Advice or tips needed, new dog in the house?

Question

I have a 7 mo old Boxer, and we just took in a foster from the local boxer rescue. She is 2 yrs old, very well behaved and sweet. Both dogs are fixed.

My question is, its been about 24 hours and my dog seems to be irritating her. He is very determined to play with her, constantly in her face, jumping around in front of her, pawing at her head, just won't give it a rest. He truly just wants to play, but she is not interested. There have been a few times where she has snapped at him, but overall she has been fairly patient all things considered. I can admit, my little guy is very persistent!

Does anyone have any ideas on how i can get them to play together? If not, what can i do to get him to leave her alone? We have been trying to keep him preoccupied with other toys and games, but he is just far too excited to have her in the house.

Any suggestions would be great!

Answer 1

her sedate non playing behaviour is normal for being in a new enviroment and around people , she is tense and nervous not sure what is expected of her, more than likely after a few days she will be ready to start playing. Give extra walks on leash together which will help her relieve some of her tension, and will provide your young guy with exercise to burn off some of his excitable energy, A foster homes best friend is a baby gate, allows for seperation and still lets dogs see each other, good for when you cannot supervise 100% and gives dogs a break form one another THe snapping at him is normal as well, if he was a younger puppy she woulld give him far from leeway, expect her to get peeved off and round out on him if he continues getting into her face to correct him and teach him some manners (he is actually showing very rude dog manners http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html) , so supervision when they are together to break it up but don't go punishing/scolding her for putting him in his place, he will settle down a lot after that happens and start showing her some respect and after that is when the playing together will likely start.

Answer 2

I just brought another dog into our house too and I just got past where you're at now. The dog we had orginally doesn't want to play all the time as the new one does. What we did was just like you're doing but a little different. the new one who is an 8 month old lab and the one we have had is a 3 year old lab as well and both are fixed. We play with the pup on his own outside, or in the house, something to get him to release some of his energy. then when it's beginning to get apparent that he's tiring out, we bring them both into the same area. he still wants to play but a quick, stern "no" stops him. I'm not saying to teach them not to play at all, but when it was obvious that our older lab didnt want to play this is what we did. the pup seemed to get the point that if the older one wasn't playing back that he wasn't to aggitate him. Now, we do the same thing, let the pup go play for a while, and then when they are together, they'll play (rarely) or they will lay down and relax. We also keep toys around when they are together just in case one needs something to be occupied but this is how we came about fixing this problem for us. Hope this helps or gives you a direction to take. Good luck.

Answer 3

LOL That's a Boxer for ya. They do like to clown around, don't they?

She will most likely relax and start playing with him eventually. Also, because she is female and older, your male Boxer will most likely be a little more respectful of her than he would a male and take her snapping at him to heart and offer up no retaliation.

Just let them keep going the way they are, but keep an eye on them for now.

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 4

He's still a pup, so it's hard to contain his excitement at having a playmate that can play the doggie games that YOU cannot.

I don't have Boxers, so I don't know if they play. My pyrs like to play at stalking with ME, and so if one of mine doesn't want to play and the other does, I can play with the one interested in playing. Your new girl could watch you stalk and play with your pup, and that might help her know that the playing is ok. You don't know how she was treated before, and maybe she was punished for playing with other dogs, so be patient... try to entertain the pup when she's rebuffed several requests from him to play. Be patient... she'll probably start playing when she's more settled in and more comfortable.

Answer 5

Give the new dog a break. Let her get accustomed to her new surroundings. Give the puppy some direction and step in between them if you have to to redirect the puppy. Be happy the new dog is simply showing respect for an already canine occupied home.

Answer 6

awww thats so cute. Well maybe give your Boxer some time, shes very new to the surroundings and is probably unsure of herself, she is already 7 months old. I maybe suggest keeping an eye on your other dog and if he keeps on "bothering" her, maybe separate them for a while, give treats to help them both learn tricks, be encouraging to both, or maybe take them both out of walks, play with the frisby, or my personal favorite my dogs love to play tug of war with each other! =P

Answer 7

Ok im kinda going through the samething, this is how they get to know each other and each others boundries. If they get to excited separate them. If you hear one yelp or one is getting to ruff grab that pup by his scruff of his neck and say no in a firm voice. this is what mommy did. I think just in time they will stop. He is trying to dominate her. telling her whos boss. I bring my pitbull puppy over my sister-in-laws who has another pitbull they both are males and they are constantly at each other. I think in time they will get along they are puppys. We separate them when too rough works for lil bit then again we separate. Good luck!

Answer 8

just give her time. she will warm up to him. i bet she is just nervous being in a new place. me and my family r currently fostering a puppy and he was really nervous about us and about my other dogs. trust me it will get better. my 2 year old dog was just wanting to play with him and the little guy wouldnt play but after a few days they started to become good friends. so its ok. she is just getting used to the new place. it is a lot to take in and it will take some time

Answer 9

i was recently in a similar situation. i think you should just have patience... the foster dog is probably scared and very nervous. you can try putting a few toys on the floor and supervising... it took my puggle a few days and sometimes he still just wants to be left alone; however, they will realize that 2 is company soon enough.

Answer 10

Just leave them alone to work it out.
She probably just not use to her new home and it may take a few days to a week for her to get use to everyhting and then you will be emailing and asking how do I get teh peace again.( I'm kind of joking but wait and you'll see)