My ***** is bitchy!?

Question

I got a new male puppy a couple weeks ago and he's seemed to have altered the dynamic between my other two adult dogs. I expected some tension with the addition of a new pack member, but my older dogs are acting out in weird ways. My female dog has started barking at the male dog for no reason (he'll just be sitting around minding his own business) and chasing/biting both the puppy and male dog (very uncharacteristic for her). I can tell the difference between playful wrestling and actual annoyance. I suspect she's jealous of the others, but we try to give equal attention so I'm not sure how to get her to calm down and play nice!

Everytime they start growling/barking/snapping at each other I firmly tell them no, which stops them for a few minutes, but then they start up again! What can I do to alleviate tension while they all get used to each other? My male and female dog used to get along perfectly fine before the puppy (share foodbowls/ crates/etc).

Help!

They each have their own food bowls and I've bought more toys/bedding to go around. I give them all seperate attention throughout the day. The puppy also has a touch of food aggression (only towards dogs, not people), and my other dogs don't. One other weird thing-- the female dog has started sleeping in the cat's litter box!

Answer 1

I tend to agree with TexasBehaviorist on this one. Adding a third dog to a family can sometimes really mess things up in what used to be a calm household - in going from two dogs to three, you've changed your household from one with two companion dogs to one with a pack of dogs. It's possible to have a male & female of equal Alpha dog status (under the humans, of course), but any time you bring in a third dog, they will have to start working out pack order.

The times I've had one or two dogs, things always went well, but the times I took in a foster and upped the number to three, we always had problems with the household dogs acting out - the spayed female became terribly b!tchy (there's a reason for that term!) toward the newcomer, and the neutered male started marking all over the house. And it took some time after the foster left for things to settle down again. Sometimes it's possible to make households of more than two work, but it really depends on the individual personalities of the dogs.

Here's an article you may find helpful about adding a dog to your pack: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1678&S=1&SourceID=47

Answer 2

I'd be upset too if you brought a baby home and I had to share my stuff with it. Even though you say they get equal time i bet your favoring the baby. Thats o.k. we all do. First you need to keep the food bowls apart. Give the older dogs extra attention. After a while they will come around and give the pup a place in your pack.

Answer 3

Female dogs are notorious for this behavior. You're right- adding the new pup has changed the dynamics in your family. They may work it out but they'll have a better chance with monitoring and training. Telling them No is unlikely to solve the problem in the long run.

Are you already attached to the puppy? My first advice would be to consider rehoming him. Let the new adopters know it is because it changed your family dynamics NOT because of anything the pup is doing.

If you're unwilling to do that, I suggest looking for a behaviorist in your area to see if you can find methods to resolve or lessen the problem. I don't expect it to go away on its own.

Answer 4

I think you should let them get used to each other and tussel a bit, but if it gets too rough, separate them for a little to calm down. After they have calmed down, put them back together. Do this until they learn to get along. I hope I've helped you. Good luck!

Answer 5

Consider visiting the Calling All Pets website at

http://www.wpr.org/pets/

and browsing the resources or e-mailing ("Contact Us") the host.

Good luck.

Answer 6

because the new dog has come into her territory,
and dogs are pack animals,
your female is probably just trying to establish her dominance.
Once she figures he's been put in his place,
she'll eventually stop.
You may also want to try teaching her that you're the top dog,
not her.

Answer 7

Try giving some time, maybe they're undergoing the period that we may term as learning about each other.

Answer 8

FIRST OF ALL DONT MAKE THEM A FOODBOWL.MAYBE THAT IS ONE REASON WHY THEY MIGHT BE FIGHTING.GIVE THEM EACH SPECIAL TIME AND DONT BUNDLE THEM UP TOGETHER.DOGS LIKE TO HAVE THEIR PERSONAL TERRETORY...WHEN THEY ARE FIGHTING SEPERATE THEM AND GIVE THEM TIME TO COOL OFF. ALSO GIVE THEM PLENTY OF WATER.