Hi, I feel a little out of my depth with this problem and not sure if I’m fussing too much as a puppy mum! Or if I should be worried. We introduced our pup, Boomer to our MILs 2 year old dog last weekend. We organised a ‘bump into each other’ at a local park so nice and neutral territory. The minute the dog got close to the pup he launched himself at pup, lots of nasty noises - had him on his back with lots of yelping from Boomer. We got the dog off pup and kept them apart for a bit (no injuries) We did carry on the walk for a bit and whilst the dog had a few snaps and pops at pup - it was nothing like the initial one. However, Boomer was very very anxious for the rest of the walk - throwing himself and cowering the minute the dog came near him. We went back to our house - I popped pup in his puppy pen in another room. Sadly the door to the room got opened and the dog charged into the room hurling himself at the pen snarling, growling etc. This seems to have really bothered Boomer - the following few days, he’s been really scared of dogs we’ve met on walks. Trying to run, cower etc etc Very different to what he was like before. I have now taken him for a play with his brother and he met a few other dogs at the same time which went well and I think has helped get him a bit happier again. I know dogs tell each off and we were lucky with our last lab that we didn’t have many incidents - but gut feeling - this felt more than just a normal reaction. And I know we need to be careful with too many negative experiences when he’s so young. So I have no idea what to do next. Do I try another off lead walk. I don’t really want to at the moment to be honest, seeing how affected pup seemed to be but that might just be me being over protective!! Do we try a walk but with the dog in a muzzle? Wait until pup is a bit older and less vulnerable? Or do controlled meetings on a lead where the dogs don’t actually get to meet but just get used to each other in the same room and take it very slowly. Although we see each other once a week - there’s no rush to get them together as we’ve got two rooms to keep them apart in. So I’m happy to take our time to make sure it goes as well as possible. Only slight problem is Christmas Day where we are going to their house and will be hard to keep them apart but happy to make sure we do it - if that’s what’s needed. Any thoughts, advice would be really appreciated and as really don’t know where to go and desperately don’t want to screw the poor lad up! Thanks in advance Karen
Oh dear , and no, this doesn't sound like an older dog telling off a youngster, sounds much more than this .I`m really sorry that Boomer had to experience this . Is you MIL`s dog usually like this with others or is it just your puppy ? I would be very reluctant to risk this happening again , as it doesn't take much to plant a deep seated fear into a puppy and that's the last thing you want for your little one . You did everything right by arranging the meeting in neutral territory , but unfortunately , sometimes a dog will just take an instant dislike to another one and there is little anyone can do to overcome this . It is highly unusual for a good tempered adult to behave like this towards a puppy , so if it were me , I would be avoiding meetings for now , it wouldn't take much to knock Boomers confidence which would be an awful shame x
Could the older dog be reacting to pup being with you? You have been part of his life after all. I agree that meetings of any kind should be avoided with your mum's dog. Could you leave pup at home on christmas day and pop back to see to him a couple of times?
Thanks both for your replies - really appreciate it. Interesting to know that you would both avoid any meetings for now and it's not just me being a bit over the top. In terms of the other dog, it has happened before but I don't think it's a regular problem - on that day we met other dogs on the walk and he didn't react to them. I'm not really sure what sort of dogs he has reacted to in the past although I know of one other puppy and I've seen him snap at a small dog but tbh - I don't really know the scale of the problem. I should be able to manage Christmas somehow - I might not be very popular but not going to risk any long term damage for one day of festivities I guess I just need to figure out a plan to tackle this a bit further down the line when Boomer is a bit older and a bit more resilient. It's hard isn't it when it's the one dog you could really do with them getting ok with Thanks again guys.
That sounds very unusual, most dogs (if they have been well-socialized) are fine with puppies. They may tell them off, if they get too boisterous or if they cross the boundaries of doggy good manners, but this sounds really quite extreme. I would certainly keep them apart, and try again in a month or so.
