Help! I have an 11 year old Lab who's not very playful and we have just god another Lab puppy (11 weeks) who's very playful. Initial introductions went well and very quietly. however all the pup want to do is play and my older dog is having non of it. initially we had a lot of barking from him and no aggression but the pup chases him around until he manages to get upstairs. The older dog is now sowing some aggression (not nasty just putting him in his lace) but the pup continues to harass. input noticed that the older dog will not venture on to the grass where the pup goes to do this wee's etc. Have we gone wrong and how do we make them friends (we now have a play pen for the pup which keeps them apart. i just want them to be both happy
Congratulations on your new puppy. A lot of people have this problem, and it’s really a question of taking introductions at the older dog’s pace. And providing the older dog with plenty of opportunity to escape from the puppy At the moment, from the older dog's viewpoint, your puppy is just an unwelcome house guest. In time he will be a treasured member of the family. Indoors, the playpen or a baby gated area is a good idea. Letting the dogs get to know each other either side of a gate for a few days can make for smoother introductions. Outdoors, a low fenced ‘puppy zone’ near to your back door, low enough that the older dog can hop in and out of the zone at his pleasure will help to reduce conflict. Keep interactions short to begin with, and lengthen them as the older dog starts to accept the puppy into the family. This could take a few weeks.
Thanks for your advice. I think were in it for the long haul - older dog will not even go up on to the grassed area where the puppy has played and even when coaxed and the puppy not there. Tried this morning and he was obviously stressed as he was drooling conversely he's very curious and greets him with friendly body language when the puppy is on the lead. Baby steps - i think
I thought I'd post an update. We’ve kept the two dogs apart using the playpen and your suggestions and Cadbury (older dogs- 11yrs) started to interact with the puppy and spend more time down stairs. So we’ve started allowing them to meet. We get barking and showing the teeth from Cadbury when Crunchy (the pup) jumps up at him. He definitely gives this signal that he doesn’t want to play - he’s always got an escape rout. Every time that they are together Crunchy jumps up at him and we get the display of aggression from Cadbury and the pup keeps going back for more and barking at him, but Cadbury doesn’t back away as he previously did. (We do call the pup away but he carries on going for more) Do we keep on with this until the pup get the message or do we go for more separation? We also noticed that Cadbury will no longer go to the toilet on the grass where the pup plays. He opts for a patch of flower bed for a wee on the edge of the grass and a poo on the decking - Why would this be, he used to go on the grassed area and never on then flowed beds or decking?
