How Can I Prevent New Puppy From Learning Older Dogs Habits?

[wimaly]

I’m not sure if this has been answered already, but if it has I couldn’t find it, sorry!

I am currently living with my parents and sister and her very excitable 7 year old dog and am about to get a puppy who I want to be very gentle and relaxed.

I had a lovely dog for many years (who has passed away now) that was calm relaxed and very gentle. When she was 6 my sister bought her dog and raised him to be very boisterous and excitable (that’s the personality that she likes in dogs). My old dog remained calm and gentle despite the bouncy dog, but she didn’t play much with him (she was a very sleepy and people based dog).

Anyway sisters dog is very jumpy when people come home, often barks at people at the door, pulls on a leash and is very ball obsessed. Other than that he has a lovely personality and is super friendly!

I wont be walking them together so don’t think the leash pulling will be an issue, but as he is quite playful, I’m sure he’ll love playing with the new puppy :)

How can I prevent these behaviours from happening in my puppy? I love the very gentle “nanna like” dogs that sit to greet people patiently and don’t super get ruffled up over things.

Is it fair to give one dog attention for jumping on guests but not the other? Could this lead to doggy jealousy? Can I desensitise one dog to the doorbell if the other is barking like crazy?

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Move out.

That's the easiest way.

I guess the next most reliable way is to keep your puppy separate as much as possible and only allow free play with the other dog with your permission ie have a strong "go play" cue.

I would crate train my puppy. And play its yer choice games to get impulse control going as fast as possible.

Crate training your puppy gives you a quick easy way to separate them when you need to. Like when guests are coming over.

And have your greetings on lead, no greeting unless puppy is calm sitting. Try not to expect too much of a puppy tho.

My dog looks very calm and relaxed now but she used to wet herself every time someone came to the door she was that excited.

Door manners - I think barking at the door is good, as long as your dog can stop when you say. For my dog, teaching speak on cue - gives it value so I can combine the cue'd barking with "quiet" or "enough" and she stops giving away those barks for free if there's no treats in it.

Training calm arrive home greetings, I think will be impossible unless you are always with your puppy when your family members come home. For just me - I ignore my dog when I get home, I march straight through and out the back and act boring until she's toileted (got no dog door)... and then I will give her some nice calm pats and ear rubs.

But you can't stop the rest of your family winding your puppy up when they get home.

[Willem]

a lot will depend on the breed; some breeds are just more easily excited and more energetic than others...and some breeds are easier to train than other breeds...and if both dogs have to live together under one roof you also have to consider whether they match: recently there was a thread here about a beagle and a kelpie, and it seemed to be not the best match causing the owner all sorts of trouble.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Willem

[Kavik]

What breeds are the dogs?

I agree with Willem in that some breeds are more easily excited than others, and that you can to some extent influence this, some of this is how they are. I have 2 Kelpies and a GSD. My GSD has always been a very laid back dog despite living with Kelpies his whole life, and the Kelpies are very excitable, despite my current ones always having lived with the GSD. It is just how they are! If you are getting a breed that is laid back generally, it will be easier for you to keep your dog gentle and relaxed despite the other dog, whereas if you are getting a breed that is naturally easily excitable and energetic, you will have more difficulty keeping it relaxed.

[wimaly]

I realise this is a pure breed forum and don’t want to get totally grilled! But both dogs are cross breeds (Labrador x poodles), mine will be smaller than my sisters.

I'm just hoping that people have had some success with owning two different breed dogs like one small breed maybe a maltese that gets treated differently from say a standard poodle in terms of jumping on people? and access to couches...Without any jealousy/grumpiness type problems?

Edited March 10, 2016 by wimaly

[Christina]

I would choose another type of dog. Poodles in general are people orientated, high energy & very intelligent so I think it will just copy the other dog. Labradors do seem to be less energetic as adults but crossing doesn't balance out traits at all, its all pot luck.

Having a multi dog household of poodles here I find they do learn to copy each other quite quickly for example

One of mine scratches at my bedroom door to get me up. I got an adult dog aged 3 who didn't do this at all. In 2 weeks she started copying. It is really difficult to train one dog to behave one way when another dog in the house has different rules. You would have to be there controlling it every step of the way & when you are out no one else, especially your sister won't enforce this.

