Old dog and new puppy problems.
9 years ago
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- 9 years ago
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New dog -- missing old
Comments (14)I lost my Candy in Oct....we got Tootsie about seven days later. I had Candy for ten years before I Lost her...she was with me in college and got me through law school and the BAR exam before she left me. She really did...I study too much sometimes and she would just come and sit on my books and make me take a much needed break. Toots is not Candy and I still miss my baby but Toots has her own charm...like when she wiggles her butt when its feeding time or when she wants to lay and she grabs ALL of her toys. I think you just have to look at you new baby as her/his own "person", and remember that she hasn't gotten to know you yet either to be your perfect dog...she needs love right now just as you do. You have to let go of your grief, not forget your old dog, just think of the good times and don't dwell on the end. You said your new dog is a good dog...spend time with him and get to know the quirks and personality of your new family member. He can help you get over your grief if you allow him too. When Candy died I went into deep depression....its hard to sleep all day and cry when you have a bundle of love waiting for you and begging for attention....See MoreNew dog and old dog not getting along
Comments (10)Fl-CountryB, You are in a difficult situation. You miss Rocky. You miss her more than Holly does. Holly misses her but dogs seem to have a sense of acceptance about death that we as humans don't. I suspect bringing Buddy home was more for your comfort. This is okay. Thousands of dog lovers do this. We can't help it. We love our dog packs. I have had the good fortune of always adding a puppy to the pack. The puppy has to work for and learn who is boss. I will say I have one male who still tries to challenge the top female. She is old and frail but she is still top dog and number 2 knows this. No one has ever bitten. But there was plenty of wrestling, playing and at times a nip would occur that would make someone yelp. Biting means they have forgotten you are the TRUE boss. It's easy to do. You had two old dogs and they knew the routine. Now, you have to start all over. I would not fret too much. Things will work out but you have to be the Top Alpha in this pack family of yours. Hard work but you can do it. There are two ways to go with this. Different dog trainers use different paths. 1) The first path is You are the alpha who choose the totem pole order.... Holly needs to respect your orders not act like she can push Buddy around. This does not mean that Buddy should not be pushed. He needs to learn your top dog. Buddy is trying to find his place and push her to the max. He wants to find his boundaries. All new dogs and puppies do this. And you can decide which should be number 2. If you decide it is Holly. Buddy will need to visit the crate more often for time outs, he will need to be fed 2nd, get in the car 2nd, he will need to be leashed more and respectful of his place. Since you are the alpha you dictate who does what, where, when, how. Holly will feel happy not to be displaced. She might even be nice to Buddy when you are not looking. And in time she may come to take a nap next to him. Give her time to realize her place will always be #1. Buddy will have to accept this and he will come to respect Holly or he goes to the crate. I personally think this path is the best in your situation because Holly is older and needs your support being top girl. And with her happy, Buddy will fall into acceptance. he is the new roomie after all. 2) The second path or dog training option is to let them work it out.... ( I do not think this path is for you but let me explain so you can decide.) This may be the most difficult . It hurts to watch nature. This is easy to do when adding a new puppy. Puppies never challenge an alpha so the order is set. 2 adult dogs vying for the Alpha spot. Holly has a lot to loose and Buddy wants to survive. All interesting dynamics with a violent nature. If you have a big yard that is the place to "fight it out". Have a friend nearby to help watch them play and possibly call 911 if you get hurt separating them. They COULD work it out. I say COULD because with two adult dogs the fighting could start up again a month from now. Or even 6 months from now. The unknowns are there. If Buddy does win you need to let him be the new top dog. This means Holly has given up. She may be injured when she does this.. I must warn you it is painful to watch. It will be very hard because you are still mourning Rocky. We mourn our dogs centuries later. I still miss my first. But this is the nature of canines. If Buddy becomes number 1 he will need to be treated as such. You will mourn this change terribly with Holly. This is my personal reason for thinking you should go with number 1 path. You are the Alpha in number 1 and making a natural pecking order. Easier to do. Best of luck and don't give up on this. You can make a great home for both. Sorry to be so long, but I truly understand your woes. ~boxerpups...See MoreProblem being the smallest dog in Puppy Kindergarten...
Comments (10)When Blaze was in Puppy Kindergarten, the owners of the smaller dogs really bothered me. Blaze is a Golden, and so is Ricky, his brother. Ricky is about 90 pounds, and plays with Blaze all the time. Blaze is a puppy, and has no sense as far as I am concerned. I don't believe that a dog naturally knows to be protective of smaller dogs. Blaze really only knows the rough play he has at home. In the Puppy Kindergarten I watched Blaze so carefully, but people would come over, tell me that Blaze is so cute, and put their puppies practically in his face. If the smaller puppy tried to play with him, he might take his paw and foot and put them on the smaller dog. His paws are big, and that worried me. When they played off the leash, I did not let Blaze off the leash. It is my responsibility to know my dog, and to know his limitations. If I don't take care of him nobody else can. So many things happened when those 20 puppies were off the leash, and most of the people laughed and thought the dogs were cute. I saw danger. The yard was large and there was no way of getting to the dogs in time when there were problems. There were problems, and she stopped giving the off the leash time outside. It is really ok to be protective. Later after the dog is more trained, you may want to trust him and the others more. But had I not been protective, and had I allowed Blaze to race around and jump and play with all those little dogs, we could have had a dangerous situation. After all, if the tail of the dog can easily knock down another dog, the little dog is not automatically safe. This is why in my new class, I am so happy that they have divided the class, and Blaze is in a class with large dogs. There are only 6 or 8 of us instead of 20 plus. Sammy...See More1 year old dog continence problems
Comments (2)What breed is she? I would definitely take her to the vet and have her thoroughly checked for any major issues. I think it's important to first rule out if she has a neurological or physical condition causing her to be incontinent since one would usually expect to see improvement after all the training you've done this past year The fact she is submissive and fearful are two issues that can be difficult to deal with so it's important not to push her into situations that make it worse. If she checks out to be healthy, the vet may have a behaviorist he can recommend to help you with her issues, but one suggestion I have is for you to observe her closely and decide if going on the runs with you seem to stress her out. If so, try eliminating the runs/bike ride and instead take her for a walk on leash. She sounds like a dog that needs a lot of quiet and calm in her life. In the meantime, I would definitely use the doggie diapers. There are different brands and styles......so find which works best for you. Here is a link that might be useful: doggie diapers...See More- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
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