borderbec

We have had a similar experience bringing home our new 8wk old BC pup (female) only 4-5 wks ago. Our other Border girl (7yrs old) was very unimpressed with the new addition to the family, and would not engage with the new pup at all. I thought we had made a mistake introducing a new dog into the family, and was really disappointed The stand-offish behaviour (she would also growl whenever the pup tried to play with her directly) lasted a couple of weeks until I noticed one morning (when the older girl thought we weren't watching) the two rolling around mouthing & playing together sweetly & gently and it just melted my heart.... The puppy is now 12 & a bit weeks and even though our older girl still gets annoyed at the non-stop puppy energy and tells her off with a warning growl every now and then, it is obvious that she has accepted the new pup is here to stay and it isn't all bad. Our older BC has never really been into other dogs (she also tends to be a lot more interested in humans) but did used to enjoy romping about with her other sister (who we lost to acute leukemia 10months ago at just 6yrs old) :D So our experience doesn't necessarily mean your border will do the same thing of course, but as you suggested it may just take time and hopefully she may come round a bit too... I definitely think it helps for your older dog to associate fun, affection & treats etc with the new dog, so playing with them together is good, and being clear that neither is being favoured over the other. We also made sure our older dog had some special time alone with each of us without the puppy there all the time (which was easy enough having to keep puppy at home but still taking our older dog out on her usual walks & playtime each day) All the best!