Our 10-week old lab (Willow) and our 4 1/2 year old lab have thankfully gotten along great from day one. My problem is that my older dog, Tule, tends to bark alot (when she wants to eat, hears or sees people or animals outside, etc.) and now our puppy is starting to bark as well when she hears Tule barking. Another issue is that the older dog pesters the puppy alot wanting to play and gets her pretty amped up. When I separate them by putting puppy Willow in her x-pen to give her a break, Tule starts barking. I don't like having to break up their play times but they both get pretty wired (as labs do). Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'd like Willow to grow up to be a bit calmer than her big sister!
Congrats! 11 mo Maggie joined us last January when Johnny was 2.5 years old. How much exercise was your older dog getting before the puppy came, is he getting the same amount now, and could he get a bit more? I'm sure this is last thing you want to think about with puppy disrupted sleep. The single best thing I did was to enroll Maggie in puppy class and thereafter enroll both dogs in basic manners classes. This allowed me focus on each dog individually and the trainer had great supportive suggestions for at-home stuff. Don't feel badly that you need to intervene now and then. In a few short months I suspect you'll need to intervene on behalf of the older dog when the puppy becomes to much to handle. My older dog responds well to the "place" and "stay" cues, and I'm now able to prevent fits of jumping, circling, and nipping by asking for a sit as soon as I see the signs of impending loss of control
I am new to this site. I have a 4 year old black lab that recently lost her companion( since we brought her home, a mini schnauzer that passed from cancer 3 wks. ago). How do I know if its a good idea to get another small dog or let the lab become used to being our only dog?
Thanks for the reply. Willow starts a puppy class this week. Tule knows all her basic commands, however, I'm going to take your advice and redirect their play with some training when they start getting too wild. Tule gets a 45-minute walk daily but now that bird hunting season has started, she will be getting lots more exercise which hopefully will calm her down. I'm also hoping the novelty of having a puppy around will start to wear off at some point and she won't pester Willow quite as much. These early puppy days can be quite trying, as you know!
Welcome to the forum Jeb, maybe it would be best if you start a new thread by clicking on the button that says 'post new thread' on the main puppy section page. Hope we can help.
