Mel_c Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I am picking up my Golden pup on Saturday. My brother is coming to visit at xmas time (a week later). He has a full grown Staffy who is very boisterous, solid and strong (he ran into my leg and i got a huge lump). He does seem to calm down after the initial excitement of meeting new people though. i am a little worried that he is too rough to play with the pup, and i dont want him to get hurt. i have heard that older dogs can sense when another dog is only a pup, so they are more gentle with them. is this true? the pup will also be playing with another golden, who i know will be gentle, and also a rotti, who i think will be ok too. I was thinking of tieing up the Staffy, so that the pup can still play with him, but can also run off and its too much for him. We will only let them play under supervision of course too. So what do you think? what are your experiences with this situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I am picking up my Golden pup on Saturday. My brother is coming to visit at xmas time (a week later). He has a full grown Staffy who is very boisterous, solid and strong (he ran into my leg and i got a huge lump). He does seem to calm down after the initial excitement of meeting new people though. i am a little worried that he is too rough to play with the pup, and i dont want him to get hurt. i have heard that older dogs can sense when another dog is only a pup, so they are more gentle with them. is this true?the pup will also be playing with another golden, who i know will be gentle, and also a rotti, who i think will be ok too. I was thinking of tieing up the Staffy, so that the pup can still play with him, but can also run off and its too much for him. We will only let them play under supervision of course too. So what do you think? what are your experiences with this situation? I have a nine week old Beagle pup, a four year old husky and an eight year old Tibetan Spaniel. We have had our pup for a week and we knew when we got her that she would be too small to play with our husky, who is a big boy and can also be quite dominant with young dogs. Knowing this, we have kept the husky and beagle seperated and only allow them to be together in the yard with supervision. We did this by seperating one part of our back deck: the part that leads into the house the beagle gets and the part leads down to the backyard the husky gets. Today was the first time we left our beagle and Tibbie in the house alone together (we think they may have secretly played together when we were out of the house for three hours this morning, but we can't prove it ) Don't tie the staffy up, this could make him feel a bit theatened... if you are going to supervise them, seperate them if the staffy gets too boisterous. The staffy and your pup might be fine together. It is important for an older dog to learn that they can't play rough with puppies. My husky and my friends seven month old lab adore each other and love play rough together, however my husky had to learn that you have to be gentle with puppies (this was not too hard to implement as he had already learnt "gentle" with the kittens we have had). Sometimes older dogs aren't always interested in playing with puppies, my Tibbie isn't at all. This morning I supervised my beagle and husky in our backyard and he preferred to play with his toy than the pup, so I would see how it goes. It is also important to introduce the dogs in the right way. When we got our beagle we brought our older dogs outside to meet her (out the front of our house, on neutral ground). Our Tibbie HATES other dogs coming into her house, but she was fine with our pup. Anyway like I said it all depends on how the dogs interact together, they might be fine. I personally wouldn't tie the staffy up I would just supervise them closely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Hi Mel_c, congratulations on your new puppy. Young puppies whilst quite resiliant can certainly be injured if another dog is too rough with them. Not to mention the possibility of severely frightening the puppy which can be disastrous if this occurs during the critical socialisation period (first 16 weeks). Only introduce your puppy to those dogs that are friendly and know how to play gently. Also ensure that any dog you introduce your pup to is fully vaccinated. i have heard that older dogs can sense when another dog is only a pup, so they are more gentle with them. is this true? Not necessarily true. I was thinking of tieing up the Staffy, so that the pup can still play with him, but can also run off and its too much for him. This will only frustrate the staffy and can cause issues. If you are satisfied that the staffy is fine with other dogs and you are happy to introduce them, then it is best done quietly and with a plan in mind. Have the staffy on a lead and place him in a sit position. Allow the pup to calmly go up and say hello ie. sniff. Allow the staffy to have a sniff as well so they can get to know each other. If the staffy jumps or becomes over-excited, gently place him back into a sit - reward him with a pat and good boy when he is calm. Once the sniffing and initial introductions are over with and the dogs look content in each other's company, drop the lead (but do not unclip it) and let the staffy go. If play becomes too rough, you can always get the staffy off by using the lead. Reward both of them for playing nicely. I must stress however, that if the staffy is very boisterous and cannot contain himself, then it is best to separate them. This sort of interaction is not good for a small pup. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny123 Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I have a similar dilemma, only in reverse. I have two rescue pups (brother & sister), that are 14 weeks old. They been socialised with people (young, old, men, women & children), but not other dogs yet. We missed a place in the local puppy pre-school which has now finished until next year. We haven't taken them out yet because of fear of parvo as they don't have their final vaccs until 4 January. Our boy is about 18kgs and our girl about 14 kgs - they are, to my knowledge, Lab x GR x GSD x GSP. And, some people who see them think there may be a touch of mastiff. They are very full on and wrestle and tumble about all day. My sister is coming to stay at Christmas with her 7 yesr old son (no probs there) and her 11 year old beautiful, ever so gentle English cocker who weighs 15 kgs and underwent major spinal surgery 18 months ago. I'm worried that they'll break him. Maybe I can send the cocker to Mel_c and have the staffy here to teach my two a lesson! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 My sister is coming to stay at Christmas with her 7 yesr old son (no probs there) and her 11 year old beautiful, ever so gentle English cocker who weighs 15 kgs and underwent major spinal surgery 18 months ago. I'm worried that they'll break him.Maybe I can send the cocker to Mel_c and have the staffy here to teach my two a lesson! Four years ago when we got my husky, we were a bit worried for our five kg Tibbe. At eight weeks, our husky was already bigger than her! However I find older dogs are very good at putting puppies back in their place, telling them when enough is enough etc, it's just whether or not the puppies listen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 However I find older dogs are very good at putting puppies back in their place, telling them when enough is enough etc, it's just whether or not the puppies listen Husky87, whilst this is true, caution should still be taken especially as some dogs can go to far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel_c Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 Thanks everyone for the great advice, its really helpfull! i really want my pup to be well socialised, but i also dont want to endanger him either, so your tips are very useful. Thanks!! we are also planning on staying with my brother (and the staffy) for New Years, so i was hoping that the xmas visit will be a test to see how they are together, coz i dont want to have to leave my pup with a babysiter (ie my parents) coz i'll miss him too much!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 However I find older dogs are very good at putting puppies back in their place, telling them when enough is enough etc, it's just whether or not the puppies listen Husky87, whilst this is true, caution should still be taken especially as some dogs can go to far. Kelpie-i, definately I just meant in an instance where a person is worried about a pup being too rambunctious with a quieter, older dog - caution should always be taken in any circumstance when you have a pup and an older dog. It depends on the dog too, I wouldn't leave my pup and my Sibe alone but after a week together I trust my Tibbie with my pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 personnally i would be buying a crate & training your goldie to use it. I think what you need to remember is this pup will have no idea about its new home,you as owners & wont have the full trust of anyone it will still be in the Settling process which for some pups can take longer.It wont be a case of of who the other dogs are but a case of whether your pup has adjusted to its new home & owners by that overwhelming time especially with the arrival of more unknown people Given the type of day that xmas is i dont think it will be the best time for meeting the family but if the dogs have to come then i would be making a safe area for the pup,even buying a baby gate & confining it to the bathroom,toilet etc for its nap & time outs. As to older dogs knowing there pups dont believe that dogs interact in different ways plus the way its been trained. Its important to realize the next few weeks are crucail & any bad experience can be an issue for life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 Husky87, I find that well mannered and level headed "older" dogs make the best teachers for pups - certainly can make our lives easier! Showdog, an excellent suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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