puppy-dog introductions

[anmalg14]

Hello everyone,

I am the new owner of a 8 week old australian shepherd puppy (male). Before getting him I currently have one other 9yo female black lab who is on the dominant side I believe. With other dogs, she either loves them and will play for hours or she if she doesn't like them, she will growl at them immediately. I really want my new boy and her to get along so when choosing him, I tried to get one of the less dominant ones in the litter. The first couple of introductions have been very good, they didn't really pay too much attention to each other and were very calm. However, now that the puppy is getting more comfortable with her, he will bark while try to jump up at her (which I believe to be playful) but she will growl when he does this. Unfortunately, the puppy doesn't really see this as a warning and tries to play even more. When this occurs, I seperate them so that the puppy wont get hurt. Does anyone have any advice on the best possible way to insure that these two will get along? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance,
Katie

 

[mybostonterrier]

that is how puppies play. your labrador won't hurt the puppy trust me. it looks rough and tumble but really its fun for them

 

[bubbatd]

It's normal for the older pup to discipline..but I'd be wary of a 9 month old ,if you are unsure of his aggression. I'd let them work it out under a VERY watchful eye !!! Would anyone of you suggest a soft muzzle ?? I've never had these problems except for a Mom scolding one of her pups .... without actual biting.

 

[mybostonterrier]

no dont use a muzzle because that means you have to have it on all the time, just leave them, rough play is normal

 

[bubbatd]

A muzzle can be a temporary safety factor. My daughter adopted a black lab pup who wasn't socialized after birth, and showed some aggression. He sensed her fear around kids , until she muzzled him .... didn't take her long to lose her apprehension and soon he was fine in all situations.

 

[PWCorgi]

Bubbatd, I think that the lab is 9 years, not 9 months .

I think that the muzzle might be a good idea if you think that the lab could hurt the puppy. But make sure that the lab wears the muzzle when it is not around the puppy also, so that it doesn't associate the muzzle with the puppy. This could just make things worse. But also don't have the lab wear the muzzle 24/7, thats not fair to the lab.

 

[bubbatd]

PW... thanks for the correction !!! That does make a difference !!! I agree with you.... it shouldn't be punishment. My daughter was really paranoid that he might bite. When she took him to parks, petsmart etc, she was on pins and needles and he felt it. ( She's a lawyer ) ... I suggested the muzzle . He was very protective of her and the then baby. She's put the muzzle on when a new sitter came... then took it off when he knew everything was O.K. When I sat him, I never did the muzzle , just told him visitors were O.K. But once, when he and Chip were in the car, I stopped in front of my neighbor's house and when she reached in the window he grabbed her arm !! Didn't break the skin and seemed sorry when I scolded him. She understood and said he was guarding me.

 

[Zoom]

Aussie! You must post pictures.

There is going to be an adjustment period. Unless you feel that your lab is goign to outright maim the puppy, I would let a correction or two happen, otherwise the puppy isn't going to learn proper boundries. Most dogs are very tolerant of puppies, and allow them more freedoms than older dogs. Also, what may look like a horrible bite to us may just be a stern, very bite- inhibited correction that never breaks the skin, but carries a hefty message.

 

[PWCorgi]

Also, what may look like a horrible bite to us may just be a stern, very bite- inhibited correction that never breaks the skin, but carries a hefty message.

I agree. When we first brought Izzy and Frodo home at 12 weeks, Frodo was always bothering Mollie who is 6 and doesn't play b/c she has really bad hips. After she had had enough Mollie turned on Frodo (it looked like she was attacking him and he was squealing) and corrected him for bugging her. He has not pushed her like that again, and they live in peace. I don't know if this is how it normally goes, but that's how it went in my house.

 

[bubbatd]

Hard to do and see... but it works.

 

[PWCorgi]

Yes it is hard to see, it looks like the puppy is getting hurt. But it is also natural, and it does work, that was the only incident with Frodo and Mollie.

 

[anmalg14]

thank you so much for all of your advice!! Its relieving to hear that this isn't anything too serious. The 9yo lab has never gotten into a fight that ended in any bloodshed, she has gotten pretty aggressive when she meets what I guess are other dominant dogs wanting to fight her but we have always stopped them I guess before anything really bad happened. With the puppy she is most of the time fine as long as he doesn't try to jump up on her while barking and even then she just growls for a second, no snapping or anything yet. I guess my biggest concern is that the puppy doesn't take her warnings as a "back off now" like most older dogs would so she might feel that it was necessary to take her dominance to the next level in order to get her point across. I also worry that the puppy might be traumatized, ruining his relationship with other dogs permanently, if she did get any worse because he is at such a young age. They are together for about 2 hours each day while being supervised. Do you think if I backed this off a little that she might be more tolerant?

Thanks again!
~Katie

 

[tinksmama]

When we got Tink, a 2 pound puppy, we also had scrappy,a 35 pound 10 year old mutt... we always have Tink in a gated kitchen for now, at first,Scrapp wasn't interested in visiting, but as time went on, she became more relaxed,and Tink of course jumps all over her, scrappy plays,it sounds like the loudest dogfight imaginable, but i watched them and never once does Scrap do any damage, though she could if she wanted- it's play- and scrap lets us know when she's had enough,I make sure she can get away from Pup when she needs to, kind of like an old lady with a boisterous toddler...
I'm grateful to scrappy for helping us teach Tink good manners... the only time Tink gets in trouble is if she tries to touch scrappys fave bone...but Scrap has her submissive enough when it comes to her bone...then Tink plays it all cool, like"I wasn't really interested in stealing your bone anyway!"
Oh, i had a friend with a lab, and a tiny poodle, for months the lab got in trouble for playing like a real dog with poodle pup,she was afraid her litte pup would be hurt... but then friend was getting upset that bigdog wouldn't play with poodlepup, (for 7 months!)so she had to change her tune,and just let them be dogs together, after some time, they now play happily,like it should be!

 

[tinksmama]

oh, I also think most normal dogs are very tolerant of puppies, they just seem to know they're babies... scrap and Tink are very different with each other than they are with other dogs...