We have an 11 week old whippet puppy that we brought home 3 weeks ago.
For most of the first day, we put her in a fenced up area with her crate in the garden, and let the 2 dogs run around and sniff her through the crate. Before it got dark we brought her inside and let the 3 of them get to know each other.
The 2 dogs are 9 and 6 year old westies.
Everyday we let them run around the house while we supervise and correct any aggressive behaviour.
When they play, the 9 year old westie takes on the dominant role (she is dominant to the 6 year old one too), so her playing behaviour is normal for her. When they're not playing, she might get grumpy at the active puppy coming in her face, but we correct her and she's okay with that.
The 6 year old westie is a completely different case! The past 6 years, she has been the centre of attention, the baby of the family as she still acts like a puppy (and looks like one), chews on soft toys, and enjoys being cuddled and held in all sorts of positions. When the puppy came along, she got slightly less attention, but we still call her and cuddle her. I guess its not enough for her as she is extremely jealous. She keeps growling at the puppy, even if I'm carrying the puppy and walking near her, she will growl. And when we try to correct her, it doesn't seem to work. She is probably the most aggressive towards the puppy when I'm around, as the puppy is mine and I have been giving the most attention to the puppy.
Her way of play is very confusing: With the other westie, she will roll on the ground and nibble back, and run around (she is chased). But now with the puppy, she growls and barks while playing, while wagging her tail, and chasing the puppy around. And she'll paw at the puppy. Her behaviour is similar to when she's catching flies and cockroaches. Is she really playing or bullying the puppy?
She runs away from the puppy and occassionally cries to us. And she is more whiny now - if someone is coming home and she hears the garage open, she will get excited and whine alot. And she prefers staying in the other part of the house, away from the puppy.
We really don't know how to get the 2 dogs to fully accept the puppy and get along, especially the 6 year old one.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
PS Sorry I wrote so much, just had to explain the situation as much as I could.
