Puppy too attached to other dog

The Pheasant2

Hi there, I have two dogs - a yellow Lab (Max) who's going to be 11 soon and pug/cavalier cross puppy (Penny) that we got in August. The dogs get on great and are both fine, however the new pup is really attached to Max; I guess she sees him as a father figure or something, she follows him everywhere and sleeps on top of him!

Anyway the problem is that any time we have to take Max somewhere without Penny e.g the vet, for a bath etc. Penny goes mental, crying and howling inconsolably for the entire time he's gone. This isn't a huge problem now as we just try avoid separating them, but Max is getting on in years now and we're worried about how Penny will react when he passes. Anybody have any suggestions on how to make Penny less attached/dependent on Max?

Thanks

kylith

Well, avoiding separating them isn't the way to go, it'll only make it worse in the long run. You need to get her used to being separated from him, starting with just a couple of minutes and working up to longer periods.

Pretzill

I'm no expert just speaking from experience, hopefully all being well - Max will be here for up to another 3+ years and by that time Penny will have grown up and sometimes they change a little - wanting their own space etc;

But having them as good friends now is brilliant - my pup loves are eldest too snuggled in beside him the first day he arrived now though more a toddler then a pup the older guy isn't overly happy with puppy antics - having a large age gap is a good barometer for measuring changes -

VonVix

The Pheasant2 wrote: »

Hi there, I have two dogs - a yellow Lab (Max) who's going to be 11 soon and pug/cavalier cross puppy (Penny) that we got in August. The dogs get on great and are both fine, however the new pup is really attached to Max; I guess she sees him as a father figure or something, she follows him everywhere and sleeps on top of him!

Anyway the problem is that any time we have to take Max somewhere without Penny e.g the vet, for a bath etc. Penny goes mental, crying and howling inconsolably for the entire time he's gone. This isn't a huge problem now as we just try avoid separating them, but Max is getting on in years now and we're worried about how Penny will react when he passes. Anybody have any suggestions on how to make Penny less attached/dependent on Max?

Thanks

When your new pup came into your household (with new people) it gravitated towards your other dog because they essentially speak the same language, it's not exactly a "father figure" thing imo.

Unfortunately what you're going to have to do is separate them, especially as she's still young now. It can actually make Penny harder to train (difficulty focusing on you) and more anxiety ridden if she's too attached to your other dog.

I would advise trying to have more one-on-one quality time with penny, walk her by herself, play with her by herself, feed her by herself, that sort of thing, you will unfortunately need to keep your other dog out of sight. Make sure that Penny is meeting loads of other dogs and people as well, but without your other dog around. She needs more individual attention.

I can say this as someone who brought a second dog into a new environment. I had my first at 8 weeks old, we then decided to get his brother about 5 months later. Our second dog is very attached to our first, and he is much more prone to being anxious in new situations. But I have been working with him for a good while now and he has improved, but you can tell that he has moments where he does get very worried without our other dog around.