My puppy only been with us two and a half weeks and I thought that him and my female dog Poppy were getting on OK , however in the last couple of days shes really been turning on him.  If he goes near her she growls (in a 'means it' type of way) and today when we were all cuddled up together for no apparent reason she really did go for the pup, think she tried to bite his head, he was squealing and crying and it was just awful.  He is now scared to go near her and is creeping round the room looking lost.  And when it had happened and we'd separated them she just look confused and I love both of them very much and how can I help them to get along?

Feel like crying, I knew they wouldn't be best pals straight away but it appears to be getting worse.

help anyone?

Jo

Let your bitch set the pace.  Avoid areas that will cause conflict like cuddling them both together, she comes first in all things.  She is telling him that he is getting too big for his boots thinking he can have your attention when she wants it. 

So confirm to her that she ranks higher than he does and that he will get the crumbs if she allows, that is how dog sosciety works, it is not about equality at all but everyone in his place. 

If you stop elevating him, and he continues to shwo due reverance to her (creeping about and not going near her if she doesn't wish) then allwtill be fine and then she will unbe4nd to him once he knows his place.

I had a pup back at 9 months and her mother was really mean to her as she was a very confident pup and tended to be very in your face.  Once she started showing her Mum due respect she unbent and stopped trying to take ther head off, and condescended to play with ehr strictly on her terms.

Right, so make sure she gets treats first, cuddles first etc?  I have been trying to do this but she's obviously very put out right now, its like living with Don Corleone..., she swishes past us with contempt and she doesn't particularly want anything (unless of course, the pup wants it too!)  You are spot on, the pup is very confident and boisterous and I've made arrangements today to have someone else to look after him for an hour so I can take her out by herself and give her a bit of one to one attention.  She is, after all, my best girl and I just want to make this go smoothly.  When it comes to them fighting and niggling at each other do I just keep doing what I'm doing - which is nothing unless it turns into a proper fight? 

Also, I do believe that the pup is going to be twice her size, do I have future dominance issues to look forward to or does this set the pace and she'll always be number one?  I've only ever had one dog at a time, I really never knew how good I had it!  :)

Size has nothing to do with it she will set the scene and will reamin the more dominnat one, especially over a male who will let her as there is no reason for him to be above her (males vie for breeding rights).

Yes don't interfere in any spats unless there is likely to be someone hurt (not likely as long as he backs down).  The fact that he will be bigger than her means you really do need to let her assert herself over him.

Many adult dogs don't become freinds with pups until they are older.

A freind of mine had a bitch who ignored or was a tyrant to all her new dogs until they hit 12 months :D

If it is any consolation it took a good eight weeks before my oldest dog (top dog) would accomodate the puppy in the house.  Our bitch had pups so I kept our dog away from the pups of course.  When they were eight weeks old, it became clear the little one was staying and so I started to gently introduce all three dogs together.  I would keep pup on a lead, even in the house, so they would all have their own space but could be together.  All three of them had attention at different times and I never left them together unsupervised.

It took some doing but gradually it worked out but pup was about four months old before my son emailed me a picture at work of both the boys in the bed together!  I could have cried but it made all those weeks of work and supervision worth it.  Now, the oldest one will pretend he isn't interested in the pup but he'll give him a wash when he needs it and they do share a bed at times.  They don't really play together tho, he still relies on mum for rough and tumble time.

Be patient and don't give up!
Best Wishes

Thanks!  So as Poppy is extremely possessive about anything thats hers, ie. her chews etc do I keep these out of the equation?  As I have noticed that if he goes near anything that is hers that is the time when she is much more likely to fly into a temper.  I had no idea that she would stay dominant, I suppose it won't be such a problem when he is older as he will be bigger and less likely to get squashed.  There have only been a few problems, they play a lot together and snuggle up occasionally but it was just so frightening and I felt really helpless. 

She is doing a couple of strange things (eating his food for a couple of mouthfuls, taking his toys away and playing with them for a bit before giving them back, not letting him in his bed before she's mussed the covers up, not letting him on 'her' chair at all (he has to lay on the floor beneath her!) - are these dominant signs and will they ever abate or will this happen forever?

Also we've been trying to do what the book said and feed her first, but he keeps running for her food.  She seems to be daring him to go for it - and then he goes for her! 

I feel frazzled but I am determined to get this right!

Jo

She is making a point at the moment so the signs are there to show him who is boss, when he knows she is boss she will feel less need to keep demonstaring it. 

It is a bit like when a new manager comes into a workplace :D

As for food that is one situation where I do intervene and I don't allow anyone to take anyone elses food.  With my own dogs at lest I have found it stops any food posesiveness as no-one ever has to guard their own dish.  I feed all five in the kitchen and watch to make sure theat the newest one doesn't try stealing, once this is habit I can just give each their own bowl and no-one woudl dream of trying to get the others food, unless it has obviously been left (but I pick it up then).

