I have a new puppy and she cant get along with my 10 year old dog?

Question

puppy-5months black lab

dog-10years maltese

Answer 1

First things first, your puppy is gonna want to play. Thats all. the Maltese does not. The Maltese will take care of himself and will let the puppy know if hes irritating her. I f the puppy doesnt stop then put her in the back yard. Let her run off a bunch of energy, then let her back in. But you need to make the puppy a rewarding situation to the 10 yr old. Hes not used to this. So if he walks up to puppy, or makes any gestures at the puppy, then reward him. Get the lab fixed right now if you havnt already. Good luck.

Answer 2

Blade raised an interesting point - that two of the dogs are "powerful alpha males". This should NEVER occur in your house. YOU should always be the alpha. A simple word from you is all it should take to stop play-fighting, growling, jumping, barking, etc. If you have firmly established yourself as the lead in a household, your dogs will follow. There will always be some pushing and shoving for "second in command" (or beta), but all dogs should fully realize their place - beneath all humans in the house and respectful of everyone.

Show both dogs equal love. Reward both dogs together, praise both dogs together, teach both dogs together, take both together for walks, etc. Do nothing to favor the puppy over the 10-year old, do nothing to favor the 10-year old over the puppy. The dogs will work out between themselves who is the "beta". But both should undertake obedience training (if the Maltese is already obedient, then ensure that your puppy gets properly trained too). Your house should not be some war zone wear dogs are fighting and you can't control it. Obedient dogs are calmer dogs, respectful dogs and there will be less likelihood of them fighting, because ultimately they know that YOU are in charge no matter what.

Keep the dogs together when you have control of the situation, but accept that you have one much older dog and a rambuctious, energetic, awkward pup. So there will be times the Maltese will snap at the pup just because the Maltese is teaching the puppy some manners (and this is VERY normal in a pack). Tiny pups are given some forgiveness in a dog pack - until about 3 maybe 4 months of age. During this early time, pups are allowed to yap, nip, play, etc. After that, the parenting of the pack kicks in and the older dogs will teach the pups about their place in the pack and what is and isn't acceptable behavior. A pup coming charging into an older dog to play is not acceptable. That will happen. So your Maltese may give a little nip to the lab to teach the pup about manners. Accept this. Do not scold either dog. However, if the Maltese is going overboard or if the Lab doesn't listen at all, then you, the alpha, should step in and correct the situation.

Time is needed here and as your pup learns his place in the home, things will calm down. Just be sure not to disrupt the Maltese's place so much that it upsets the routine he's known for years. Dogs love consistency and changes can be upsetting. So give your Maltese time to adjust too.

If you cannot be in control of the situation, do NOT leave the dogs free together. If you can trust the Maltese on his own at this point, let him remain free, but put the pup in a nice comfy crate. A crate-trained dog will grow very used to his crate. He will go in willingly, relax and sleep. He may chew toys there too. The crate becomes his quiet space, a den where he doesn't have to fight for toys. Make the Lab's crate a fun spot, but providing pillows (unless he chews them up), toys, and treats. This will not only ensure that the dogs are separated when you aren't there to control the situation between the two dogs, but will also prevent the Lab from doing any damage to the house.

Good luck!

Answer 3

they're trying to ascertain who stands where in the chain of command. plus, older dogs usually give new puppies trouble. once the older dog gets beyond the aggressive phase with the new puppy, they generally move on to the "ignore" phase, from what I've seen. this will happen once the older dog is satisfied that the new puppy knows who is boss. of course, you're supposed to be the boss, but there are still ranks under you. they should both know to listen to you when you break up the problems, because you are the alpha, but like i said... there is still a pecking order beneath the alpha. (although, in the wild, the alpha does mediate the lower ranks when he or she is required to do so)

the puppy will tuck its tail between its legs and show the older dog its belly x number of times (the older dog will keep checking the baby i don't know why it takes so long, but just when you think they have it figured out, they'll fight for rank again). eventually, the puppy will stop challenging the older dog and the older dog will stop putting the puppy in it's place... UNTIL the puppy gets big enough to challenge again. they will continue to check each other periodically for the rest of their lives. BUT it will/should stop being a dangerous thing soon.

it's like putting a 4 year old around a bunch of 10 year old kids. the younger one is just annoying. they'll get over it. keep an eye on them until they have their order sorted out and things calm down. remember: slow and steady wins the race.

Answer 4

Your puppy probably doesn't have any manners and your dog
probably doesn't know how to teach her, especially if the Maltese never had puppies of her own to teach. Also the lab is way too big for the Maltese to discipline alone. YOU are the MOMMY teach your puppy how to respect her elders.
Check out cesarmillaninc.com.
good luck Mama

Answer 5

Be sure that you give your Maltese a break when he needs one, and don't leave them alone in the house together. Your Maltese is probably very annoyed at having to deal with a gigantic (to him), rambunctious, wiggly puppy - please find some suitable playmates for your puppy that are a better match in size and let them play. Meetup.com has local puppy play groups and most are separated by size. I'm sure your older dog will be able to tolerate a tired puppy.

http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB722

Answer 6

Sometimes dogs don't get along with others. But if you give them time maybe they will adjust to each other. I raise german shepherds and sometimes not all of them get along. At first my own shepherd Buck did not like his own son when he was little and would bite at him and knock him over but now they love each other so much. Buck loves to see him. We encouraged them to be around each other and gave them treats when they played nicely and eventually it payed off.

Also though some dogs will never get along. When one of our dogs Caesar was little him and Buck were best friends but now Buck hates Caesar with a passion and can't be allowed any where near him for fear of a fight. We think this is only because of the fight for dominance because they are both powerfull alpha males.

Answer 7

don't associate that a puppy knows any better b/c they don't ; they are still a baby learning their way; it takes time for everyone to establish a relationship; leave it alone and it will work out provided their isn't any special treatment to the older dog; it is just like having multiple children; everyone wants to be in the limelight ; it is up to the parent to dole out fairness

Answer 8

Because the naltese still wants attention but with a anew dog at home she cant get it hence she has to eliminate the problem... nd vice versa

Answer 9

you should introduce them slowly, and then realize that some of the growling and stuff that is done has to be done and you just need to let it happen. (not a fight though). All in all they'll eventually grow to love and appreciate each other.

Answer 10

It sounds to me like your puppy is trying to be the dominate one in you family you must show your puppy you the dominate one.