New Puppy For A 2.5 Yr Old Border

[bret]

Hi all. let me give you a little background on maiya my border, before i ask the question.

I got her at 6 weeks old from the farm with her sister. I have had her for 2.5 years now. her and her sister used to get on like a house on fire all was good. during puppy school they both hid under the seat. as she grew up she never really liked other dogs, the upper lip would quiver, but she would never do anything but growl a little. she has always loved humans, some ways i actually think she thinks she is more human than dog.

her sister left when she was about 1, but still all good. she is well trained and seems to be happy.

I moved in with friends who own a cat, maiya just wants to say hello but she has been whacked 3 times by the cat now and is very very cautious around her. the cat will walk past maiya no problems as long as maiya isn't moving, otherwise she may feel threatened.

now, we have just had a new moodle introduced into the family, 7 weeks old. the cat seems to have no problem with the new dog, maybe because it is smaller than her, but maiya on the other hand isn't so accepting.

the moodle seems to want to play with maiya, but maiya just looks to be around the humans. she gets a low growl when gizmo (said moodle) comes close, but has been corrected with 'no' etc. she knows she is doing something wrong. as far as i am aware she hasn't snapped at the puppy, but i guess the question is, how can i get maiya to be more accepting, or want to play wth the puppy more? it seems that her maternal instincts are there though, because when gizmo yelps she is at his side like a rocket. but just doesn't seem to want to hang out with the pup.

I am just hoping that it is time that will allow her to get to like the dog better, but i am unsure as to how to approach this.

if anyone has some suggestions that would be great

thanks

bret

[Kelpie-i]

Hi bret,

I think it's best if you just let time work things out. It may take your older dog a little while to get used to the new puppy and therefore it is unrealistic for you to expect her to be bouncing with joy (just because you are).

Keep an eye on things whilst they are together and make sure that the puppy is not bothering Maiya too much. Engage in a game of fetch or whatever Maiya likes so that she associates the new pup with something she good as well as still being able to get some "dad" time with you.

You will find that in time, Maiya will start to accept the new dog in the home.

Remember, the dynamics in your household will change now, therefore stepping up your leadership skills and treating both dogs as equals is extremely important. Set rules and boundaries for both dogs and be consistent with them. You will thank yourself later.

[Pippi]

Hi bret,

.......Keep an eye on things whilst they are together and make sure that the puppy is not bothering Maiya too much. Engage in a game of fetch or whatever Maiya likes so that she associates the new pup with something she good as well as still being able to get some "dad" time with you.

You will find that in time, Maiya will start to accept the new dog in the home.

..........

Good advice from KI, but I would also like to add that now would be a good time to introduce crate training to puppy.

Puppy can be safely crated when you cannot supervise.

You can play with Maiya while puppy stays safely in the crate.

Toilet training is helped with a crate.

Maiya can have some free time away from a boisterous puppy.

Maiya gets used to puppy, while keeping puppy safe.

[poodlefan]

the moodle seems to want to play with maiya, but maiya just looks to be around the humans. she gets a low growl when gizmo (said moodle) comes close, but has been corrected with 'no' etc. she knows she is doing something wrong.

Actually, she isnt' doing anything wrong. She is telling the puppy to keep its distance and I suggest you stop correcting her for it. She's reacting to being disciplined, she doesn't know what she's doing wrong. If you dont' want her to associate the presence of the puppy with being in trouble, then stop the corrections.

Not all adult dogs like pups or indeed other dogs much. Pups can be bitey, annoying little buggers and some adults won't tolerate their nonsense. Maiya should not be forced to tolerate being jumped on, mouthed etc if she doesn't want to. If puppy steps out of line, then YOU step in and Maiya won't have to.

You won't be able to force Maiya to like the pup - all you can do is supervise their playtime and step in if it gets out of hand. They may never play together or Maiya may warm to the pup - its up to her.

Is the new puppy female? If so, Maiya is probably less likely to be tolerant of her.

BTW - the yelping may be triggering predatory or pack instincts, NOT maternal ones. I'd not be making that assumption. Few bitches care about any pups but their own. If she's a maiden bitch, she doesn't have any maternal experience to trigger that response.

Edited March 13, 2009 by poodlefan

[Eliteview Aussies]

I had the same sort of problem when we introduced a new puppy into our house and therefore into my border's life.

For the first month if the puppy (a GR) came into a room my border collie would leave, if the GR came to close to me the border would have a little growl. I just had to wait until my border got use to the puppy.

I agree with PF, don't tell your border off. She doesn't know what she is doing wrong and will start to think that you are telling her off because the puppy is around her.

I always made sure when the GR was around the Border someone was there keeping on eye on things and if the GR got to annoying someone stepped in.

The Border has learnt that the GR isn't that bad after all and now they play together all the time.

[bret]

I had the same sort of problem when we introduced a new puppy into our house and therefore into my border's life.

For the first month if the puppy (a GR) came into a room my border collie would leave, if the GR came to close to me the border would have a little growl. I just had to wait until my border got use to the puppy.

I agree with PF, don't tell your border off. She doesn't know what she is doing wrong and will start to think that you are telling her off because the puppy is around her.

I always made sure when the GR was around the Border someone was there keeping on eye on things and if the GR got to annoying someone stepped in.

The Border has learnt that the GR isn't that bad after all and now they play together all the time.

hi all

very helpful advice.. a lot of stuff to take on board.

at first, given her training, i figured that correcting the instant she started to growl, it would be that she associated taht with the correction, but on looking at your replies, it may easily be mistaken that she is associating or can associate that when the puppy is near she gets in trouble, and therefor will never let the puppy get close. they really are never together unsupervised, and maiya is able to get her 'dad' time and her 'alone' time, as she is an outside dog and spends a lot of it outside away from said puppy.

i will tell the flatmates about crate training, but it isn't my dog, so i can only advise..

i was lucky with maiya, her crate wasn't introduced to her life until she was about 8 months old, but as stated she was an outside dog and had a sister to play with...

thanks again

bret

[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!

[bret]

there was one thing that basically got answered in this post. I was wondering if i played with the pup while maiya was around, would that also alert her to the fact that the puppy isn't all bad. this isn't a long term thing as i am just bording with friends, but at least for a few more months. and when i get settled in my house again, would like to get maiya a play friend as well. it will most likely be another border so they can ware each other out, but just to get used to the idea of having a puppy around.

maiya hasn't had the play with her yet. she is more tolerant, but still very stand offish. i also have a problem though the the cat who lives here. maiya being how she is loves to investigate, well when she first met the cat she investigated too close and got a swat on the nose. since moving into the new place, the cat has had a go at her 2 times now, both times making her yelp loudly (yes i know, what a wuss of a dog) but it was done with maiya's back turned and she got her on the ass. so maiya is also actually hesitant to come inside because of the cat. the funny thing is that the cat will walk past maiya without a hiss within 2 feet, but as soon as maiya stands or moves that is when she hisses. maiya is liek 25kg, and the cat is like 6kg that has also added to her non acceptance of the puppy.

maiya does get free time, she is an outside dog. and i take her for at least a 40 minute walk or a 30 min flat out run every day. most days she gets a spot of fetch with her squeaky or her frisbee. i am very lazy in my extended training though, which is a downfall of me... we have started agility which she loves, bu that is only 1 day a week.

anyway, just thought i would also ask if me playing with the puppy while maiya is right next to me will help her see the puppy is not a threat?

cheers

bret