New Dog!! New Problems : /

[fomorii56]

Hi everyone! I posted a while ago in the breed forum asking for advice on what kind of dog would be a good companion for me and my horse. Thanks to everyone for such great info. I started looking around and kind of stumbled on a 4 mo doberman rescue pup. Even though the timing was a little odd (I just moved, dont even have furniture yet!) I knew he was the one. I've had him for 3 days now and things are going pretty good. I have a 10 year old lab/chow mix who I've had since he was a puppy. He definately has ideas about what spaces and things are his, but the two of them seem to be working it out ok. The puppy came to me crate trained, which was great. He loves his crate, goes in happily to eat and stays in there when I'm out running errands. My problem is at night.

Shadow sleeps in bed with me, always has. The first night the puppy stayed in his crate just fine, whined once to go out and potty then slept the night through. The next night he whined constantly, everytime I let him out of his crate he bolted onto my bed and laid down. I would take him out to see if he needed to potty, but most of the time he didnt. Last night I just let him sleep in the bed because I needed sleep and once again, he only whined once to go out. The only problem was Shadow wouldnt sleep on the bed with us, which is very strange for him, he is always on the bed at night.
I dont want shadow to feel replaced or jealous of the new puppy, and I've never had a dog that was crate trained before. Should I just enforce the rule that the puppy sleeps in the crate and Shadow sleeps on the bed? Or see if Shadow, with a little more time, lets the pup stay in the bed with us?

I'm sure this is the first of many many posts Thanks for any advice!!

 

[Sweet72947]

The pup is probably confused as to why he's in the crate and the other dog is in the bed. If it were me I would make the bed off limits to both of them.

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

I think making the bed off limits to the older dog would confuse and upset him. He may associate this with the arrival of the puppy, which would not be good.

Don't let him out if he's whining. That way, puppy realizes:

When I whine, I get taken out!

I would continue on as usual and just ignore his whining.

~Tucker

 

[xPwincessJaffa96x]

Why don't both of the dogs just sleep together on your bed? xP

 

[doberkim]

Where did you get the pup?
Have you ever owned a doberman before? Male dobermans can be very dog aggressive towards other male dogs when they mature - it sometimes won't hit until 18-24 months old, but most male dobermans tend to not love the company of other male dogs, even if they grow up with them.

I don't want to be a "downer", but when I see a new person in the breed with multiple males in the household, this is one of THe most common reasons young male dobes end up in rescue between the ages of 1 and 3.

 

[Brattina88]

I have to agree with dober...

I'd just stick to the crating, (its a great tool to use and often comes in handy!)
and let the older dog do what he wants with the whole bed situation for now.
Keep with his old routine As Much As Possible, and make sure to give him attention so he doesn't feel 'replaced' or jealous. Are both neutered??

 

[squirtsmom]

Good advice so far. I have nothing to add. The older dog is probably confused.

 

[fomorii56]

I got the pup from a rescue league. He is getting neutered tomorrow and my older dog was neutered as a puppy. I had not read anything about Dobermans being aggressive with other male dogs and I tried to do a good amount of research. Is this very common? Is there anything I can start doing now that might help avoid this? We were going to start obedience training once he is fully recovered from his neutering and I was going to look into some agility training in the future. I will definately make sure that he is adequately exercised and stimulated. Is the aggression at all boredom related? Sorry if this is a little rambling, you got me a little worried!

P.S. He's actually in his crate right now sleeping quietly while my other dog is on the bed with me getting ready to watch a movie! Maybe he just needed to settle in a little more?

 

[girlbuffalo1]

I would not give in to the crying--you should do what you want and if that is to have your older dog remain on the bed and the pup to be crated then so be it. If you ignore him enough he will eventually stop and realize that is his bed.