, we've have dead dogs everywhere! The rule is only one boss ..... and it MUST be you! Packs do not fight among themselves if the leader is strong and doesn't allow it!

Please take some time and find a great trainer who can help you become the boss! None of that treat-stuff either, please, we're not buying them, we're training them!

Answer 3

I agree with the long answer. This puppy is supposed to be with its mother, she teaches it how to cope with being bullied by older dogs.

Two male dogs will fight. That is what male dogs do. They fight until they've got it sorted out, and a lot of the time, they will keep on fighting anyway because they are males. Males fight.

You really can't do much at all. The big dog is going to hammer the little dog. There is little you can do that will alter the big dog's behaviour. To the lab, what he is doing is totally acceptable and normal; he will not recognise any reason to alter his behaviour. If you try to stop the lab from behaving in this way, he will simply intensify his jealousy and punish the puppy even more.

Keep them separate until the little dog's a bit bigger and is less likely to get killed. All you can do is let them sort each other out and chain up the lab when he gets dangerous. BUT it's fairly unlikely the lab will do any serious damage, that's if you let the puppy size up a bit first.

When you let the puppy out of the box he's living in (for some reason, what an unnatural way to raise a puppy), let the dogs sort it out. It will probably be loud and a bit scary.

I have to say I think this is a thoughtless situation to be in.

Answer 4

I do not believe that any adult dog would kill a puppy that young and by the way how and why do you have a puppy that is younger then 8 weeks old? Is the mother dog ill?

Puppies should be with their mothers for at least 8 weeks, 10 weeks is average and 12 weeks is best but 6 weeks is too young to be taken away from mom - I hope you are bottle feeding this puppy using Esbilac (powdered bitches milk). If the mother dog is OK and if she is still lactating, I would consider placing the puppy back with mom for at least 2 more weeks.

Now for the getting along part of your question - Any adult dog will care for a tiny baby and any dog under 12 weeks old qualifies as a baby - you introduce a puppy to a dog the same way you introduce a human baby to a dog.

You hold the puppy on your lap and call your lab over to you and ask him to say Hello and allow him to sniff the puppy and tell him to Be Nice and then tell him that he is a good boy as he is sniffing the puppy and be prepared to give him yummy treats as he is just investigating the puppy - if you continue to give your dog treats and talk to him like he is the big brother and how muhc you depend on him to help you with this puppy - your dog will come around.

You should never leave the puppy alone with the dog until the puppy is old enough to defend himself.

Stop allowing the dog to move the crate around with the puppy inside - these are the most important weeks for your puppy as his personality is being formed now - this is why he should be with mom and his littermates during the first 10 o 12 weeks of his life - there are valuable dog to dog lessons that this dog is going to miss and bite inhibition is one of those lessons that you are going to have to teach him now - Mom dog usually teaches the puppies all about biting softly while she is still producing mile and the puppies are still drinking, plus the mothers milk ha anti-oxidents that the dog needs to insure a healthy immune system.

Answer 5

I've just gone through this. I have a 5 yr old beagle/bassett mix and a miniature schnauzer who's 6. They are both spoiled rotten and think they are human. We recently got a new boxer puppy. The first few days the older 2 were just indignent about me bringing another dog into their house, but by day 3 the miniature schnauzer was playing with him. The beagle/bassett took a little longer. I just held the puppy and slowly introduced him for a few minutes at a time to my others. I let them sniff around him. Slowly but surely they have become friends. You've got to let them work it out. Your lab will want to make sure he is the dominant one in the house and the puppy has to learn his place.
Good luck and don't give up...they will work it out.

Answer 6

Before you got the puppy, was your older dog aggressive with other animals? Frankly it is often very hard to raise two males together, especially if you're not willing to introduce them nose to nose with each other.
I'd have someone else hold the leash of your puppy (away from your home, on common ground). Then have them walk the pup up to you and your lab ( who is on a leash).
Don't be too quick to correct the lab as long as he shows no signs of getting really aggressive. There has to be an alpha dog between those two, but ultimately YOU are the Alpha and you have to make them stay calm. I sounds like you might get pretty excited/upset when working with these dogs. You may need someone with dog savvy to help with this IF you plan on having this work.

Answer 7

Start out with the puppy on your lap to introduce them. At this point I would never leave them alone unsupervised. We foster dogs and whenever we bring a new dog in the other dogs are always barking and going crazy when the dog is on the other side of the fence, but when they are introduced without the fence between them everything seems to work out. You could introduce them in a neutral spot, maybe a dog park. Also if you are nervous and feeling scared your lab can sense this and it might be making him feel aggression to the puppy.

Answer 8

Thats kind of hard because if you play with the puppy too much the adult will get jealous!!So maybe firt let them know each other and then if they fight quickly pick up the puppy. And I'm planing to get a dog so where did you get your dogs?

Answer 9

My lab was foaming at the mouth for the first 24 hours then just accepted my cocker puppy as part of the family. You just have to give it time. Your dog was used to being "THE DOG" now your lab has to share the attention.

Answer 10

Eric, one of the techniques to deal with grown old animals in order to get along with puppies is to get'em accustomed by using a puppet. You should get a puppy beagle puppet or a rag doll instead an teach the lab to get accustomed to it.