New Puppy + 2 Older Dogs

[totalblank]

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.

[becks]

You need to give them the time and space to sort things out for themselves. The more you step in and try to correct one, the more you are upsetting the dogs way of sorting out the pecking order.

[Jetty]

i have the same problem with my seven year old foxy and my 4 month old puppy, the seven year old gets jealous and growls and trys to bite the puppy. i like to give them space apart sometimes and give them seperate attention without the other one in the room. I also take them on walks together to a park so the seven year old is not in her "territory" and so they get used to each other in another environment.

[Nekhbet]

you have to give them time. I also dont like letting the pup spend unsupervised time with my other dogs for a couple of months so the pup bonds to me instead of the dogs. It spends more time alone with me learning what I want then learning what the other dog wants and then we start the gradual process.

Your older dog sounds like she's gotten away with getting what she wants when she wants and now isnt happy about it. You have to train them that they get everything when YOU are ready to give it. You need to retrain your existing dogs as well as your puppy what the rules of the house are. Also respect the dogs - dont let the puppy push the older dogs around or use their stuff and vice versa. The older ones have to respect that nothing is theirs, you own it all and they just get to use it.

remember they all need their alone time with you as well to cement the relationship.

The only reason I dont like dogs sorting out their own pecking order is that if you have two fairly evenly matched personalities then watch out. It recently happened at my place over a bed - my two boys had a rumble and now they spend minimal time together and its highly supervised by me. There is no way they would create rank as their attitudes are the same. You have to control your dogs and their environment in order to have a happy home!

[totalblank]

Thanks guys for all the input. We're allowing them more space and time together now, but supervised of course.

Sometimes they start getting along better even if they still get snappy afterwards. At least there's progress.

I guess time is the major factor, so we just have to be patient.

But I'm definitely going to spend more time with each dog and walk them together.