I last came on here seven years ago when I first got my Staffie, this was a great site and so I return all these years later as I have introduced a new Patterdale/Jack Russell cross puppy two days ago.  I do realise there are posts on here already but I have a slightly different issue, not sure if it's a problem.  Buster, my Staffie, is excellent with other dogs, very playful and friendly but has never been brilliant with puppies.  To give him his due, when Clive [new pup] arrived two days ago [so yes it is early days!], he was wary, quite stressed but we made careful introductions, and we have been allowing Buster to tell him off when he needs to etc.  However, as the days have progressed, Buster has begun to incessantly bark at or growl at the puppy, when Clive is minding his own business and not trying to play or nip Buster at all and it's getting worse.  It's becoming almost "anti social" as it's relentless and I'm not sure what to do, at times the poor puppy can't just walk from one end of the room to the other without Buster blocking him, barking or loud growling.  Telling Buster "away" is not working, if we ignore it and turn our backs, it continues ... it seems to be escalating.  We've done the "time out" thing, putting puppy in his cage for a bit but as soon as he's out again, within a few minutes he's off again.  The only good thing is there's no sign that he's going to bite him, his tail is wagging and if you all think that he will grow bored of it and it will eventually be fine, we're happy to continue just "Letting him get on with it".  However as it's getting worse and not better, I'm not sure what the right thing is to do.  Any ideas?  Thanks in advance, Nicki.

Hi Nicki

nice to see you back :)

I'm of the firm camp of never 'letting them get on with it' regardless of age, size, breed etc.  Dogs need boundaries so we need to set them.  On your specific concern firstly it's not unusual for adult males of any breed or mix to be wary of pups - some are blatantly scared stiff of them and others overly cautious which can result in anything from sloping off to a quiet corner (as though sulking, but they're not!) to bullying or snapping at a pup and a whole load of other stuff in between.

Secondly, there are a few basic ground rules for everyone in the household, not just the dogs.  (a) The established dog must be able to get away from a puppy, enjoy his own space and quiet time; (b) The puppy must have some time out to rest and not become over excited; (c) the humans have to ensure the older dog is not jealous of the new puppy appearing to get all the attention - not easy with intensive house training and socialising in the early months, so make special time for Buster to be suitably fussed etc.; (d) make their interactions positive - if Buster feels he's always in trouble when the pup is around he will grow
resentful.

Doubtless we could go through the alphabet here - you're the only one around to see the extent of the problem and so it's a judgement call.  Personally it sounds as though you may have to be very much on guard over the next couple of weeks to ensure that both dogs receive due attention but no opportunity arises where there could be a conflict.

TBH I would not recommend having two males together which are of terrier origins, as although some of what you're experiencing just now is not necessarily a huge issue it could develop into one.

best wishes, Teri

When I got my pup (called Buster :) ), I allready had an adult male dog. The older dog was always very friendly towards visiting dog so I thought bringin pup home would be a breeze. However, older dog really did not take to him, he appeared to be 'disgusted' with pup.

I put up a stair gate at the kitchen door and the kitchen became pups area, he was only taken out of the kitchen on-lead so as not to overwhelm oldie. Gradually pup would come into the living room with us in the evening, on-lead,. the time pup spent in the living room was increased in sessions and lenghts of sessions and gradually the adult dog stopped being so 'disgusted' and started to accept pup.
It went on like this untill pup seemed to just 'merge' in with the older dog. However, for a few months pup was always shut in the kitchen if I was going out or could not supervise thier interactions.

ONce the adult dog had accepted the pup it was then a case of pup needing to learn the boundries from the other dog, during play sessions. Pup would push his luck but the more I stepped in, the less effort oldie put into telling pup off, it was only once I stopped interfereing that the adult dog told pup the rules, but this was not allowed un-supervised and was not permitted until the adult dog was perfectly comfortable with pup being with us, so it was a couple of months from bringing pup home I 'left them to it' while I supervised thier play.

There is no way, going by my adult dogs behaviour, that I would have let them freely interact in the beginng. The adult was very uncomforatble (seemed unsettled & wary)with pup and an uncomforatable dog can feel forced into defending itself or doing things it wouldn't normally do it it felt comfortable (if you get my rambling?).

ETA, my adult dog would scream if pup went near him and stare at him with the whites of his eyes showing, like the 'whale eye' you can see in a dog guarding it's food in the begining, They ended up sharing a bed :)

Thanks for your replies, will take on board your advice, you think you're doing the right thing and well, it obviously wasn't ... things have ironically calmed down this evening, both co-existed in the same room for around half an hour without bothering each other and then they retired to their respective beds [hope they do end up sharing one, lol].  Nicki