Chance to get puppy with dominant dog

[dididuke]

Guys, we have an opportunity to get an almost 5 month old female puppy from a reputable breeder not too far from our home. Our oldest boxer passed away a couple months ago (Didi) and we only have Duke now. Here is one of my posts on here because we were thinking about rescue, but I do not think it is going to work with rescue.

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/be...ant-dog-who-lost-its-buddy-sleep-partner.html

We think we can make this work, however both of us feel it will take Duke a little time to get used to this new companion. Duke is the dominant dog. We know it won't be instantaneous however I feel he will eventually adjust. It will be hard at first, it was when we brought him in as a puppy with Didi. I kept him on a leash by me at all times and carried him around a lot. I figure with this new puppy, we can put up some gates and keep them separated as best we can for a little bit, until Duke gets used to her smell and basically do the same as we did when we brought him in as a little puppy. What do you all think???

 

[ChevyGrl]

If your older dog isn't outwardly dog aggressive, I say you can make it work with a little patience. My boyfriend has 2 dogs, one is an older (6 years old) female mixed breed and she is the top dog in the house. She's pretty set in her ways, and although she doesn't "fight" with other dogs, she makes it known that she is boss. She only answers to humans! . We were worried about her getting along with the new Boxer puppy, knowing that they'd be spending a lot of time (1/2 the day, sometimes more) together. And at first, she did not enjoy having the puppy around. She would growl, show her teeth and even snap at the pup (grab him) if he invaded her space. We only corrected her if she made physical contact with the pup, and she never actually hurt him.. only made it loud and clear that he needed to back off. Because she showed no intent to actually harm the puppy, we let them work things out themselves. We did not separate them unless food was involved. The pup learned to respect her, which is important and the reason why we chose not to interfere much at all. And day by day, things got a little better between them. She stopped growling when he'd approach her slowly and calmly. He learned not to jump on her, bite at her or corner her. Then one day, seemingly out of the blue, the older dog started playing with the pup when they were outside! It was great to see. They had more fun together each and every day, and after 3 weeks things are already 90% better. They play when they're inside, they can be on the same couch/in the same spot together, and she'll even play with toys with him. She'll still occasionally put him in his place when she's had enough of his antics (like when he decides her tail is a big tug toy, ).. but again.. we let her set her boundaries, and the puppy does listen to her.

But.. one day things might change. He might get older and decide that he wants to be top dog. And they'll have to sort their business out then too. Because of this, they'll never be unsupervised or given anything to fight over (food, pig ears, etc) when they're together. And we do realize that sometimes dogs just don't get along, and in more extreme cases, can't be around each other at all. If that ends up being the case with your dogs, are you willing to separate them at all times, or at least most of the time? Would you, realistically, be able to feed them, potty them and care for them separately? Spend quality time with each of them separately? It's something to seriously think about.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[dididuke]

We got our new puppy!

We got our new boxer puppy Saturday! She was born on January 11 so she is around 14 weeks old, so not too tiny but she is still small compared to Duke. She is another Dee Dee just a different take on the spelling--! Gotta keep it going!

Anyway we brought her in and Duke did really great with her. They even had some kisses and he smells her a lot. Anyway, we have gated areas of our house off for her. But she is so tiny compared to Duke. I don't even want to put her down on the floor with him until she is a lot bigger, close to full size. He has growled at her a couple of times through the gates, so that is another reason why I am nervous. But if I bring her in and hold her he smells her a lot and my hubbie is always right there too.

Duke is an old guy, will be 8 years old in a few days. He spends most of his time sleeping and he isn't fixated on her and seems to be relaxing a little bit more We hope he can accept her, everyone says he will but it might take a long time. We know this can take months, we are prepared for months. I just hope he can do it. We are being extra cautious but she is just so tiny.

 

[Sansal]

Just wanted to say congratulations to you new puppy and good luck! I'm sure Duke will get used to her pretty soon, it seems like you are taking the right steps! Maybe post some pictures of Dee Dee soon ?

 

[Althea]

Woohoo!! That is awesome! I'm glad you were able to get her. And I bet he will surprise you. Those growls could be play growls. Suki plays with anyone, any size, with no idea that she's still a puppy. HA! Looking forward to hearing more about your baby and seeing some photos!

 

[dididuke]

Lots of tail wags today and lots of "good boy". They were nose to nose last night and he did very well. Taking baby steps, but this does seem to be going in the right direction, just going to take quite awhile. She must get lots bigger first. For now she is gated in our kitchen and also has our covered screened in deck, it is big. She does come in where Duke is with me or all of us. I usually hold her and she sleeps most of the time and he comes and sniff whenever he wants. But he does seem a lot more relaxed around her. Do I trust--no, not yet. Will be more comfortable when she gets lots bigger.

Soon we will have to expand her area in the house to include the hallway and a bedroom. In the evenings when hubbie goes to bed, he takes Duke with him to go to sleep and she has the whole run of the house then for a couple or so hours. Until I go to bed anyway. We did talk about if he will absolutely not accept his new companion. If we absolutely have to we will get the tall expansion gates with the walk thru doors so he has half of the house and she has half, but I so hope it doesn't come to that. Duke will be 8 years old in a few days and he always seemed "ageless" before Didi died. Now that Didi is gone, both of us can see he is aging quickly. He is starting to hobble around more, a lot more lately. He has trouble going up the steps. Not as much as Didi did, but it is starting.

