I have a 4 year old Black Labrador and now have an 8 week old Black Labrador my older dog doesn't like the new arrival and walks away or runs into another room if 'the Pup 'touches his toys then he will not go near them. Will this situation improve and how can I help them get on
Re: Will they get on? There is an article on this in the latest Your Dog magazine which you might be able to access on line. It seemed to be full of advice. Beyond that I cannot help. I guess I would almost ignore the newbie and make a fuss of the 5 year old. I'm not sure. Maybe take turns bring with the two of them, if there's more than one human there. Lots of treats?
Re: Will they get on? Give them time, make sure the older dog has space of his own where he can go to be safe from the puppy. Don't force things; play little games with the two of them; try to make time you spend with both of them happy times. Do take the older dog out on his own, and be extra nice to him. I'm sure in a few weeks they'll be good friends, but in the meantime don't get upset if the older dog ignores the puppy, or even growls at him. It is very unlikely that he will hurt the puppy. Do keep us posted how you get on, and we'd love some photos!
Re: Will they get on? It takes some time, reassurances to both, supervised interactions, and soon they will either become best buds...or they will establish clear boundaries that makes cohabitating possible. I think it's like when you bring a new human baby home and introduce them to your toddler....it's all about giving them time to get to know each other, and ensuring that both get adequate attention. For me, when I brought my Bella home at 7 weeks old...I had a 7 year old Anatolian (livestock gaurdian breed....she's about 150+ pounds) at home, and she has a very tender nose (sunburns : ) So she is always very protective of her head space. It took some careful supervision for the first couple of weeks, and rewarding tolerance and patience (as Bella hung from her neck scruff), and once Bella understood that under NO circumstances should she bit her sister on the NOSE.....it was fine. Bella is now 20 weeks, and while we have had a couple "pack dominance" lessons when Bella forgot about Crystal's nose and Crystal rolled her and scolded her into submission ....they are otherwise best buds. (I was there for both the incidents, and was able to get Crystal OFF without doing any harm to Bella - but it scared us all!!!) Learning boundaries and socially acceptable behavior takes time...with a bit of guidance they will get there.
Re: Will they get on? With our last two, we got Max at 11 weeks and Lizzie was just over 2 years, she hated him with a passion for the first three/four weeks, showing him her teeth and growling if he laid near her. to be fair, he did used to launch himself on to her back as she walked past the sofa and he was on it lol. He was so laid back that it didn't bother him, he kept laying with his head on her and one day she just looked at him, sighed and went back to sleep. From that day on they were best buddies for the next 11 and a half happy years and she really looked after him. We did feed them separately and he was crated at night, and when we went out, to give her some peace from him. Really make a fuss of the older dog, so he doesn't feel quite so jealous. Keep some toys separate that he only has when the pup is in his crate. I'm sure they will be inseparable in no time (we got siblings this time, so they just had to accept us, which took until the next morning lol x