I have no trouble with giving chews even in a shared crate at shows.  tyhey have lost of bones to chew, so it is never something to fight over.  t6hey are quite happy for visiting dogs to share these too.

I feed mine separately and can't give bones unless they have their own space.  They don't need to be kept apart but if one is in the kennel, one out and one in the house then I give them out and don't need to shut doors, etc but I can't leave bones lying around without causing trouble.

I think we worry more than we need to about older ones putting the young ones in their place.

I know - I hope I can look back one day and laugh at all this!  But my bitch is extremely jealous, i knew we'd have a few problems and thats why a site like this is invaluable, not only do you get to share experiences but people with more experience are able to tell you if you're panicking for no reason! 

I've tried the new 'boost Poppy' plan today and it does seem already as if her bruised ego has been a little soothed.  The dog is still a little wary of her however she graciously allowed him to tug on her beard for a bit of a game.  That said, when I gave them treats (her first then him second) she did lunge at him and growl when he didn't eat his quick enough.  He ran squealing under the table (clinging desperately to his treat).  I agree that separate spaces for chews etc is a very good idea right now.   I think shes just very possessive and greedy and would much prefer for her to get EVERYTHING and him NOTHING!!!

:)

Withg mine as I am the boss then I would tell her off for bullying ehn you have given him the treat just so she knows she is enitled to put him in his place, but you have the final word and won't alow her to go too far :D

Sounds like things are going along quite normally!

Its getting worse.  She follows him around, aggressively standing in his way.  If he moves she attacks him.  If he comes too close, if he makes too much noise, then wham shes on him.  It sounds terrible, really frightening.  He seems unable to back off until she has really gone for him.  I feel a bit like crying.  :(  Its getting more frequent.  Is this normal. 

We had this with one of our bitches when we got a dog puppy she went for him every opportunity she could, I could never turn my back and had to be with him all the time in case she attacked him, eventually she just stopped but we had to be firm with her and let her know that she could not attack him. We had to cage him for a while to protect him as well.
Now 3 years on they get on well but he is wary of her and knows she's boss, she never attacks him but walks up to him now and again and he just lays down.

What type of dogs are they.

They are standard schnauzers.  Poppy is incredibly jealous and extremely possessive.  I'm really trying to make sure I'm boosting her confidence but its like she just can't relax when she's around.  I'm doing one to one with her, taking her out on her own, giving her treats and pets first but if he's in the room it seems to mean nothing.  He gets her hackles up and sometimes I don't even see any warning signs, she switches from being a bit wary to instant teeth and fur flying.  He's not really big enough to stand up to her but he will insist on giving it a go, going back for more, fighting back.  Poppy just looks miserable.  :(

I'm not sure whether what you're seeing is normal or not as I'm not there and don't know your bitch, but perhaps she's trying to let you know that she's not happy and things have gone a bit fast.  Perhaps she's fed up of having a lively pup around all the time. 

What I would do (my opinion - not what you should do ;) )
In your position I would separate them, don't leave them together if you're out of the house and invest in a baby gate (suitably 'doctored' to prevent the pup getting thru the bars ;) ) only allowing them in the same room together under supervision.  After a good meal would be a good time as its hard to fight on a full tum ;)  Always cut things short and remove the pup before she gets fed up and starts to go for him.  Loads of praise whenever she's tolerant and totally ignore her or remove her from your company for 5 mins after she's horrible to him.  The same for the pup, loads of praise for being good and "NO" and remove him if he starts being a pain.  They need to know you are in charge.  I would remove all toys (you own the toys/chews - not her!) and only bring them back in when she's accepting of the pup - as a reward ;) (pup behind the gate at this point)  I would also give her some high value treats every time the pup was fed, that way she won't be jealous of his dinner :rolleyes:  In other words try to convince her he's the source of all good things ;)

Hope this helps

Thank you.  I shall try out some of your suggestions.  ...  They are never left alone at the moment and everything is supervised.  Also we have very little out that can be fought over (I have learnt this the hard way).   I've never tried to remove Lubo from the room yet though, (partly as our flat is so small!) and also because I wasn't sure whether Poppy would see this as further slight, me disappearing with the pup.  However, now you've mentioned it, it does make sense, I obviously need to give her a break. 

I was a bit scared, the other day in the garden, she seemed to fly into an uncontrollable rage.  Whilst I usually try not to interfere it was obviously going too far so I had to step in and for one very scary moment she didn't seem to recognise me and made the most awful noise.  She does start their play fighting a lot as well though and it seems that their play fighting is also leading onto fighting when he refuses to back down.  He certainly looks submissive, laying on his back, but he's biting her underbelly from down there and this just sends her flying into a rage! 

Its not all the time but when it starts it doesn't finish quickly.  Having spoken to the lady who walks my dogs, she says that Poppy is totally in charge there but Lubo is also trying to boss everyone about and my bitch has now fallen into a deep dark sulk!

Ps Does anyone know where I can find puppy socialisation classes in North London?