i have a very serious problem. i purchased a puppy last weekend (saturday am)after hours of searching and many hours in the car our beautiful staffie bitch came home. we have a 3 & 1/2 year old neutered male who we rescued from wood green in january this year. i had asked them about his history of which they told me he had lived with another dog (english bull) which was introduced when he was one and half. no problems reported. so we brought home our bundle of joy and introdced them in a nutral area and then brought her in. the male was not aggressive towards her and wanted to play he did get bit rough a couple of times but was otherwise ok. no more problems and thought things were going ok. monday afternoon i looked away for a second only to find the pup in his mouth being shaken. took pup to the vet to find she had two broken ribs and a punctured lung. she is at present convalescing at the breeders as we were unsure what to do. she has to be on cage rest for a month and it was easier for the breeder to be there for her as she does not work. we would desperatly like to have her back when she is fitter but most people say we cannot have them together ever again. several people think we should get rid of our older dog in favour of the pup but we really dont want to do this as we do love him and i dont think he meant to hurt her. we are devastated about this and really would like to hear other peoples suggestions. the ideal situation is to end up with both but we dont know how and have been told that you cannot socialise an older dog is this true? any help would be appreciated thanks

i am so sorry that this has happened to you. after the excitement of bringing her home you must be absolutely devastated. Whilst the pup is recovering, think of all the options. you mentioned rehoming one dog or the other. is there a feasible possibility of keeping both but keeping them totally seperate? If I were you I would be totally guided by the breeder on this one...she is experienced with the breed. let her make that decision .

I cant imagine having to keep dogs totally seperate. If they are pets there is no point in having more than one in the first place if they cant mix with one another, and my nerves would be in shreds in case they got together. I am afraid I dont have any solutions for you except please dont keep both if they cant live together - its not fair on them, you, your family or any visitors.
I hope you find a solution.

I really wouldn't consider keeping them totally seperate for life, given the ages of the dogs. My parents had to do this with two of their adult dogs that fell out big time - this lasted until one died (10 years later!). Two dogs living in the same house but never meeting is very difficult to manage. My parents were lucky in that they lived in a house with many doors, but still accidents happened. It is inevitable that they will meet every now and then (accidents with doors being left open do happen) and when they do, all hell breaks out! It also means, of course, that you are unable to go anywhere with both dogs - so long days out walking, etc, are not possible unless you have someone at home to look after the dog left behind. It is possible to manage - my parents did, but only because they had adult kids to dog sit - they wouldn't do it again.

The situation is awful - it is unusual for a dog to attack a bitch puppy. Have you any idea what provoked it? I personally could not and would not rehome any dog which had lived with me for some time in favour of puppy.

thanks guys for your advice. i still dont know what we are going to do but am still pursuing advice from various sources. we have decided that no matter what we are keeping the rescue dog as we have had a wonderfull year with him. we dont know what prevoked him as i had only looked away for a minute at most. i have consulted two behavoirists for advice and both have come up with conflicting answers. one said no way and the other said it could be possible to have both. so will keep looking out for any advice any one has as it all helps and any ideas also. have also been told that a dog cannot be trained to tolerate other dogs is this true?

thanks tracey

Firstly, congratulations on deciding to keep your existing dog. The rescue centres are full of adults moved out to make way for a new puppy, I'm pleased your boy wont be adding to the numbers.

In the year you've had the rescue dog, what has he been like with other dogs?

Picking the dog up and shaking it sounds a bit like predatory behaviour to me (having never met the dog I can't say for sure, obviously) being a terrier, maybe he thought the 'small furry thing' was a cat or a rabbit, something shakeable! If that is the case, he may well be better when the pup is older.

This is absolutely catastrophic for the pup, she'll miss out on all the vital socialisation, and will need extra special care introducing her to the world so that she isn't frightened. Be honest with yourself, if you can't give the pup the extra time she's almost certainly going to need in order to grow into a well adjusted adult, then your home isn't the right one for her.

Speak to the breeder, I'm sure they wont have trouble finding a home for her being a puppy, and it could well be the best thing for both her and your dog.

