Kingbob

No i never do that! Archies crate is next to my bed, and Bennies bed is next to that. Though Bennie often sleeps on my bed, or in the shower in warmer weather. Dont get me wrong Bennie doesnt dislike the puppy. On the contrary, they do happily play, love a good tug of war, and i see both doing the "play pose" when they're having fun. Archie really does worship his big brother, wants to be wherever he is, and always follows him close by if they're both off the lead at a park. The grumbling only happens if Archie fidgets while touching him, its really easy to hear it as a "eeww he's touching me!" or "stop fidgeting!" kind of sound. But i'm trying to move the pup away whenever Bennie grumbles, and/or grumble as well and say NO so he gets the hint. As soon as he steps away to his own bed its all good. We're getting there.

When you look this cute, you can get away with a lot! :D

That too :D

I have started to growl at puppy as well when he's annoying big brother, along with a "NO" so he associates the word with the action. And he is learning to stop and move away when that happens. I stop when he's moved to his bed, the beds are next to each other and he normally goes over his to get to Bennies. Puppy definitely acts like a boss, and because the older one is so soft and non-alpha, he gets away with it. But, hopefully can stop the annoying behaviour between them.

Damn it i hate typing a reply that vanishes! Lets try again... So effectively you're saying i should do nothing and just them work it out between them? What worries me is that one day the little one may be on the receiving end of a set of labrador teeth. Though i guess the complete opposite may happen, Bennie may just give up and accept the baby as his boss. Sometimes Bennie will growl 3 or 4 times, then give a snap/bark, but then get up and walk away. I say snap but theres no actual bite, its more of an "OH F#$K OFF!" and storming away kind of deal. One thing i have noticed though, pup DOES take notice if *I* growl or grumble at him. I guess because i'm seen as top dog/pack leader, but he still thinks he is above the older dog in the pecking order.

Pushy barely comes close to defining him! Pretty sure he was the king of the litter.

They do have 2 beds, but of course the little one wants to be wherever big brother is. At night Archie mostly still sleeps in his crate, unless its a cold night in which case I let him on my bed where he tends to curl up behind my legs for warmth. Bennie tends to sleep next to my shoulder. If Bennie does snap/bark at him, he still walks away because he's annoyed. But like i say, if Archie just peacefully lays next to him, or even rests his head on Bennie, he doesnt mind. I suppose I should just let them work out the pecking order between themselves. But Bennie is SO not an alpha, and Archie is just completely boss.

