Are you sure it is Star ripping up the blinds? Have you caught her doing it?

At 4 years old I walked in the house and just looked at Star and she looked to the ground and her ears went down. Her ears might have gone down because she knew you were upset and then you scolded her and she got in trouble again the next day.

How do you know Star is doing this? Was she a house eater before Duece? Maybe Duece is doing it?

For jealousy, either train Duece where she can't see or hear, or use her to teach him. Having them both on leashes (put Star on your left since she is trained already) for Sit, Heal, Stay and Lay works great. Duece will see how she behaves and that she gets praise and he will learn faster and she will be happier.

I know you're trying your best. My advice is don't discipline a dog, unless you actually catch it in the act.
Is Deuce in a crate, or does she have the run of the apt? Seven week old pups can get into some serious, even dangerous, mischief in a short time.

I had two females in April last year. One Terrier/Lab the other Lab/Weirmaner. This after losing my third, a Shepard/Lab 3 months earlier.

Things were in a funk and needed something desperate. A puppy would keep everybody busy. She is now about 90 pounds.

Everyone get's along great. I did do a lot of homework before committing myself to this. Three dogs are a huge amount of work, and a puppy has what I refer to as "a force to be reckoned with". They can be very cute one second and incredibly destructive the next.

Are you crating your pup when you are out? This should be done for at least the first nine months after you bring it home. If the crate is to big for the pup, put something in it that they can't destroy. Dogs and especially pups love the feeling of being closed in. It also keep them from getting into mischief. When the pup can't be supervised every second, it must be crated. Gradually wean the pup away from the crate after about 6-8 months. Allowing them to much freedom all at once will confuse them.

If you scold your pup you need to do it in a way that the pup is going to get. One word corrections like STOP are good ones. They simply don't get babbling outbursts. You also must also catch them in the act. If this cannot happen, forget it. They will not know why you are upset.

To get them used to STOP, crate the pup, put a sheet or blanket over the crate and when it starts to whine or do something you do not approve of GENTLY tap on the crate and firmly say STOP. After a few times, when you say STOP it will associate the word with the crate noise.

Your older dog could see the pup as a threat on her territory. You need to make sure that both get the same thing, food, water, attention, toys, everything. Otherwise you are setting things up for problems.

You are looking at a process that could take 6-9 months, not only with puppy issues but other things as well. When things get worked out, it will be great! I don't see any reason why it can't work.

Good luck!

SG

No I did not catch Star in the act but when I walked in I didn't even see the blinds yet. Star jumped off the couch and looked at the ground and put her ears down. Right then I knew she did something and then I found the blinds. I have had Star since she was 5 weeks and now she is 4 years old. I totally know her and the way she is when she does something bad. Plus yes Deuce was in the crate. There was no doubt that Star did it. I wish it WAS the puppy because that would be an easy fix, but its my sweet StarLite.

The way we have been training Deuce IS with Star. Star is a VERY GOOD dog to watch because she is sooo good with like SIT,STAY,LAYDOWN,SHAKE that type of stuff. As for Star chewing up stuff no she hasn't done that since she was a puppy. When she was little, wow oh wow, she distroyed things (mostly my plants lol) but grew out of that very fast. She wouldn't ever dream of doing this now. Well so I thought. I just need to know if you guys know anykind of tricks for us with Star being jealous and acting in a bad way. Any tips for me??

Thanks, Elycia

Ahhhh female dogs....the more the there are the harder it is. Females tend to be more jealous, they tend to be one person dogs, the tend to be more loyal.
I suggest you start by constantly reaffirming Stars position in the house as the alpha female. Feed her first, give her affection first, take her out the door for walks first, she is obviously very smart and is throwing a tantrum because she is not getting the same attention as before. This can lead to serious fights if you both dont always feed her first, pet her first, take her out the door milimeters in front of your other dog (both should be at your side tho) I would like to know how much outside time your dogs are getting. It may be you will need to walk them outside more often. You might inadvertantly be giving the puppy extra attention and Star is going to notice absolutely everything, so my advise, walk them more often and ALWAYS pay Star attention first and for the longest. Star might start getting more aggressive with the new puppy. you need to watch for this. You also might want to spend some more alone time with Star at least until things start calming down. How is Star with your new puppy?

