older dogs behaviour towards new puppy

stcatherine

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with dog behaviour and can help advise me.

I have a 6 year old female staffie cross who is temermental at the best of times shes very choosy about what dogs she likes, some she will snarl at on walks, others she loves to play with.

Yesterday we rescued a 4 month old puppy staffie cross male, we put him straight into a crate to allow her to get used to him, her behaviour has been confsuing and I dont want to let him out until I'm sure shes not going to do him harm.

whats happening is, he cries and she goes running to him, a lot of the time shes trying to clean him we have seen a lot of licking eachothers noses, shes licked his tail, paws etc.

But then shes also biting his nose through the bars at times.

Theres lots of vocalisation going on between them mostly whining and talking and the odd barking session but no 'growling' as such.

I'm sure she wants to clean him cos he stinks of the pound. or also she could just want him out of 'her' crate.

Tails are wagging a lot side to side while they are whining and talking.

The older dog is understably very stressed but im not sure if its because she wants rid of hm or shes concerned for him as hes crying a lot.

any advice would be grateful.

many thanks

Paul91

did you "introduce" them to each other outside of her domain? i believe a good way to intoduce dogs is off their patch - take for a walk and then go back home?

are you able to let them play with each other, and be physical, i.e. are you confident that if anything untoward takes places you can control both dogs (pull them off each other if needed)

good on you for rescuing a pup by the way - thumbs up

stcatherine

we didn't introduce them off territory as the puppy is only 4 months and honestly didnt know to do that at the time, but the vet advised us to crate the puppy for a few days until the older dog is used to him a little, I'm confident I can control her if anything happens, Im just hoping that the licking is a good sign.

star-pants

It's a good sign I'd say, my older dog was 2&half when we got our pup.
She was scared at first of her, and the pup just wanted to play and cuddle cuz she wanted a mother. It's best to keep them supervised whilst you have them out of the crate together, they should be ok, but for the first week or so I wouldn't leave them alone together just incase, as instances do happen.

Your older dog probably wants to clean him / wondering why he smells. My older dog likes to pin my pup down and clean her eyes (drown them even!) and sometimes the pup isn't happy with it and might give a small snap or give out vocally to her.
IF the pup is crying it will upset your older dog naturally, she'll want to know why he's crying and how she can help which could be why she's trying to get at him too.
She will also want to dominate him and put him in his place in the house. This will probably be done by her biting (not hard) the back of the neck/head and pushing the pup to the floor, unless she's being aggressive I wouldn't interfere with that, it's the natural order, she's just asserting herself as the dominant one. They may play fight too, so just be wary but it's ok unless they get very aggressive (I'm sure you know your older dog enough by now to know what mood she's in).

My older dog likes to get away from the pup sometimes, she'll growl at her and then jump up away so the pup can't get to her. Make sure your older dog has this type of retreat to get to, to get a break, as pups can be very very playful and she might not be up for it 24/7.

Good luck with them, I'm sure they'll get on in time

stcatherine

I was worried because my dog can be aggressive but I'm pleased to say just now we let puppy out of the crate and our dog was ok-ish, she did pin him to the floor and clean him lots in fact she was grabbing him with her paws and pulling him out to clean him, she presented herself to him a couple of times also and it looked as if she was teaching him how to clean her.

she was verging on the obsessive, the puppy was under a rowing machine and she was literally pulling him out to clean him.

she even went in the crate after him at which point he got very puppy like and started hanging off her, she was a bit wild eyed then and non plussed so we took her out and locked him back in for a bit.

all in all Im hoping this is a good sign, it looks like she wants to mother him and teach him and Im so emotional lol.

we know we cant let our guard down yet and to be honest I can see her going outside and him being crated when we go anywhere for a long time yet anyway.

hes happy in the crate which is excellent.


a big phewwww that first introduction on the floor is over with

gypsygirl

Sounds like your Staffie and the pup will be best of friends, also sounds like they need lots of excercise together though. Bring them for long walks together and that way they'll really get to know and become comfortable with each other, I've had to do this with several dogs and it really does work.

gypsygirl

stcathrtine, please try to ignore how YOU are feeling when around the dogs, they will pick up on your feelings and act accordingly. Just be relaxed and know that your older dog knows how to deal with the pup. I got a rottie puppy recently and my 7 year old Doberman hated her although my 12 yr old Shepherd loved her, I just let them get on with it and now they're all best buddies, the pup needed lessons and the older dogs taught her, its all part of the doggie world, They need to sort it out, if you get involved you'll just add fuel to the fire, sounds like your Staffie likes the pup, cleaning it etc, leave them be, they'll establish their own relationship, Staffie will obviously be Top/Alpha dog and the puppy will learn from her, Relax, sounds like your dogs will have a good relationship, Enjoy the walks.

stcatherine

thank you for your words of encouragement, I am doing my best to stay calm around them keeping my voice on an even level.

The older dog is being a real pain she seems to be taking the whole dominance thing a little too far, she literally is shadowing the puppy every time he moves every single step he takes shes nipping on his ear pulling him back, pulling him over cleaning him to death.

He's now started being sick and Im worried shes stressing him out by not giving him any peace so I've put him back in the crate.

Kinda feels like 2 steps forward and one back but I know we will get there.

Paul91

gypsygirl wrote: »

I got a rottie puppy recently and my 7 year old Doberman hated her although my 12 yr old Shepherd loved her,

now that sounds like my dream dog household! wow - i'm impressed!

gypsygirl

Paul91 wrote: »

now that sounds like my dream dog household! wow - i'm impressed!

Yeah, I'm loving it, I walk the girls (Shepherd and Rottie) together, both mad but gorgeous. The doberman (Nigel) is a bit unfriendly with other dogs so he's walked on his own, but in the evenings all the mutts are indoors and I love the madness. The rottie Ella snuggles up on the sofa with me while Nigel n Molly curl up in front of the fire. I Luv me dogs.

gypsygirl

Again Stcatherine, the best thing you can do to help your dogs is IGNORE them, honestly, your older girl knows best. Unless She's being aggresive with the pup, and it doesn't sound like it, leave them be, When I introduced my baby rottwieller into my family, my doberman HATED her, I thought He wanted to kill her but I had to let them sort out the pecking order, thats what your older girl is doing and every time you get involved or upset your've delaying the animal process. Try to ignore them, they'll sort themselves out, any interference from you delays their progress. Good luck and stay back and let them get on with it.