Hi All After some advice on the behaviour of my 3yo yellow Labrador Bennie, to my 7mo Beagle pup Archie. I'll give you some background on them both before describing the problem/issue. I adopted Bennie when he was 9mo, his previous owners didn't have time for him anymore, and i'd recently lost my 9yo labXbeagle Fred to cancer, so he came to me. They'd bought him as a pup at 10 weeks, and he grew up with their 2 kids who were about 5 and 8yo. So he loved kids, and was generally a typical happy friendly Lab. I'm single, so during the day when i'm at work he stays out the back, but otherwise, if i'm home, he's indoors. He sleeps indoors in my bedroom, either on his bed, or with me on mine. I did notice after a few months that he did seem a bit down in the dumps. My guess was he went from a family house with kids to always play with, to spending his days by himself. But he was young, and eventually he adapted and was a normal dog. I have multiple neighbors with dogs (3-6 other dogs are often with us on walks), and we often time our walks to go together, so he is well socialised with lots of different breeds of dogs. He also loves my neighbors grandkids when he sees them. Despite loving chasing the ball etc, Bennie is a very mellow and relaxed dog. One of my neighbors dogs is Tessie, a female 8yo shihtzu/maltese who is very bossy, she's the alpha of the pack among the neighbors dogs. Bennie follows her everywhere, we jokingly call her his boss, and he's like the hired muscle. Another neighbor has a 4yo golden retriever girl named Darcy. We call her bennies girlfriend as he loves playing with her. She is the more dominant of the 2 though. Bennie basically doesn't have an alpha bone in his body, he's a follower, not a leader. I had been thinking of getting a second dog even before I lost Fred, but put it on hold while bonding with Bennie and training him. But eventually decided that it was time. I knew he'd love having a playmate to run around with, so I started to look around. Fred and Bennie were rescues, but i decided I wanted a puppy I could raise. Looking around I chose a beagle, and found a very reputable breeder locally, so I put my name down for a pup. Fast forward several months and my slot came up, and I got the gorgeous Archie at 10 weeks old. I was very careful introducing them, to begin with of course it was all sniffing, Bennie was like "What is it?". Then they'd boop noses, which would make both of them jump back, but within a few hours they seemed fine together. Archie followed Bennie the way only a puppy can do, you could see he was thinking "Wow this dog is big and awesome!". And if Archie went exploring, Bennie would follow to see what he was up to. To begin with Archie stayed in the bathroom while I was at work, and at night slept in a crate in my bedroom, but they had plenty of time in between to play, and they very definitely played! Constant games of tug of war, and mouthing at each other, and general doggy playing. Bennie was big enough to just take a teddy during a tug of war, but he didnt. And if Archie ever let go, Bennie would take the teddy back, and sort of push it at him as if to say "Come on keep going, grab it!". And they were getting along fine. Bennie never hurt Archie, was careful not to step on him and everything. And if he ever did accidentally pull an ear or something and make Archie yelp, he'd instantly stop, jump back, and look at me with a concerned look as if to say "Sorry, i didn't mean to!". Archie meanwhile has developed into a ridculously confident, gungho and fearless dog. He is very definitely an alpha personality dog. He'd not only steal candy from a baby, but push the baby out of the pram and jump in himself. And this is where things start to become a problem. Bennie will let Archie sleep next to him, he doesn't mind that. If Archie is in the middle of their bed in the lounge (its big enough for both by far) Bennie wont get into it. If Archie gets out of it, then Bennie will go in. If Archie is to one side of the bed, Bennie will sometimes get in, but will sort of stay to the side away from Archie. He doesn't like Archie climbing over him, or leaning still against him. Especially if Archie is fidgeting, having a scratch, cleaning himself etc. Archie however will climb in regardless of Bennie, he doesn't care what Bennie is doing. But when Archie leans against him or touches him, Bennie has started to growl over the last few weeks. Growl may be the wrong word. Perhaps grumble is more appropriate. Its almost an under his breath kind of grumble, and he doesn't bare his teeth, and it doesn't really sound like an aggressive grumble, it's more of an "eeeww he's touching meeee!" kind of noise. but if he really gets annoyed, he will just get up and walk away. He has never snapped at Archie or bitten him or anything like that. At worst Archie has gotten a bark as Bennie has walked away. Archie for his part takes absolutely ZERO notice of Bennies rumblings. He just doesn't care, at all. Archie is clearly the alpha of the pair, which is fine, one will always be dominant and I don't mind which. But what I want to stop is Bennie grumbling at him. I'm sure if i don't stop it now while its a newish behaviour, that it will probably only get worse. And i don't want that. They're fine when at the park, Archie will follow Bennie everywhere, but at home, he's boss. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop Bennies grumbling? I dont want to tell him off because he clearly just doesnt like being leaned on, though he will let Archie use him as a pillow as long as he's still. I'm sure he does actually love Archie, i do see him sometimes go up to him to sort of check him, and when they're playing i regularly see the play pose from him. To me he just needs to be a bit more assertive, and not let Archie push him around as much. If Archie is in the bed, then he should just get in and sit on him! lol Any suggestions? Apologies for the length, but i figure the more info the better. They do play! First Introduction: Not impressed:

No hes an only dog. I can see when he does it that he sort of wants to come in, but just wont.

I dont think its a play thing. He wears his heart on his sleeve, so when he's in play mode its obvious, very bouncy, tail wagging etc. When he does this he just sits there outside the door, if i walk away and leave him he'll even whimper a bit. I'll try putting the lead on to take him out, he seems to know that "go potty" means to go outside for a whiz, so i'll keep using that word. Just hope he doesnt get too excited when he sees the lead! As for picking up the lead when he's loose, that would work except he picks the lead up in his mouth and carries it himself! lol