I totally agree with everyone else. My girl can be reactive at times, but never with a puppy - she lets puppies jump all over her and plays really gently with them. I hope you can work something out.
No, you’re not overreacting. I would be worried by seemingly agressive behaviour too. It may well have been triggered by jealousy, but it’s not worth upsetting Boomer. When he’s a bit older you can again arrange to meet on neutral territory with both dogs on leads, but could Boomer perhaps be held by somebody else (preferably unknown to your MIL’s dog) with you watching from a distance, to see if that improves the situation? I hope you manage to sort something out for Christmas Day so that you don’t have to worry.
I have two dogs that hated my puppy when I introduced her. It sounds not dissimilar to your experience except I had to live with them all under the same roof! My puppy was also thankfully very robust. But still, I had over two months where I kept the older dogs away from the puppy except in very carefully arranged situations. Definitely don’t let the older dog get to the puppy and don’t listen to anyone that suggests you should let them sort it out. This could do real psychological damage to your puppy. It doesn’t mean the older dog is “bad”, just that he doesn’t like pups. You know what? I really dislike children, it doesn’t mean I’m (completely) horrible With careful introductions - by that, I mean sitting on the floor with the pup one side and the dog the other, giving cuddles to both - they may well become firm friends like my older two did with the puppy. But it can’t be rushed.
I would keep your pup away from MILs dog at least in the short run. At the same time Boomer needs to meed friendly dogs so he knows that most are friendly, and also how to interact with them. Your MILs dog is unusual in not tolerating pups. As others have said most adult dogs will tolerate pups, even when they are not thrilled. They may tell them to leave them alone, or go away but it is pretty unusually to actively attack.
Thanks everyone for your posts - it's helped give me the confidence that I'm right to insist we keep them apart for a month a least, however unpopular that is! It's great to be able to get advice from experienced dog people instead of floundering along alone - so huge thanks. When I'm ready to try again, I was wondering about starting off using the puppy pen with Boomer in and take the older dog on his lead into the sitting room the other end with plenty of treats for being calm. And gradually over the weeks get closer and closer to the pen taking it slow enough so he doesn't react to pup so hopefully we get to the point where he can be sitting near the pen with no reaction. I'm not sure if the dog will do it with me or not - he's got fairly major separation anxiety with his owners and gets pretty wound up if they leave the room for anything. Although he does just about respond to me in these situations if I have some treats and do some games with him while they are out of the room. But anyway, I'll leave it for now and figure out my game plan for the end of Jan! Thanks again all
Good, I think it's a sensible decision to keep the two apart for now. When you next try to re-introduce the two, I wouldn't introduce them in your house, and I would NOT have Boomer in his crate, as that could be very scary for him. I would go for a walk on neutral ground, with your MIL holding the other dog, and you holding Boomer. Walk parallel, and stay far enough apart that the other dog is under threshold, I.e. not worried by or reacting to Boomer. This may be 50 yards or more apart to begin with! If that goes well, you can reduce the space between them - but always keeping the distance so that both dogs remain under threshold. It may take several weeks, but eventually you should be able to walk both dogs side by side. It may well be worth employing a good trainer to help you with this.
Thanks Karen for this - I'll scrap my plan A and go to plan B The parallel walking on leads a distance apart sounds a good starting point. You know, I think you're probably right about a trainer. I've got my second stage puppy classes starting at the beginning of Jan so I'm going to ask the trainer what her approach would be and see if it fits and if all sounds good, then I'll ask her to get involved.
We had this exact same reaction from a friends bitch. She has 2 dogs, we visited her house as she actively encouraged it. The spaniel was fine with our 16month old and played for hours. The Lab bitch went into full on nasty mode and had to be put away. I won't be going back. This dog is fine apparently with all other dogs, except mine. And mine looked completely bemused and just lay down as if to say "whats this dog on" Thank fully he had no adverse reaction to it. I hope that being younger and integrating with other dogs your pup realises that other dogs aren't all like this