So anyway, going better, a more positive direction anyway. Let's hope it continues.....

 

[EAO76]

I suggest you get them used to each other sooner rather than later. You have a much better chance of him accepting her now as a pup rather than as an adolescent. I am willing to bet he will surprise you. I know she isn’t leash trained yet but if at all possible I’d get them out walking together (A very easy, relaxed, loose leash walk) at least 1x a day but preferably more. It’s a good time to start leash training anyway. And a great way for them to bond & accept their new pack. There is NOTHING more bonding than a walk.

Also I realize that she is a pup but all the coddling & cuddling of her when he is around doesn’t send the right message. Your actions could create resentment on his part and could cause her to believe her status is somehow elevated. Also she is going through important stages of her development right now. It’s imperative that at this age she is socializing with other dogs (not just Duke) and many other people.

I understand keeping them separated might be necessary when you can’t supervise their interactions but you really should be spending most of the time trying to create harmony. Being paranoid about what might happen (and keeping them apart) is inadvertently sending vibes to your boy that you are nervous which sets you up for failure. He will read your nervous energy in many different ways (none of which will help build their relationship).

If the walks go well then put a leash on him (so you have control) and allow them to interact & play in your house & yard. They need to use their bodies to speak "dog language" to each other. Right now you are hindering their means of communication. It’s highly unlikely that he will attack a pup. Just relax & keep the leash loose.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

I read the other post and definitely agree about there being a difference between dominance and aggression. Kilby sounds a bit like Duke (though she was our first so don't know how she would have been if we'd already had an adult) and she is very dominant. Like Duke, she has to be first for everything (even drinking from the water bowl) and attempts to be the boss with any dog she meets.

Having said that, once her position as top dog is sorted (this usually happens without much fuss, we have only met 1 golden retriever who wasn't happy with that arrangement) she is the gentlest dog I've ever known, she plays gently with our cat and the small dogs of our friends and will put up with a lot from smaller animals. Like when she was about 10mths I was walking her and a neighbour asked if he could pat her so we stopped and I was having a chat and out of nowhere this guys cat lunges at Kilby and it's claws dig into her chops, she let the cat hang there for a good 10 seconds!!!

Sorry, I digress Kilby was 2.5yrs when we brought home 8wk old Kona and we were a little unsure how Kilby would deal with it. So we introduced them slowly and NEVER left them unsupervised. Kilby didn't seem too pleased with the new addition and spent most of her time trying to avoid her.

Kona on the other hand was aggressive from the get-go. I know a lot of people here don't consider puppies can be aggressive and I didn't either, until we got Kona. Three separate trainers agreed. She would viciously attack Kilby (and any other dog unlucky enough to cross her path), snarling, biting and clawing at her with her hackles up and she would become totally engrossed, she went into some zone for sure. But we were always right there with them and 95% of the time could stop them verbally or making a loud noise. We paid close attention and learned to realise the early signs of Kona's behaviour escalating so would distract her at that early point. BUT when she wasn't in this 'zone' she was happy to be Kilby's no. 2 and hasn't ever (touch wood) tried to challenge Kilby as the boss - her 'attacks' were totally random.

Kilby was never physical with the pup but if she was unhappy (say with the puppy trying to climb on to her bed during the night), she'd growl. It was a warning and we took it and moved Kona straight away. Soon enough, at the sound of the growl Kona would back-off on her own.

One thing that really made Kilby feel comfortable was getting a walk with Mama on her own every day. We would walk them both together in the morning but because Kona was so young and couldn't go far I'd also walk Kilby on her own in the evening which she LOVED and I like to think it made her still feel special (I know, I'm a dork!).

It took Kilby a while to adjust, she tolerated Kona for about 4-6 months but then they became the best of friends and are inseparable (like Didi and Duke from the sounds of it - Kona won't even let Kilby go potty alone!).

My best advice is to just stay positive, Kona was a really tough puppy and if I was frustrated by her it only made things worse so one night I just took a deep breath and hubby and I decided we just had to love her madly no matter what she did and stop expecting her to be naughty... her behaviour improved markedly the very next day so I'm sure both the puppy and Duke will be picking up on your nerves.

Wow, sorry for the epic response!

 

[dididuke]

We are doing walks in the evening. Have been for the last 2 nights. I was thinking about bringing her in on her leash with Duke on his in the house. We will start that today.

 

[dididuke]

It is working!!!!

Guys, I did not wait to put them together I did it this afternoon by myself. They are TOGETHER napping together as we speak in the living room!! I can't believe my eyes...They have also been outside in the backyard together. Duke doesn't like all of her puppiness, I did have to correct him a couple of times. But she cleaned his face, like our old Didi used to do. I could see that he liked that. Do I trust, not yet, but is this good that they are sleeping together??? Don't worry I won't leave them alone, but I had to sneak this in quickly! I hope this is all good, keep the good vibes coming. Do you think it will get better from here??