Hello I'm a new member and I have a lab cross ridgeback who is 12 and has previously lived with a dog who we sadly had pts almost two years ago and our brand new chocolate lab Chester who we collected yesterday. I'm starting all over again it's been so long so I'm looking for some support please. We got our lab puppy yesterday, older dog was salivating a lot and totally avoiding him which I've just let him do as thought it will calm down eventually. I put pup in cage in kitchen with him at bed time last night and my older dog just repeatedly barked I'm assuming for me to come back and remove the tiny monster. I moved the cage into another room which made my old dog happy was that the right thing to do? My second question is pup cried (a lot) I pretty much ignored this til about 3.45 this morning and it was disturbing the kids so I made a noise upstairs so he quieten down for a moment and went nipped down quickly while he was quiet. Cage had water turned over and poo in it so I made minimal fuss and took him outside and then when I brought him back in I cleaned the cage up he was so upset tho so I brought him on the living room with his blanket and her curled up on the floor and he's been asleep there for the last two hours while I've dozed on the chair. Today I thought I'd give him all of his meals in his cage so he builds a positive image of the cage after a rough first night. Am I doing this all wrong?? I can't remember it's so long ago since I did this and the kids weren't born and I didn't have to factor in an old grumpy dog?? My dog is very placid and has a wonderful nature he's never been dog aggressive and is friendly but cautious with pups when out and about just thought I'd add that in, I'm hoping he's just adjusting to life with a new 'friend' and also I'm not allowing pup to follow or agitate him at all. Help please??
Hi, Yes you are definitely doing all the right things with the cage. I would try putting the pup in the cage for short periods of time during the day as well and make sure the space In the cage isn't too big otherwise they will toilet in it as well. With regards your older dog I would ensure the pup doesn't pester him as he doesn't seem that impressed with his arrival, never leave them on their own together, just in case the pup pushes him too far! Try to encourage lots of positive interactions between them. Some dogs just don't really like pesky pups, my lab met a young black lab pup yesterday on a walk which was leaping all over her and she was very growly at her, yet 3 years ago she endured the arrival of my wcs puppy and she was actually quite tolerant. Good luck Chloe
Thank you Chloe I'm so worried about doing it wrong and creating a nightmare for myself. Crate has enough room for a bed and a water bowl and a small spot for if he can't hold on through the night which I'm not expecting him too so think I've got right size? With the other dog he's quite happy to sleep most of the day so he's taken to lying on kitchen bed that he has rather than living room or sloping off upstairs for a bit so we are just making regular trips in to pat and fuss him x
Hello and welcome to the forum How old is your new puppy? It is going to be a stressful time for your older dog, so make sure he has somewhere he can go to get away from the puppy, and make sure he's still getting plenty of attention apart from the pup. It sounds to me like you tried to leave your puppy too long overnight without a toilet break. If he's young, he will need to go out more frequently overnight. At first, try setting your alarm for every two to three hours; when it goes off, take him outside for the toilet and then pop him back into his crate again. Don't pet him or talk to him (other than a "good night!" if you wish). Each night, if the previous was successful, increase the time on your alarm by 15 minutes. It will have been very distressing for him to have to go in his crate; dogs instinctively want to keep their dens clean, so he would have held onto it as long as he could. As long as it's not very hot, he should be fine without water overnight. Feeding the pup in the crate is a good idea, and pop the odd unexpected treat in there during the day, too, so he feels as if the crate is feeding him. If you can, I would highly recommend getting a copy of The Happy Puppy Handbook by Pippa Mattinson. It's available on Amazon and has been a lifesaver for many of us on here. It should answer all of your questions in a lot of detail. Pop over to the introductions section to tell us a little about you and your puppy, and to share some pictures if you can. What's his name?
Thankyou Snowbunny! His name is Chester and he is just over 8 weeks old. Making sure out existing dog is allowed his own space he's quite relaxed if he's in another room at the moment so I'm letting him do what he wants and we are popping in frequently for cuddles so I hope that's helping? Good idea on alarm I'll do that tonight, he cried when he first went in then settled and two hours later started crying and I thought u should ignore but thinking about it that's probably when he did the one poo in the cage, second time was about two hours later when I actually came downstairs and when I let him out he had a poo so you're definitely onto something thankyou!! I've actually ordered faff book yesterday! I have been furiously googling things the last few weeks as I want to make sure I get it right as never introduced to an older dog and as my kids are 5 and 9 never had that I the mix with a puppy either!
