[Beau&Bella]

Hello everyone!

We have a beautiful, gentle loving 14 month old male Shih Tzu, Beau. We got him at 11 weeks and he was an absolute joy! He house trained really quickly and showed a really happy nature. We didn't believe he had been socialised very well so tried our hardest to introduce him to people and other dogs slowly and with patience.

This week we took the plunge and picked up a beautiful female Shih Tzu who is just 8 weeks old. She, Bella is an absolute joy also and is showing a very quirky personality already.

The problem is that Beau is so frightened of her, we read up on the best wayof introducing Bella to him and we have done all the right things, no special attention for either, long walks for Beau so he gets some quiet time, she has a separate place away from him most of the time and all the other tips we were given, however when Bella goes out to do her business, Beau will run down the garden and then just barn at her, and if they are inside he will jait run and hide.

He is also being strange with us, he won't play, won't take treats from is, and is generally miserable, it's heart breaking! We have tried all optionswe have read about and wondering if anyone has practical advice that has worked for them? Please help us, we want our babies to be happy together... Thank you

[CorkyMax]

You have only had the new puppy about a week---Maybe a little more time and things may change. Don't know if it too much after the fact thing or not but you could try changing the scent of the new pup by giving it a bath using the other dog's doggie shampoo.

I may have a similar problem in near future--introducing a new dog to an older dog. It is the older dog that I am worried about!--aggressive worry.

[reeskujo]

I agree with Corky. It's only been a week...Give it some time and most likely he'll work through it..

Just a few tips that may help..Make sure that when he's showing fear towards the new puppy that you ignore his behavior..By picking him up or talking in that It's ok honey voice that we woman tend to use it's giving him positive attention when he's showing a negative behavior..That will only reinforce his fear and tell him that he's justified in having it..

Don't try to force or encourage him to engage with the new puppy...That will only stress him out more..Make sure they're both getting equal amounts of your attention..Not one more then the other...Also I can't remember if you said you were doing it or not but if not, try walking them together...That helps them to bond to you and each other..

I hope this helps.. Let us know how it goes.

[Beau&Bella]

Thank you both for your suggestions and words of encouragement, trust me they all help!

Bella can't go out yet as she hasnt had her vaccinations! Beau loves his walks and has a routine which we hope to make her a part of when she is able to go out, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for that one!

Beau is now refusing to eat most meals, and just constantly seems jittery despite our re-assurances. We are only a few days in, so are hopeful that things will improve, just really looking to see if any one has been through the same thing and found anything that seemed to work, as this is out first experience of introducing a puppy and are worried we might be or could be making things worse!! :-(

[lange]

I'm a newbie on this as I've only had a single dog at a time until recently..
I have a 5 y/o Lhasa & added an Akita pup in August. It took my Lhasa a few weeks to become more comfortable w/the pup. They have their squabbles & irritations with eachother but the majority of the time they love eachother now.

Without going on & on I'll keep my experience short, the thing I could recommend is to give your older dog many breaks apart from your pup through out the entire day. If Beau doesn't like eating w/Bella around, I would feed him alone for now so that he's not overwhelmed or anxious. I feed my Lhasa in his crate, he prefers it that way. It works because my Akita wouldn't leave him alone otherwise.

Good luck!