Hi all, hoping to get some advice/info about something odd my dog is doing. Bennie is a 2yo labrador, who i've had for a year. He still well and truly thinks he's a puppy and bounces all over the place, but thats fine. He is generally obedient, he knows to sit, stay, shake paws, "drop" his ball, and "wheres your ball" to go find it. He also has to sit outside the back door when i get home and open the door, and has to wait for an "ok" before being allowed in. The same also applies to going out the front door. Even with lead on, and ball in mouth, he knows he has to sit and wait for the "ok" before being allowed out. I joke that he has the IQ of a doorknob but he is a lab and is smart when he wants to be. The oddness is this: at night before we go to bed (he sleeps inside in my room), obviously i send him outside to go potty, but sometimes he just refuses to come back inside. Like point blank WILL NOT. He'll sit outside the back door, even whimper a bit, but he wont come in. I can call him, say ok, say good boy, nothing works. Luring him with treats doesnt work If i throws bits of food to try and create a trail in the back door, he'll pick up the pieces that are far enough away, but he wont move close to the door, or take them from my hands. I think he knows i'm trying to lure him close enough to grab his collar. If i go out into the backyard to catch him, he runs away until i corner him and can grab his collar. Of course by this point he thinks hes in trouble and thus justified in running away, which probably reinforces the behaviour. If i leave the back door open, turn the lights off and go to bed, he'll still just sit at the door and whimper. Eventually he will come in though, but may take an hour or more. It can get remarkably frustrating trying to get him to come in. And on a couple of occasions i have gotten so annoyed i just shut the door and went to bed leaving him out there! Any suggestions what might be causing it?

Unfortunately my beagleX boy Fred lost his battle with cancer yesterday. About a week ago i noticed he was drooling more than usual, and had picked up a bit of a cough. Fast forward a few days, multiple vet visits and a few thousand $, turns out he had an advanced malignant thyroid cancer, which had spread to his lungs. In the space of about a week he went from completely normal, to not eating, not wanting walks, and unable to even jump up on my bed. He was a rescue from SAFE in WA almost 5 years ago. Had 4 failed adoptions before me. Over the last few years he had 4 MAST tumors in various places, but i caught them all early and he got clear margins on all of them. The thyroid cancer was unrelated, but even the vet was dismayed at how unlucky he'd been to have 2 unrelated types of cancer. He was the type of dog who just assumed everyone wanted to be his friend. He did have a bit of seperation anxiety, if i moved from one end of the couch to the other, he'd move to lay closer to me :) All he ever wanted was to be close, so we spent his last couple of days on my bed, just reading and hanging out, giving him cuddles and scratches, and all of his favourite treats. I have multiple neighbors with dogs, and on weekends we'd all walk together, so he got a final walk with his doggy friends. He and his pack. Like a lot of people here, he wasnt just my dog, he was my best friend, and furry child. He will forever leave a 4 legged hole in my heart.

Thanks for the replies. The blankets I can throw out i think. Even a wash wont get all his fur out of them so they'd never lose the scent completely. I'll give the floors a good mop, but theres not much i think i can do with the main canvas bed. Its a large, square, padded bed with raised sides. The cushion in it can be washed so will do that, might just have to give the canvas a good scrub with some soap and water. I almost feel disloyal to Fred in cleaning his scent away Fred was only half beagle. I think his other half was labrador. Basically he looked and behaved like a beagle, but was labrador sized, with labrador fur (and the nose and appetite of both combined!). I dont think i will get another beagle, would feel a bit too much like an imitation Fred, if that makes sense. I'm actually thinking about a Huskie X red kelpie that i've seen that needs a new home.

Unfotunately my beagle boy Fred lost his battle with cancer, and leaves a huge 4 legged shaped hole in my home. I want to adopt/rescue another dog, but was wondering what advice people have when it comes to doggy scent. My boy Fred had a bed in (almost) every room, and lots of blankets etc. If I introduce a new dog into the house, obviously all the bedding etc will smell of Fred, what would a new dogs reaction to that be? Some blankets I can wash, others can be thrown out, but i cant do much for his canvas bedding, and of course his scent will be all over the house. Is there anything specific I should do? Thanks

Fred is a people person and loves just being with me no matter what i'm doing. He does have a lot of doggy friends though, I have 3 neighbors with dogs, 4 between them, and he gets along with all of them. He'll often only actively play with them for a couple of minutes, then go off and do his own thing. Which consists mostly of sniffing and following scent trails. He has several other dog friends that he sees intermittently and plays with happily, but his best friend was a neighbors female kelpie cross who unfortunately past away from a heart attack on new years day. I can clearly see the change in his behavior when we're out with the rest of the neighbors "pack" now she's gone. Fred is a rescue dog, and had a few failed adoptions before he came to me, and suffers from a fair bit of separation anxiety, and I will admit that the idea of getting another dog is mostly for him to have a playmate. I have always wanted a couple of dogs though, but if i'm honest, i'd say it'd be more for him than me. Does it make a pet extra spoilt if you get them their own pet? lol