New To Site, and Have a Concern

ls1z28 · 01-10-2008

Well first and foremost, I am new to this site, so please bear with me.

Let me set the stage...

We are the proud owners of a 12 year old Husky-Shepherd mix female. She is our pride and joy and, without sounding sappy, an absolute ray of sunshine in our lives. Nala, our husky is incredibly affectionate and we treat her like our child. She is the queen of her castle. She is friendly, respectful, and an all around good dog with a tough past. She was rescued at 6 months of age where we feel there was some abuse. In her life she has been hit by 2 cars, survived a house fire, survived a couple of dog fights with "roomates" and several long distance moves. 5 years ago, she came home for good and finally has a stable life......and loves it. Many people think she is a puppy from how acitve and how healthy she is for 12. Nala sleeps with us some nights and on her dog bed on others. A couch in my office she is allowed on to hang out when we are in there. She is a free eater and eats maybe a bowl of food a day and has a large fenced in yard to roam in.

We pondered the notion of getting her a friend so she will not be totally alone during the day while we are at work. Also to soften the blow to us when the inevetible happens. We made the decision on a German Shepherd. We took Nala with us to meet a possible sister. I picked a GSD female puppy who didnt bark a lot and seemed to have a good demenior. Nala was kept on a leash and the puppy was terrified of her....first time anything has been afraid of Nala! The puppy rolled over and seemed to submit to her instantly. Nala didnt bite, nip, bark, or get nervous. She kept her tail up and seemed to just dismiss the puppy.

We talked about this and made the decision to get the puppy. My main concern is that the puppy is going to conform to Nala more than Nala needs to conform to her. I want Nala to remain the queen of the castle. I know Nala has to accept some change, but for the most part, I want Nala to be the dominant dog over the puppy, while my wife and I are dominalt over both. I am afraid if Nala looses her dominance, her health will detoriate out of jealoucy and things will turn bad quick.

In the 3 days the puppy has been home, Nala has shown minimal agression toward the puppy. She as nipped her beak once and I was petting Nala and the pup came over to get some too. Mainly Nala gives a snarl and a tooth showing growl when she has had her fill of the puppy, and the puppy retreats away from Nala. The puppy has not jumped on Nala, just wants to be near it and be accepted.

Nala wants nothing to do with ths pup. and I am concerned. I dont expect Nala to welcome it with open arms, I just expected a little more interest. We have done our best to keep things normal for Nala. We feed them seperate, everything we do, Nala is sure to do it first, eating, going out the door, treats, etc. The pup stays in a crate at night and while we are at work.

Am I wrong for wanting one dog to be dominant over the other?

Also is there anything I can do to show Nala that this pup isnt a bad thing?

I know time is the main thing, but should we have just left Nala a single dog or will she eventually warm up, even jsut to tolerating this pup?

suebgone · 01-10-2008

you are correct in making Nala the top dog & you guys alpha over all. she does & gets everything first.

unfortunately, the introduction very often sets the stage for life & when you got home it sounds like they were allowed together from the start & that is not a good move. Nala sees the puppy as an intruder, which of course it really is. 12 is up there pretty good for her breeds & I would have never done an adoption like that.

I do have serious major concerns for this puppy tho. from all you said the puppy must be around 10 or so weeks old? at this age they should be getting 4 meals spread equally through out the day. is that being provided for? I mean do you have someone coming in to care for the puppy?

they need to go outside about every hour - how is that working?

a young puppy that is crated 16 hours a day is not getting the socialization it needs, nor the mental stimulation. these are the formative months for a puppy to learn.

ls1z28 · 01-11-2008

Well the pup is actually going on 18 weeks old. I guess the litter did not move as quick as they wanted. The pup is eating 2 times a day, morning and when we eat dinner. The pup is also going out many times a day and has done very well with the house breaking. We come home for lunch and let them out and do some training then. The pup has had 3 accidents, only because she likes to lay near the back door just to lay down. We need to break her of that becasue its sending us mixed signals. Little weary of feeding the pup at lunch time and not having ample time to let it process thus leading to an accident. The pup is doing fair with obediance, she caught on to sit quickly, but is having trouble with lay down and others. I am not comfortable leaving her out of the crate at bedtime or while we are at work due to the fact that she is still biting somewhat. I really dont want her out at beditme, because the older dog sleeps in the bed with us and as clingy as this pup is, there could be trouble. Our bedroom is where our older dog has her alone time. When we are there, the pup is out of the crate.