Good luck,
Jo

he is not good when on the lead but ok when off. he doesnt really take much notice and is more intererested in me and his ball.

i had a similar problem when we got our new puppy although it was not quite as serios. Our boy was 8 1/2 and very grumpy. Not used to other dogs etc. But over time he has learnt to accept our girl. We introduced them slowley over a period of time. Which was fairly easy for us as our boy lives outside and the pup was inside. He did attack her a couple of times but it was not as severe as he never drew blood. so i assume he was just warning her/ letting her know who was boss. He still growls at her if she goes near his food but other than that he loves her now. Runs to greet her in the mornings etc and they play quite happily together.
I am now having to steart all over again as i have 2 12 week old pups who find him rather entertaining and he is not best pleased even though they are his kiddiesxx
I hope you find a solution

Brinny

thank you all for your advice. we have decided that it would be best all round to let the pup go to a new home. for her sake for our dogs sake and for our sake. we came to the concluision that we could not take the risk of a) it happening again or b) them fighting ona regular basis. we have to accept that our rescue has problems and will not get another dog until he passes. we are going to invest heavily in training and desensitisation of other dogs as i am sure he was not properly socialised as a pup and does not have respect for doggie ways. so we are sadly saying goodbye to our bundle of joy and wish her well in her future life.. tracey

you are very responsible, and have made an admirable decision. congrats on putting your old boy first, you absolutely made the right decision all round :)

I'm sure that's the right thing to do, Tracey, hard though it is. Well done for being able to see the bigger picture. I'm sure you'll do wonders with your older dog, and you'll all be less stressed. Good for you.
:)

Terrible thing to have happen but at least you had the courage to make a descision based on wellbeing of the dogs involved both adult and pup.

Enjoy your dog I'm sure he will enjoy being an "only" dog again.

Karen

Such a sad story! I'm really hoping that our old bitch will accept a puppy. Although she doesn't like other dogs and won't tolerate one in the house she is usually fine with anything under 6 months, mothering them.

At the end of the day it's her home and if she doesn't take to the pup then it will be the pup who has to go. :(

to wish fairy, well if i have learnt anything from this it is to take your time in introducing them and make sure there are NO toys around. also give your older dog space if she needs it away from pup. wish you all the best and hope it works out for you. please think long and hard about this and take all the advice you can get. ?would it not be better to wait until your old girl passes? hope this helps tracey

I plan on being very careful. I've even thought about asking the breeder if they could send me a bit of the pups bedding or something so my dog can have a good sniff to familiarise herself with the smell before the real thing arrives :rolleyes:

She has never drawn blood, or even injured another animal. It's almost as if she has been trained on how to get them into a 'hold' where they are pinned beneath her without actually harming them. In saying that I know it could cause a lot of damage to a tiny pup or traumatise it at the very least so we are going to be very. very careful with them.

hi wishfairy you would be better asking the breeder to bath the pup before you collect her so she does not smell of the other dogs and taking something that smells of you to rub her with before you get her home so the pup smells of you not other dogs. tracey

I'll do that, thanks.

It's about a 24 hour journey (allowing lots of stops to keep her happy) so she should smell of me by then. Then I have to come in and greet my old girl to get her excitement over with before bringing the newbie in. I'm thinking of taking Sam (my older dog) out to the car to see her as we can't meet in a neutral place until the pup has her injections... what do you think?

lol - I'm basing most of this on how I introduced my real babies when they were born and she's always done me proud :)

Hi Wishfairy,

I have two Bullmastiffs, a fairly dominant bitch of 3yrs and a dog of 5mths.
When I brought my new pup home I was advised to take a piece of my existing dog's bedding with me to rub all over the pup. Also to hold the pup on the way back so that both myself and he smelled of each other. Another tip was to rub my hands over his genital area and then rub this on my bare arms.

I would definately not bring the pup into the house to be introduced, but try and find somewhere neutral (a friends house, garage etc). I put the pup in a cage in the middle of the room, Ellie completely ignored it and would make a detour so as not to get too near. I also put a baby gate across the kitchen door so that the pup could run around safely. Eventually Ellie started to take an interest and had a few sniffs at him.

The first time I let them meet face to face without any barriers (after about a week) I fenced part of the garden off and stood by with the hose pipe at the ready (to squirt water at them I hasten to add). My heart was in my mouth but all went OK. I only let them together for a few minutes several times a day and gradually increased times spent together.

I was (and still am) very careful to always put Ellie first, (feeding, petting, walks etc). I never let them eat together (although they can see each other eating) or leave toys or chews lying about. Even so, we have still had a few incidents and on one occasion blood was drawn (all of them were my fault when I feel I relaxed my guard. The worst incident was when I gave Ellie a treat thinking the pup was fast asleep in his bed).

No matter what (and it is hard sometimes), I back Ellie up as I know she is teaching the pup his place. When they play too rough after a while I call time out and seperate them.

Hope all goes well for you
Jan

Thanks Jan - I shall do all of the above (although the rubbing genitals bit might not be necessary with a bitch pup ) I really want this to go smoothly and I know it's worth putting in the extra effort to get it right.

I would personally introduce them in the garden rather than either the house or the car.
:)