Consider a more docile breed. There are lots to choose from & it won't cost you any more.

[wimaly]

Hmmmm I might move this to the oodle alternative post then - I've looked but haven't really found one particular breed that I'm 100% set on!

Thanks for all your answers though! :)

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I realise this is a pure breed forum and don’t want to get totally grilled! But both dogs are cross breeds (Labrador x poodles), mine will be smaller than my sisters.

I'm just hoping that people have had some success with owning two different breed dogs like one small breed maybe a maltese that gets treated differently from say a standard poodle in terms of jumping on people? and access to couches...Without any jealousy/grumpiness type problems?

I don't think you can rely on your puppy being smaller than your sister's unless they're already both adult dogs.

Sometimes the cross comes out much larger than the breeder said it would. When I did puppy class with my dog, there was a golden retriever cross poodle there and it was going to be bigger than a Standard Poodle let alone a golden retriever, but the owner said the breeder said the cross was a small poodle so the puppies should be small. Oops. Genetics doesn't always work that way plus some of the cross breeders will just say whatever to get someone to buy. And once you have a puppy - it's very difficult to get your kids to let you take it back.

Until of course, it's eaten the crotches out of all their underwear and chewed their favourite electronic device they left where it could reach. Tho all puppies are capable of that. In a big dog - harder to forgive for some reason.

The other stuff - bad behaviour and jealousy - all comes down to training. You train a dog to be calm around other dogs by rewarding calm behaviour. For my dog - pats and praise, for some dogs - really yummy bits of food. There's a book called "control unleashed" that specifically addresses that, plus another one (that I haven't read) called FIGHT by Jean Donaldson (recommended by one of SG's ICPeeps this morning).

You just need to make sure that both dogs know that good things come from being calm around the other dog(s) and good things get packed up and put away if things get out of control. Ie your dog that likes to T-bone other dogs on the run - put it on lead immediately. Walk on lead for a bit, then let it off to see what it's choice is. More rough play (t-boning and shoulder charges can lead to serious injuries in both dogs) and back on lead for the rest of the walk... Ie owner take charge.

[persephone]

honestly ? I do not think , unless you are with pup, watching the interactions 24/7 that it will be possible for a youngster to be calm and polite , when chaos reigns !

[CHA]

If you train your puppy to he calm, to sit for treats when visitors arrive, and hold a stay for dinner, you will also he training the other one at the same time... Monkey see, monkey do.

[RuralPug]

If you train your puppy to he calm, to sit for treats when visitors arrive, and hold a stay for dinner, you will also he training the other one at the same time... Monkey see, monkey do.

That only works when the entire household is on board with the training. And OP has already stated that her sister, living in the same home, LIKES dogs to be excitable and bouncy.

I feel that you will need a particularly laid back breed (even those can be rambunctious as puppies). And keep them separate unless you are there to supervise (which is the best rule for a very young puppy anyway until it has learned manners).

[Kirislin]

As well as watching the other dog, it will probably also depend on the people it grows up with. The other dog might have learned to be that way from the way humans interact with it. If they do the same thing with the puppy it might learn to behave like the other dog.

[wimaly]

I will actually be home for most of the time, whilst my family is not, so I can supervise both as much as necessary

I have the whole families involvement in raising my dog as i want so hopefully it shouldnt be too much of an issue but i'll definitely try to supervise all greetings when family come home just in case!

Even my sisters bouncy dog is only bouncy for short periods of time (when theres a ball or when people come home) but if no ones home he just sleeps on his bed, a couch or outside in the garden (he's not destructive in any way). Despite his energy he knows which rooms he has to ask permission to enter so I can keep them separated quite easily if i have to!

I'm doing a bit of research on rewarding calming behaviours, thanks for recommending those books - will check them out! :)

[_PL_]

As above. All good advice and you can keep coming back here to ask the experienced people.

Only thing I can contribute is that they all go through a phase of being unbearable teenage twerps just after it looks like all your hard work has paid off. So start early and stick with it. :laugh: