Hello.... This has been bothering me for a couple of days now, so if anyone could give a good answer/theory, I'd appreciate it.
We have a 9-month-old male Silver Lab. We've had him since he was 7 weeks old. He is crate-trained, neutered and well-behaved. He is probably the best dog I've ever known--the sweetest I've ever known. My husband and I sometimes can't be home with him, so we decided to get another puppy to add to our family and be a friend to our lab.
So it's a female Golden Irish (50/50 Golden Retriever and Irish Setter). When we went to pick her out, we really liked her because she seemed playful, curious, and sweet (and not resistant to the little puppy tests that you can do to see if they're going to be too dominant..).
Anyway, we got her last week. She is 7 weeks old. My older puppy and she have been getting along pretty well. They like to lay around the backyard and chew on their toys together. My older puppy nips playfully at the little puppy's neck from time to time, but I firmly tell him "no!" every time... he hasn't learned completely yet.
Sometimes, though, I've caught the little puppy growling and barking in a very hostile way at the older puppy. She does it sometimes when the older dog tries to nudge at her or something.
Is there any way for me to stop her from growling and barking at him? Or do I just let them be and let them teach each other?
Ah! The older puppy - younger puppy thing! First of all, congratulations on getting another pup! I do believe dogs need doggy companions.
We went through just about what you are doing now. We got Tessa when Josey was 1.5 years old. At first they required a lot of supervision when playing, as the little one could have been hurt by the vigorous play of the older one. Then later, the little one became pretty rough!
My philosophy (others may differ) has been to simply work with them like a couple of kids. That is to gently coach them. I think a lot of "no" and "corrections" can set a negative tone, and you don't want either dog to associate something negative with the presence of the other dog.
What I found works well is to set a "calm tone" when dogs get too rambunctious with each other. Using a calm voice, slow body movements on my part, getting on the floor with them... So I did a lot of "slow down... gooooood dogs... geeeennnntle..." type of talk. Sometimes I would need to separate the two of them, maybe hold the puppy on the lap for a bit. Another thing that works is to get them focused on a toy rather than each other as play things.
In the long run, the puppy will get big and be able to handle herself with the older dog. But meanwhile the two of them will go through some stages of adjustment to each other, in terms of play styles, how rough they are etc. There will be times when one will pinch the other too hard, and visa versa. If you think of them like a 12 year old boy and a 3 year old girl, you can understand that some "adult supervision" is needed for a while.
Overall, my advice is to just stay calm and keep a positive tone with them. Coach them with your voice and your own calm actions. Go ahead and gently separate them momentarily if you feel things are getting too out of hand. Until the puppy is more robust, you likely need to supervise them together for a while.
I would just redirect when that happens. My boy really doesn't like puppies when he first meets them, so I had to be super careful with him when I got my puppy girl, and he was a year old. But, he was quickly over a few guarding issues and then he was the gentlest thing in the world, would lay down and pat her gently, and now she's the bosser! So let them get on with it but be ready to step in by all means!
My rule is let them work it out, they are trying to figure out how they fit together. If you stop the process they never will work it out. I am not saying you let them kill each other just back off and let them try and work it out themselves. Anything that does not involve blood. They are pretty tuff. Also a dog barks and growls for a reason, that is how they say no to the other dogs.
I always called them growl offs. If someone is hurting you you say stop it, they growl or bark. I used to have a boarding facility and most dogs will work things out without human intervention. Again if it looks like there out of control stop them, but other wise let them tell each other what is acceptable.
I would just caution you that a young puppy can indeed be hurt accidentally by an older, bigger dog, even in friendly play, so do keep an eye on them.
Not sure I agree with Dawnben (sorry no offense intended) that its best to totally leave it up to them to work it out. Sometimes little puppies can be extremely annoying to older dogs, so I believe its OK to reduce their stress if this happens by separating them. Likewise, sometimes older dogs are just too hard on little puppies. Again, stepping in and being an "adult presence" is a good idea, and also what another leader type dog would do in a real pack situation. In the long run, as the pup matures, they will have plenty of time to become companionable friends when they are on more equal footing. There is no reason it has to ALL be settled when pup is small, vulnerable, and has little self control.
Anyway, you are getting lots of advice and in the long run you will use your own judgment and intuition about what works best for your two dogs! Good luck and do let us know how things come out!
Well, it's been a few months now. The little one's barking or growling never got out of hand. We figured out that she was just being playful the whole time.
Duke and Gracie get along just fine. Sometimes they play rough, but that's just how they play! They can't stand being apart from each other now.... Thank you everyone for your advice.
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