Helping A Young Kelpie Get Along With An Older Schnauzer

[je33ie]

We're fostering a 9 month old kelpie and we have found her the perfect forever home - one hitch: they have an older schnauzer and we are worried they won't get along.

My experiences with the kelpie and smaller dogs haven't been good. The kelpie wants to play (and by play, I mean jumping on the other dog, play-biting, pawing wildly) and when she does this to bigger dogs, or other kelpies, or young dogs, they all get along fine. But when it's a small, old dog, the smaller dog starts to yipe and the kelpie just won't stop until I pull her off.

Is this agression? I don't think it is.

HELP! How can I help her get along with the schnauzer so the people are willing to take her on!?!? We're going down to meet them on Saturday so fingers crossed it works out!

[Dogsfevr]

HELP! How can I help her get along with the schnauzer so the people are willing to take her on!?!? We're going down to meet them on Saturday so fingers crossed it works out!

No offence but if the dog isnt suitable around certain dogs then it isnt the perfect home.

Are they fully aware of what you have said here??

Is its a std schnauzer or mini schnauzer??

[dandybrush]

the puppy really needs to learn basic manners, have you tried time outs when u say enough? if you do that then the pup will learn not to persist after you have said no (dont forget it is only young and will continue to push limits for a while)

[je33ie]

HELP! How can I help her get along with the schnauzer so the people are willing to take her on!?!? We're going down to meet them on Saturday so fingers crossed it works out!

No offence but if the dog isnt suitable around certain dogs then it isnt the perfect home.

Are they fully aware of what you have said here??

Is its a std schnauzer or mini schnauzer??

Yeah, I know. I guess it's not the perfect home if they don't get along, but we've had this foster for months now and I'm willing to try anything it takes.

It's a standard schnauzer, but on the small side of a std.

[je33ie]

the puppy really needs to learn basic manners, have you tried time outs when u say enough? if you do that then the pup will learn not to persist after you have said no (dont forget it is only young and will continue to push limits for a while)

Thanks, no, I haven't tried time-outs, but that's a really good idea.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Try the same techniques you would if kelpie wanted to jump all over an old lady.

Make sure she's had plenty of exercise - ie as close to exhausted as possible.

Start with on lead contact, make the dog sit. Reward the dog for sitting nicely.

Also teach the dog "leave it" for anything it must not have, including counter surfing and smaller dogs and little old ladies with fragile skin.

Always give the dog something it loves like a bit of roast beef or several bits of roast beef, or a game of tug, when it leaves it.

Give the kelpie lots of things to do, like fetch the ball, sit, drop, rollover etc instead of playing with the schnauzer.

At some point introduce the concept of "gentle".

I find my dog matches how hard I play and is extremely gentle with older dogs or puppies, and only rough with dogs who are rough with her. When I play with her, I'm always extremely gentle, because that's how I want her to play with me. If I'm rough, she's rough. Not all dogs learn this though, not sure how you teach an older one, except to give it something else to do if it gets too rough, from sit to time out.

Make sure the new home has a crate or a space for time out, so they can continue the training.

[Kavik]

Why do the people want a young boisterous Kelpie?

Are they willing to put work into behaviour modification so that the dog does not pester their current dog?

Have they considered the older Schnauzer's wellbeing?

[becks]

I'd be looking for a different home, it's not fair on the schnauzer to have to put up with living with a bully.

[je33ie]

Thanks all, I'll go with an open mind and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

[rubiton]

Dont see 'time out' would work on dogs but sounds like it needs discipline the learn the correct behaviour and what is not acceptable.

[tdierikx]

I foster large breed puppies (mostly) and they can be rambunctious little terrors at times. I and my older dogs tech them what "gentle" and "uuhhh" means...

My current large breed pup is actually larger than my 2 older large breed girls and he does like to play rough sometimes - but when I say "gentle" he backs off the hard play and settles to some softer play instead. If I see that the older dog isn't really happy about entertaining him, then I say "uuuhhhh", and he leaves the older dog alone and will find some other thing to play with, usually a teddy or something he can chew on with impugnity... *grin*

It's not all that hard to teach a young dog what is acceptable and what isn't - it just takes a little bit of time, and a whole lot of patience...

T.

[SchnauzerMax]

Jessie,

I am in a similar situation to your potential adopters - I have an older standard schnauzer that lost his companion last year. I would like to get another dog but so far the thought of my boy being bullied by a younger dog has has made me reticent to follow through. IMO a kelpie pup is just far too boisterous.

[persephone]

poor older dog.

[juice]

ok, flame suit on here

but it sounds to me as though you are wanting to offload this dog as you have had him too long, so are desperate to place him

i wouldn't be putting a full on kepie youngster with an older dog, not fair.

when you foster you need to place the dog in a situation that fits all concerned, this doesn't seem to be the case here.

the dog will just come back, and the people may not use rescue again if it goes bottom up.

one of the reasons i am not fostering youngsters anymore, is i have 2 older dogs of my own now, and they don't want to be jumped on by teenage hoons.

please don't push a dog that isn't suitable for the home.

if you have had enough of him, ask the rescue group to find another carer, and take a break.

[schnauzer]

I doubt an older schnauzer will tolerate a working breed jumping all over it. You would have to be very cautious rehoming such a young exhuberant dog with an older dog.

"Trying anything it takes" is not responsible rehoming. You should be looking at what is going to be the best forever home for him - rehoming with an old dog that you quoted is "scared" - is definitely not on.

Perhaps look to a working home for the kelpie.

[megan_]

Jessie,

I am in a similar situation to your potential adopters - I have an older standard schnauzer that lost his companion last year. I would like to get another dog but so far the thought of my boy being bullied by a younger dog has has made me reticent to follow through. IMO a kelpie pup is just far too boisterous.

OT but my cousin has a 5 month old standard schnauzer puppy, and a 13 year old mini schnauzer. They both get along very well. She is a quieter dog though (the puppy) and they get plenty of time apart.

To the OP - The people who take on the kelpie will have to do a LOT of work, regardless of what work you do with the dog. Do they really want a kelpie? I know people who want one because they are smart and loyal dogs - they don't realise that you need to put in a lot of work with a smart, energetic dog.

[Kavik]

What sort of training has the Kelpie had? Does she have basic obedience? Sit, recall, drop? What is her temperament like (apart from boisterous)? Does she like toys? Tug? Food treats?

Have you had many enquiries for her? Would she suit a pet home or sports/performance home better?

[je33ie]

When I said 'try anything it takes', I meant that I will try the training and careful introduction required to help them get along. If it doesn't work out, we're happy to keep the fostering happening as she's a gorgeous dog and I love her to bits.

Sorry if you took me the wrong way. I would NEVER put a foster into a home where I didn't think the new parents could handle the dog.

She has had basic training - we've taught her to sit, stay, down, high-five, roll-over, recall and she's learning to jump through a hoop. She learns things very quickly so I think she'll respond well to the 'gentle' training, provided her new owners have the patience to go through with it. Don't worry, I'll be asking a lot of questions before I hand the kelpie over.

I also didn't give the whole story earlier (sorry!), the schnauzer is actually the next-door neighbour's dog who visits all the time. So they need to get along during the visits but it wouldn't be a permanent arrangement and it wouldn't be 'bullying' as such.