Little Puppy And Big Adult Dog....what To Do When I'm At Work?

[Huntia]

Hi everyone,

In mid to late May we will be getting our new ridgeback girl .

At home at the moment i have a ridgeback boy who will have just turned 2 when we bring home the new addition.

Some background info before i launch into my question.

At the end of January we lost our 5 and 1/2 month old RR puppy (Cherry) in a freak accident (she somehow broke her neck while we were in town for 2 hours ) and a couple of weeks ago we lost our 13 year old RR girl.

the 2 year old male was fine with the puppy, but at times i did feel that they both played very rough!! We brought Cherry home at 13 weeks old, which was great as doing three feeds had us stumped at the time.

My questions that I would like advice on are:

1. Should I confine her for a few weeks while I am at work? I am concerned about rough play while i am not around to monitor. we have dog runs that were built by the previous occupants that are roughly 120 cm x 3 metres. Would it be ok to leave her in the run with heaps of toys etc?

2. what have others done about the midday feed of a young puppy when they are unable to get home from work to feed them ( I live 30 min from my place of work.) I have some ideas....feeding before i leave, as soon as we get home and than a smaller meal at bedtime....or one of those timer bowls (but i need to research that more yet)

I am a school teacher and I work 4 days a week and leave home at 8 am and i can be home at 4pm

I don't know if i am more worried than normal because of what happened to the last puppy .

[Sandra777]

Definitely separate them, it doesn't take much for an older dog to accidentally harm a pup. Depending on your back yard you could confine her one day and him the next, but in the average yard it would usually be best to confine the pup.

As for feeding - feed her first thing in the morning, leave her with some food-toys (kong, puzzle ball etc) and perhaps a big meaty bone every second day and feed her when you get home then later in the evening. Thousands of pups have grown in to perfectly healthy adults and not been fed in the middle of the day.

Good luck with your new pup, it will be hard for you not to worry I know!

[Christina]

Yes seperate for sure. I never leave pups unsupervised with adults no matter how nice my girls are.

Leave some puppy dry biscuits out for lunch & puppy will be fine.

[persephone]

I would say definitely confine one or the other while you are not there to supervise - and keep the baby safe :)

[Guest lavendergirl]

Is it possible that the broken neck was a result of "rough play" between the pup and the older boy? If so the dangers will be evident and the need to keep the new pup separate a priority.

[Rebanne]

sorry to hear about your losses. There's been more then one greyhound that has run full pelt into a tree and broke their neck so it might not have been rough play as such.

I would make use of your yards. My backyard is now split down the middle so the boys can have half each and the girl goes into the dog run. Greys do play rough and I don't need to come home to lame dogs. In fact they are often seperated when I am home to prevent damage, like now, a few days out from the Sydney Royal.

I would get your boy used to the yards as well, then you can swap them around if you want.

[Remarkabull]

I have a now 13 week old bulldog puppy and a 2 year old Dobermann and although he really likes her and they play all the time I keep the pup inside while nobody is home. She is just too small to risk it and they both like to play roughly so until she is much bigger they will remain separated unless supervised. I would hate to come home and find that she had been injured.

[RiverStar-Aura]

My puppy set-up was a play-pen in the garage and a baby gate at the backyard access garage door so that Zeus could see in and Kirah (puppy) could see out.

I also had the luxury of having people home all day do she could play with Zeus (fully supervised) for an hour then she'd sleep for 4 hours in her pen. Then we'd repeat the hour play and so on until she was about four and a half months old.

I'd definitely keep your pup separated if there's no one to supervise. Otherwise it's just an accident waiting to happen.

Have you got someone you could ask to check in on her during the day?

[Huntia]

Thnaks for all the advice.

We will never know for sure how Cherry broke her neck but I suspect that she jumped from the top of the dam wall and landed on her neck, as I found her at the bottom of the dam wall. The dam is on the side of a hill so it is a drop if she didn't land properly, and the new puppy won't have access to it .

With the dog run/kennel I am thinking about putting some fake grass at the front of it to make it a bit nicer, instead of being full concrete. And there are four runs side by side, so if neccessary I could put the older dog in beside her to keep her company ???

How do you teach an older dog to play gently....not so rough especially as the pup gets older and starts to initiate the rough play themselves?? ( and while the play looked rough to me, I rarely heard a yelp from either dog )

How old should the puppy be before I can leave them alone together? I am guessing that it will be a wait and see situation??

But for all my concerns, I am still very excited about our new addition

[erinonthefarm]

I'm in the same situation as you (waiting on a puppy) and I'm planning on dividing the yard in two so they can see each other but not play together unless someones watching.

[Atanquin]

I would separate too, why not buy the new pup a treat ball to hide her dry food in so it lasts her for the day and she will ah e fun too :)

[mumof4girls]

Or frozen puppy Kong I used to make up sardines and natural yoghurt Rogue would'lick at it throughout the day. I also had a Kong wobbler that he loves :-)

Congrats on your new puppy, don't forget plenty of pics :-)

[RiverStar-Aura]

You can't really teach gentle play but you might try teaching the older dog to play with the puppy lying down.

And make sure you give a time out when it gets too boisterous. Give each dig time to calm down before playing again!!

If the two dogs can be in runs side by side, that may help with the socialising th stage. Best of luck!!

[Huntia]

Looks like I need to hit the online pet stores for some toys

[espinay2]

Yes, definitely separate.

Toys - just a couple each day and change them each day - that way the pup doesnt get bored with them. Something interactive like a stuffed kong or treat ball is good.

Feeding - first thing in the morning, then put them in the pen with another small meal or spread some food around the pen for her to hunt and find if you use dry food/kibble. A bone to chew on too is good. Then feed when you get home and perhaps a small supper later (though I have never really found this necessary for most dogs).

Edited April 8, 2012 by espinay2

[kirst_goldens]

im going to be going through this at some stage this yr so interesting to read replies! i cant seperate my yard like most would because my older bitch will be up and over the fence in a blink... so i need something with a lid on it for puppy!! but big enough that it has room to be in there for a few hrs at a time!