OHHHHHHH Mazer, I totally forgot about the alpha dog thing. I've been doing it so long, it is just a natural thing. I do honor my alpha at all times. She knows very well that she is in charge, under me of course. Although, I am beginning to wonder if there is some sort of very minor thing going on between alpha and middle since middle is bigger,,,,,,,

I always put alpha bowl down first, giver her a treat first, try and pet her first, greet her first,,,everything first, then work my way down.

With three (big, bigger, biggest) females in the house at all times, I have also set limits. They all know very well what they are. I am also very very close to everyone. They all know they can come to me at any time of the day or night if something needs my attention. And yes, I do get the occasional wake up at 2:00 a.m. for an emergency relief.

There is so much to learn and remember. That is why I suggested a trainer. I worked with one for a few months and it did wonders for all involved and I learned so much.

SG

You don't "discipline" a dog with your temper or violence, and you never, ever discipline a dog after they do something. They do not have that kind of memory.

Someone help me here.

It sounds like you need more than tricks. You need another crate and and a good training book. Can someone recommend a good training book?

THANK YOU SO MUCH MAZER AND SG!! Oh my gosh you have helped me sooo much! I don't know that much about alpha and stuff like that. If you have a minute would you or could you please tell me a little bit more. I have started doing everything you guys said about letting Star out the door first, petting her first, etc and I can see the difference in her already!! How do I make my little puppy male respect her like that?? Do I just wait and make him watch me doing it or should I do something else with him?? Please let me know!!

Mazer to answer your questions...My babies get about 2-5 hours outside a day. Its very cold where I live right now and so I have been slacking a bit on their walks (which I know I'm wrong for) Yes I forsure need to take them on longer walks. But star has been great with Deuce. She once in a while will give him a good grrrrr. Then he backs up and USUALLY walks away. Two times in the past 2 weeks he kept coming back and jumping on her, biting her cheeks, biting her ears (he is teething bad) and she turned around and snapped at him. Well that made him go away very fast. Also with that situation I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should leave them both alone or discipline Star for snapping?? Please tell me your advice!! Thank you everybody for your help.

elly_nj, nobody needs to HELP you...I have NEVER disciplined my animals with my temper or violence!!!!!!!! Who are you to say that about me????? I can bet you that my dogs and cats are WAY better treated then yours! I just asked for a little help with a situation but I don't want your help if you can make accusations against me like that. And no, I do need just a couple of tricks.

Thanks, Elycia

You know, once Star gets back to being unconcerned that she is the ALPHA and being treated accordingly by you, she will be less threatened by Duece. She may growl at him and he needs to learn that she is not to be messed with, that is fine as long as the behavior she is showing is not too excessive. And yeah, get back to taking them out for their walks it will help alot with all the dogs. The benefit SOOO mcuh from walks - I can even begin to cover all that walks do for you and your dogs. Make your walks productive and everyone should settle down some more.

Really?? Mazer I didn't know that!! I mean I knew that is was good for them to go on walks but I didn't think it was a huge deal. Okay well I will for sure take them for more walks. Now, you say that it is okay for Star to growl, at that time that Deuce is bugging her so bad that she growls, should I do something with Deuce?? Should I pull him away? Should I tell him to STOP?? Like I said before I really don't know much about the Alpha and stuff so I don't know what my roll should be in making Deuce learn that also. And also is Star growling and snapping...is that too much?? When she did that before I didn't know what to do so I just picked Deuce up and got him away from her but I knew that wasn't the right thing to do. Please let me know.

Thanks, Elycia