Our puppy (14 weeks) doesn't really bark much, the only time he barks is when he is around our 11 yr old lab. He will not leave him alone, he will just bark at him constantly, Harley the older dog will growl, show his teeth, or bark at him but it just riles up the puppy even more. They have plenty of time apart as puppy is in his crate during periods of the day but every time he is out lately he wont leave the dog alone. any advise??
I would leave a house line on pup and every time he starts barking at your older dog I would walk him away to another room. No interaction, speaking etc. so that he learns barking doesn't get him what he wants but calmness does. If the pup isn't listening to older pups warning, you need to take action so he doesn't have to.
Taking him the older dog or puppy? It would be easier to remove the older dog than the puppy as we only have a specific area our main living room blocked off for the puppy right now (that's where we all are). I can take the puppy outside is that a good spot? Will he outgrow it if left?
I would remove puppy if at all possible, the idea being that he is the who's behaviour you're trying to modify. Once he is quiet he can return but as soon as he starts again he is quietly and calmly removed. You could remove your older dog and yourself, and any family menbers around at the time but jt is far easier to remove the puppy - afterall your older dog's behaviour isn't in question.
the reason I ask is because that is a "good" place for him meaning he likes being outside. If that is the case will he figure out why he's being put outside eventually even though he likes it?
I wouldn't put him outside, particularly if it's an area he associates with lots of fun. Ideally you just need to exclude him from the room for a minute or two or until he is quiet. He is then allowed back in but if he starts pestering the older dog and barking he is gently removed again, and eye on, and again until he realises that it is his barking that causes the removal.
Well it's really frustrating because it's so hard to know what is right and wrong when there is so much information. I asked our trainer last night and he said unless our older dog would hurt the puppy we should let him stay because eventually Harley (older dog) will let the puppy know he doesn't like it and the puppy needs to learn when he's around other dogs what a "raised lip", or "showing of teeth" mean when he greets other dogs so he said unless it's just a very long encounter to leave them be.
Well I guess, as a trainer/behaviourist, I don't agree with your trainer . You've already said that the pup has ignored Harley's growling, showing teeth and barking So you have two choices you allow the situation to continue until potentially pup gets hurts/pinned down/ frightened by escalation from Harley or you, as the human caregiver for both dogs, can intervene so Harley doesn't have to escalate his response but puppy can still learn boundaries safely.