I am concerned about showing the pup more affection or attention if you will in front of the older dog. We have begun training the pup apart (seperate rooms) from the older dog. My wife will take one and I will take the other. Are we right in doing this? Our initial thought was to let them together from day one, supervised of course, to let them get aquainted. The pup is not violent and does not harass the older dog. She simply follows her around wanting to be accepted. The older dog simply walks away.

Another prob I have is i get home an hr before my wife. I have to let them both outside of course. When it comes time to coem in and get their treats, I always feed the older dog first. The trouble is when I feed the older dog, she will bite the treat and drop some to the floor. The pup will go for the stuff that falls, and that causes a major issue. Shouyld I keep the pup crated until the older dog goes out, does her thing, comes in and get her treat, and then let the pup out on her own?

It appears that the pup is trying hard to show the older dog that she is submitting to her. The pup is licking the older dogs lips, laying down in front of her and showing her belly. The older dog just does not want nothing of her at all.

We are doing the best we can with the situation. As loving and accepting of others as our older dog is, I figured she would have shown more interest then she has.

Your post, suebgone, really begs the question, was this all a mistake and should we find another home for this pup?

suebgone · 01-11-2008

altho I don't agree with doing that to a puppy it sounds like it is working for you.

why is it necessary to give them treats when they come inside? if you weren't giving them that would solve that problem, right?

your situation is no where nearly as bad as some I've heard of. I would keep a close eye on it & hopefully time will make things better. they should each have special time with each one of you.

you may also want to google NILIF to help re-inforce your alpha position

ls1z28 · 01-11-2008

Well firstly I appreciate your help suebgone

I am not a fan of having to confine a dog to a crate. Our older dog has and always has had the run of the house. She is just very mellow and non destructive. The worst she does is lays where we sit or sleep when she is lonely. Most of the time she is on her dog bed in the living room. She loves affection and always needs to be touching you. I just worry about letting the pup roam becuase, 1 she is teething, 2 i dont want a fight when we are not there, 3 reinforcing that the older dog is a superior to her.

Our older dog knows we are in charge. We just spoil the snot out of her and we choose to do it. I guess our older dog does not abuse the carte blanche we extend to her. The pup also knows we are in charge from the way she shadows my wife and I around the house. The pup just has a lot to learn.

I ask advice on how we can make the impact less severe on our older dog, and what suggestions do you have for this pup socialization wise and maybe an alternative to the crate, or lessen the time in the crate.

suebgone · 01-11-2008

oh I'm not opposed to crating, just all day for a young puppy.

have you considered a dog walker?

how about a couple days or half days at doggie day care.

it is good that you come home for lunch & can do things then with them.

I would leave a radio on a talk station.

ls1z28 · 01-24-2008

Well,
We have made some headway in or matter with the GSD puppy. I have realized that this dog is scared of everything. Outside of my wife and I and our husky.... she is afraid of cars, other dogs, other people, and even the laundry basket.

The root of our housebreaking woes was because she will not leave the deck to go to the grass to do her business because the howl of the wind in the trees scares her, and my positive reinforcement doesn't seem to matter to her.

We have enrolled her in training courses and our vet even suggested putting her on Reconcile so she can focus and ease the anxiety of socialization. I am not so sure of doping her this young, but they are the vet and I am not.

On a good note, her and the husky play very well together and the bounds have been established between them. She is warming up somewhat to her crate, but woudl rather sit in the recliner anyday.

I question what the heck happened to her in her 18 weeks of life for her to be so scared. I mean she is not even curious, just afraid.

suebgone · 01-24-2008

it's great that you were perceptive enough to figure all this out.

dogs do not have to have been abused to be reclusive & afraid, it is often heriditary & in some cases cannot be overcome.

Reconcile is Prozac & was approved by the FDA for dogs with SA or depresion

you may want to consider the Bach Flower Remedies. you can combine several if you feel the need. they are available from health food stores. here is the info & I do have a list what each one does specifically for dogs

Buy Bach Rescue Remedy/Spray/Cream at iHealthTree.com

Poohbear · 01-24-2008

Sue of course gave you excellent advice.
Your pup just needs for you to be outside when she goes to do her business, and she needs to have quality time with you.
Our pup also a GSD was from a puppy mill, and he had a hard time adapting to things. Being calm helped alot. If something was different outside,(and we were always outside with him) he would get really nervous, and shake. I would take him to what was different,(one time it was a fallen tree) and I walked over it, and calmly called him to me. He got that he didn't have to be afraid, because Mom and Dad were not. He quickly learned that we were there for him.