Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and thought i'd join since i truely need some help. I've had a dog for about 9 years her name is Noely, she is very loving but is one of those dogs that barks a lot at strangers! Yesterday i got a new puppy from a friend 1 month old chow chow mixed with a lab, black coat one green eye one blue, boy. It is the cutiest most loving dog ever. My dog Noely is not getting along with it, does anyone think this process takes time? I assumed since it was a puppy she would not be so confronting , she wont stop barking at it, and is gaurding her food and not acting normal. I do not want my dog to feel like we are ignoring it for the new pup. Is there anything i can do? I'm afraid of having them in the same room, will this take time? I hope that these 2 will get along in the future. I am not too familiar with dogs getting along because i have only had one to this point. Hope to get some advice because i am in great need!

Thanks!

[reeskujo]

I'm sorry but I have to ask...Why did you take a puppy that's only 4 weeks old...That's way to young to be away from the mom!

Aside from the age of the puppy (which I hope is a typo because one month is far too young unless something happened to the mom), it sounds as if your older dog has the idea that it's her house, food, etc, not yours. The barking at strangers is a good clue (along with the other behavior) that she feels it is her job to protect the house, and she is doing her job with the puppy. As "leader", it would naturally be up to her to decide who gets to stay and doesn't. The temptation is to be even more loving and generous to your original dog when it "looks" like a jealousy issue, which would only reinforce the behavior, telling your dog you approve of her bullying the new puppy.

I'd remind your older dog (gently and lovingly of course) that you are the boss. Things like always going through doors first, making her sit and wait a moment before giving her food, never letting her walk in front of you on walks and basically not allowing the dog to demand any behavior from you (like nuzzling your hand to get patted)...all serve to get the message across that you make the decisions in the house. Your dog should relax and feel a lot more comfortable when she's certain that you are in charge, and not her.

The down side is you've had 9 years to let her think she's the one in charge, and it might take a while to convince her otherwise and consistency is crucial. There are many great books and web sites with information about the heirarchical way dogs relate and how to establish yourself as the leader...once you do nearly everything is much easier.

the puppies were for some reason seperated from their mom soon after birth... I took the pup from a friend that was about to give it to the pound, i understand that they should be with their mom but this was out of my control

Thank you for your advice,

Yes this was our first family dog and she was not trained and she basically does w.e she wants (being rude to guest, barking ,growling at loud people). I know this may be a very hard task due to the fact that she has probably always thought she was the leader and alpha dog. I will try a couple of things i read along with your advice my only concern is that they way she is growling at it makes me scared she will bite it! I've had to keep them seperated because she wont stop the barking or growling. The new pup has stirred up some conflict with one of my brothers, he believes it wrong what we are doing and there should be non pup but i believe she should be trained somehow and understand that she is not the only one, i know this should of been done when she was younger shes always been a barker. Like i said the pup was separated from the mother before it was given to the person i received it from , i love animals and by no means did i try and separate it from the mother i also believe it may be older than a month but it is unclear because of the lab chow mix it may just be a big size pup.

Thank you,

Nat

If you are the least bit worried the younger dog will get hurt then you are certainly wise to keep them separated. As for teaching your older dog some new tricks, it's really you that has to learn to do things differently and it will only take as long as it takes you...your dog will pick it up very quickly as long as you are totally consistent.

For things like very aggressive barking or growling, or any sign of genuine aggression I'm not afraid to be very firm with my dogs that it is simply NOT allowed, period. For everything else I can be endlessly patient, but I have four dogs and won't risk them hurting each other.

Don't worry about your older dog feeling jealous or upset over you taking a stronger role, she will appreciate having you be the boss, lots less stressful for her and dogs are natural very social animals and she will enjoy the puppy's company once she has her role sorted out.