Hi folks, Apologies for the long post but we are desperate for some help with our 2 girl labs. Molly our 8y old lab is scared of our pup, Lily, who we've had since she was 9 weeks and is now 13 months old. We have to keep them separate most of the time in the house as Lily is very energetic and wants to lick Molly's face and be close to her. Molly is a beautiful, quiet natured and loving dog, but also quite timid, so gets stressed when Lily does this and can't relax until Lily calms down. When Lily is calm so is Molly. Outside, they chase each other and seem to have a good time, although Lily will try to keep Molly away from us. When this happens we thrown a treat a d ask Lily to search for it. Whilst she's doing that we give Molly big pats and cuddles. We have had 2 behaviourists to try help. The first one was more a trainer, I would say, but the 2nd is more behaviour orientated. She has visited twice and firstly suggested getting Molly checked by vet in case she was in any pain. We had already done this and she was prescribed meds for a stiff hind leg joint. She also suggested giving her VitB tablets with breakfast, then a few hours later give her 2oz of cooked pasta or rice. Apparently this helps create seratonin and would help calm her. Been doing this for 2 months now. 2nd visit was last week. At this one we decided to also try calm Lily by giving her Yucalm daily. Obviously it's too soon for this to take effect yet. We also keep Lily mentally as well as physically stimulated to try reduce energy levels. Has anyone else experienced this and have any further advice suggestions to help us ? Thanks for reading.
I have 2 girl Labs. The older one is 11 and the younger 15 months. Sky the older one couldn’t cope with Red the puppy for months. She wasn’t frightened of her - more that she didn’t want to know and rejected Red. Red being a full on croco pup last year was too much for her. Sky also got diagnosed with arthritis in her front legs and was in pain - she now has medication plus YuMove tablets and salmon oil. Sky sounds a lot like Molly - she is also beautiful, quiet natured and loving. I wouldn’t say she is timid - more just not really interested in other dogs - she will tolerate most but she didn’t want to have anything to do with Red and every time Red went near her, she moved away. Red still pushes in for attention if we are fussing Sky but it’s just a bit of exuberance and Sky knows she will always get attention from us. We used to get them together with a kong each three times a day (they still have them); using a ruffle snuffle mat and lots of tiny pieces of kibble and games such as ‘find it’. Bit by bit they started spending more time together - first all evening, then the afternoon and the evening, then all day. They are now together 24/7 as they sleep in the same room. Occasionally they will play with each other but most the time just hang out in their own or each other’s bed. They have one long shared off lead walk together in the morning but Red has her own walks too. They always appear together when it’s their food time or kong time. Recently they have both been choosing to lie at my feet together when I sit down which I love.
Thanks for your reply. It's so hard when you see all these lovely photos of dogs and puppies lying together in perfect harmony. You really begin to wonder where you've gone wrong and is there a light at the end of the tunnel ? We do try to bring them together as much as possible and use a snuffle mat, lickmats,kongs and chews. If Lily is not completely focussing her attentions on Molly, then it's usually pretty calm. We do sometimes have Lily on a lead when we bring them together, till she calms down after initial excitement. Whilst typing this Lily is lying beside me on the sofa and because of that, Molly is dozing lying side down on the floor. If only it was always like this. It's going to take time and a lot of effort, but when they are both as contented as they are just now, it will be worth it.
Oh it definitely will. Yes I used a lead on Red for a long time and when she was little, we would have to pop her in her crate - not for very long but enough for her to learn not to keep jumping on Sky. The whole situation was one of the hardest things I have had to deal with and I used to get very upset about it. Their day had to be totally managed. Really thought we were destined to be living in 2 separate parts of the house. Gradually though it improves and the calm times become the norm. I love having the two now - Sky for her gentle calm manner and Red for her big puppy ‘joie de vivre’ . You will get there.
Your reply mirrors the way I feel at the moment, especially managing days and 2 separate parts of house. Thank you for your advice.
Let us know how it goes. I found being able to write on this forum how things were, very helpful. I got a lot of support and helpful tips which gave me the strength to keep looking for solutions. It was hard work and I look back with such relief that those days are over.
Hopefully things will settle soon, but it's mentally and physically exhausting at the moment, as you will know from past experience. Perhaps my next comment will be to celebrate our 2 girls getting along !
Yes it certainly is. I never ever want to return to that dark place I was in last year. I was utterly and totally exhausted. I feel for you - it’s hard....but you will come out the other side stronger. I get a lot of satisfaction looking at my beautiful dogs.
