We have stumbled upon a problem with Chloe and Mike's three dogs. Chloe, being the big (comparatively), boisterous dog that she is causes issues when she tries to interact with Mike's dogs. When they're outdoors running around and have lots of space, we don't have any issues at all. But when we go into the house, problems arise.
All three of Mike's dogs grew up together. Gracie and Cooper have been together all of Cooper's life, and Cynder was a very frequent visitor, so they accept her as part of their "pack". Chloe is the "outsider".
Cynder and Chloe's relationship is pretty much mutual disinterest. Cynder ignores Chloe after the initial greeting, Chloe ignores Cynder after the initial greeting. I am happy with disinterest, as that means they aren't being bitches towards one another. LOL They've never played together and Chloe used to freak Cynder out and she would become very defensive whenever Chloe would try to play, but they had gotten to the point where they were figuring each other out and getting along pretty well.
Gracie and Chloe act much the same way towards one another, but since Gracie is still "new", Chloe is much more interested in her (and Gracie is NOT happy about it). Gracie has snapped and screamed at Chloe a few times due to Chloe just sniffing at her, to which Chloe backs off and comes to me with a worried look on her face like, "I didn't mean to do it, mom!" Which, since Chloe doesn't take offense to the telling off and Gracie tries to stay out of Chloe's way, I'm sure they'll work out that issue in time and I'm not too worried about it.
The problem is arising with Gracie and Cynder's take on Cooper and Chloe's realtionship. Cooper is fascinated with Chloe, and Chloe is fascinated with Cooper. They follow each other around and bug the ever loving crap out of one another. They also try to play. Chloe is 50 pounds and Cooper is 8 pounds, so there is a bit of a barrier there. However, Chloe is used to playing with kitties so she knows how to be gentle. She'll lay down or play bow and just smack him around with her paw instead of actually wrestling with him. But, when Chloe plays she is vocal (lots of growls), and she often will start puppy zooming around like an idiot. When she directs that towards Cooper, both Gracie and Cynder try to full out attack her as they think she is hurting Cooper. Cynder was told off and she calmed down, but we had to physically hold Gracie in our laps to keep her from freaking out.
This obviously can't keep happening. Chloe growls when she plays. Chloe puppy zooms. That is just what she does. I don't want her to be unable to play in the house when the other dogs are around. Even if she isn't playing with the other dogs, if she plays with me, Mike, or a toy, she will be loud, she will be growling, she will be running around like an idiot, and she will be the annoying brat dog that tries to entice the other dog to join in on the fun.
How can I make them more comfortable around her? They've only all been together twice now, so will this just come with time and more exposure to each other, or is there something I need to be doing to make them all realize that play time isn't Chloe being mean, she's just playing?
(That would be one perk of me getting my puppy...Chloe would have a play buddy that she could run around and wrestle with instead of constantly being told off by the other dogs.)
All three of Mike's dogs grew up together. Gracie and Cooper have been together all of Cooper's life, and Cynder was a very frequent visitor, so they accept her as part of their "pack". Chloe is the "outsider".
Cynder and Chloe's relationship is pretty much mutual disinterest. Cynder ignores Chloe after the initial greeting, Chloe ignores Cynder after the initial greeting. I am happy with disinterest, as that means they aren't being bitches towards one another. LOL They've never played together and Chloe used to freak Cynder out and she would become very defensive whenever Chloe would try to play, but they had gotten to the point where they were figuring each other out and getting along pretty well.
Gracie and Chloe act much the same way towards one another, but since Gracie is still "new", Chloe is much more interested in her (and Gracie is NOT happy about it). Gracie has snapped and screamed at Chloe a few times due to Chloe just sniffing at her, to which Chloe backs off and comes to me with a worried look on her face like, "I didn't mean to do it, mom!" Which, since Chloe doesn't take offense to the telling off and Gracie tries to stay out of Chloe's way, I'm sure they'll work out that issue in time and I'm not too worried about it.
The problem is arising with Gracie and Cynder's take on Cooper and Chloe's realtionship. Cooper is fascinated with Chloe, and Chloe is fascinated with Cooper. They follow each other around and bug the ever loving crap out of one another. They also try to play. Chloe is 50 pounds and Cooper is 8 pounds, so there is a bit of a barrier there. However, Chloe is used to playing with kitties so she knows how to be gentle. She'll lay down or play bow and just smack him around with her paw instead of actually wrestling with him. But, when Chloe plays she is vocal (lots of growls), and she often will start puppy zooming around like an idiot. When she directs that towards Cooper, both Gracie and Cynder try to full out attack her as they think she is hurting Cooper. Cynder was told off and she calmed down, but we had to physically hold Gracie in our laps to keep her from freaking out.
This obviously can't keep happening. Chloe growls when she plays. Chloe puppy zooms. That is just what she does. I don't want her to be unable to play in the house when the other dogs are around. Even if she isn't playing with the other dogs, if she plays with me, Mike, or a toy, she will be loud, she will be growling, she will be running around like an idiot, and she will be the annoying brat dog that tries to entice the other dog to join in on the fun.
How can I make them more comfortable around her? They've only all been together twice now, so will this just come with time and more exposure to each other, or is there something I need to be doing to make them all realize that play time isn't Chloe being mean, she's just playing?
(That would be one perk of me getting my puppy...Chloe would have a play buddy that she could run around and wrestle with instead of constantly being told off by the other dogs.)
So don't worry about Cynder or Gracie being vindictive or evil. They're just scared!