Hello, and a very warm welcome to the forum. If you have your puppy in a crate, you need to get up and let them out to go to the toilet. If you want to leave them overnight and ignore them, then they have to be in a space where they can pee and poo away from their sleeping area. Some pups are fine to be confined to a crate (with toilet breaks) straight away, others need a longer time to get used to it. I left my puppy in a pen overnight from day one, with a bed and newspapers far enough away from the bed so he didn't think he had to soil his sleeping area, but I wouldn't do that again (I think it must be a very scary thing for such a young baby). Next time, I'll have the puppy in a box by my bed for the first few nights and go through crate training over the period of a week or so and then move the pup out of my room to a crate. Here is an article for crate training (it's over a weekend, but if your pup now has a problem with the crate, I'd take at least a week over it http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/weekend-crate-training
That's good advice again Julie thank you. He does have some space in the crate where he can toilet if he needs to but he clearly doesn't like to do that and he's been fairly decent at going out doors for toilet so far too. I do need to crack the crate as I want him to be safe when I have to leave him (school run and I work 16 hours a week) but the rest of the time I'm home with the dogs so he will have plenty of company, play and exercise. I'm starting from scratch with it being so long since we had a new puppy so all of this advice is super helpful! Thanks so much! Ps please don't judge the working 16 hours I know some people think you shouldn't have a dog at all if you work but I do make every effort to ensure they are home alone as little as possible (I'm on pupternity leave for a week and a half too) and when he's old enough I'm very active so he will be well stimulated and exercised appropriately for age
I work full time and have a dog. When I got my puppy, I was working 70 hour weeks. My puppy was well cared for, and is a happy, well adjusted dog. So you won't find me judging anyone that works and has a dog. Allowing a puppy to toilet in a crate is the worst of all worlds, unfortunately. It damages their instinct to keep their den (the crate) clean and this can seriously hamper toilet training. The crate needs to be small enough so they don't toilet in it, and you mustn't leave them any longer than they can hold poo and pee. If you can't manage that, then try a crate inside a pen arrangement, so the puppy can leave the crate in an emergency to have a poo or pee.
Ok will maybe get a larger bed then but how will that work on a work day? Also update on older dog...he is now staying in same room but warning pup when he gets too close with a bit of growling lip curling and a bit of a bark. Pup responding with pretty decent manners and backing off then lying down. I'm thinking this is good progress considering he wouldn't even come into the same room and was drooling yesterday?
Not quite sure I know what you mean - it's about using a crate for toilet training, but allowing accidents outside the crate if you are not there to make sure that can't happen. So one of the points of it is to cope with work days, if you have to go back to work before a pup is toilet trained. I left Charlie in a puppy pen with his bed/crate at one end, and newspapers at the other. I had a puppy care service call in (and an army of other helpers, which you won't need if you are only covering 16 hours a week) and tried to minimise the chances of him having a poo and pee while I was gone. It worked fine.
So this afternoon after thinking I'm making progress with my older dog who yesterday was staying in another room and this morning was venturing into the room where the puppy is he's now started to growl and snarl when he goes anywhere near him even if he's just sniffing and not attempting to be annoying??
Growling is fine. It's just giving him a warning that he's not comfortable. Your puppy has to learn doggy language. These are valuable lessons for him. If he pushes it, your older dog will probably snap at him. Don't freak out - I'm sure the pup will get the idea then that he has to give the old fella some space. They will work it out, your old boy will be OK with this intruder in the end; he may just need to be the grumpy old man and teach the pup his rules first. Don't worry if your older dog growls when the pup is a way away and just looking at him, either. It's just all part of the rollercoaster of the pup learning manners in doggy society. It'll be good for him
Oh, and I didn't say it in so many words, but it was sort of implied - don't tell your older dog off for growling at the puppy. Growling is his way of communicating the early stages of displeasure and, if you take that voice away from him, he may feel he has to resort to more definite measures without a warning first.
Hello there, You've had some great advice already so I'm just here to say hi and welcome.We have Dexter,he's a 3 year old yellow boy.We don't have children or another dog and Dexter was 5 months when he came to us,but it still felt full on and a bit bewildering at first so please come by if you need some help with anything at all. Best Wishes Angela x
Hi and welcome, I would second Fiona's comments (Snowbunny) regarding the growling from your older dog, just keep an eye on them when they are together. Learning manners from an older dog is so important for a puppy and generally sounds an awful lot worse than it is. My trainers dog puts all puppies in their place when they meet and they all adore him - and yes it's pretty noisy but that's all it is.
