I have a 14 week old retriever who is settling in well.  The problem is our 9 year old spaniel is very aggressive towards the puppy.  We did everything we could to make sure the older dog didnt feel left out but he is so obsessed with food that he just sees the puppy as a threat to his food supply.  On two occassions he has bitten the puppy on the nose causing a nasty injury. My husband and myself were both in the room at the time and the attacks seem to come out of the blue.
I am now too scared to allow the dogs in the same room together at any time.  Although I do walk them both together, letting our spaniel off the lead and keeping the puppy close by.
Our spaniel came to us two years ago and was very overweight, his only motivation is food and he hangs around us all the time constantly hoping for food although we have never fed him scraps and keep strictly to his feeding time.
Any ideas please I am really worried and dont know what to do for the best.

Can you not feed them in seperate rooms with a closed door inbetween?  Is it only food that is a trigger?

Yes I agree I always feed all three of my dogs seperately and dont give bones or chews while all in the same room..... until they can be trusted with each other.Which sometimes can  be never .
Personally I would never leave them alone especially with anything around that can cause a fight.
I would also remove any toys and have control of when they have them .
If I give a treat I always make them sit and give them in the dogs pecking order.

i am a big believer in crate training dogs with this sort of temperment,one of my 10 yr yorkie is very possessive with his food he has all his meals and treat in his crate with the door shut .he likes it there ,and ofen goes there for an afternoon nap.
as for the attacking if it was me in your situation i would immediatly put my hand holding firmly at the back of his collar with a very firm "no" and would not let go until submission .

Just a quick note to say that if you are walking them together don't forget that they need to be walked seperately as well, as obviously a 9 year old spaniel will need more than a 15 minute walk. At least then they can have some time away from each other, other wise you may end up with a very jealous spaniel and a very depressed retriever. I am also a great believer of giving one to one attention to new pups out on walks and letting them off the lead very young (in safe areas) so that they will stay close when they are older and less insecure.

Mine do get fed seperately it causes too much hassle otherwise.
They are great together (some squabbles at 1st) but food was one thing they could never back down over and it was as simple as feeding one inside and one outside.

I would be very careful holding the back of a dog's collar in this situation.  There is clearly a problem and the only way to manage it in the short term until the puppy gets older and the dog accepts him is to feed them in separate rooms and not to have food lying about for them to argue about.  What you are suggesting could result in an attack and could actually escalate the situation.  As the spaniel has only been with the person 2 years it may be that the spaniel was rescue and has special needs and a problem with food.  There are ways in which you can train the spaniel not to be so food possessive but he/she is probably feeling a bit insecure at the moment with the new puppy around.  Dogs can feel very insecure followng the introduction of a new puppy which often shows itself in this way.  I hope it works out for you but please do not put yourself at risk, just manage the situation carefully as other people have suggested.

Good luck
Annie

i am saying how i would deal with that situation there i would never allow my dogs to fight and attack each other and i could never live like that dogs in separate rooms ,all my dog get on and  i have 4 .
the longer fighting is allowed to go on the worse the situation will get .
but i am sure you no it all you and jeanie beanie the champdog experts i am entitled to my opinion.

<as for the attacking if it was me in your situation i would immediatly put my hand holding firmly at the back of his collar with a very firm "no" and would not let go until submission >

That may work with your dogs which if they are all Yorkshire Terriers are fairly small & somewhat easier to restrain(don't forget I too have toy dogs as well as my GSD)but with larger dogs may not be so easy. Do not forget the older dog is not being aggressive towards the owenr so making it submit to the owner might even make the situation worse by giving the older dog a lead to making the puppy submit by aggression even more

Feeding out of sight will at least in the short term remove the problem. I never feed dogs from the table & they quickly learn the only food they get goes into their dishes(apart from training treats)so they do not even attempt to get food whilst I am eating.  Putting the dogs out of the room whilst humans are eating will remove this problem

Older dogs often have a problem when a puppy is introduced especially if it is a long time since there was a puppy in the home or if there has never been a dog younger that it in the home. I am very lucky although my rescue GSD doesn't like other dogs from medium size upwards(due to what happened in her past before we got her)she is superb with young dogs & puppies & acts a nanny putting puppies kindly but firmly in their place as & when needed. She would have been a super mother temperament wise & rules her"pack"with a paw of steel in a very soft velvet glove

If the aggression is simply over food then feeding the adult first in front of the puppy(with the puppy either behind a baby gate or in a crate)will reinforce the older dogs status & give time for one to one interaction between the older dog & the owner.  I would feed the puppy either in another room or after the adult in a crate & whilst the puppy eats token feed the adult as well so that the older dog associates the puppy being fed with extra treats & a good experience

Just my 2p

Edited to add er why the reference to Jean ????? she hasn't even posted on this thread !

>but i am sure you no it all you and jeanie beanie the champdog experts i am entitled to my opinion.

Why the random snide attack? Who rattled your cage - certainly not me! :rolleyes:

Hey JG, I think I'm the one who rattled the cage.  Sorry about that!!!

Annie

Don't worry Annie, you did nothing wrong, and gave the OP good advice.
:)

lol jg getting dragged in and you aint even done nothing! :d i think you yorkiefamily was a tad bit out of order! :) i also think it a bit dangerous to be grabbing the back off a dogs coller wile its being aggressive as you could endup being the 1 getting bit! but every1 has different ways of doing things! :)

Hi Yorkiefamily

I am definitely not having a go at you and I don't think I know everything.  I am just making a point which is gained from experience when I introduced a puppy into my group of 4 dogs.  I too would never let my dogs fight but I also wouldnt risk my own safety by intervening!  I would probably throw something down on the floor.  I am not a CD expert as you say.  I am a relatively new member of this forum but I do have years of experience in various areas and all I was doing was stating the case from my experience.  You have a right to do what you want to do.  That is definitely your perogative as they are your dogs and you know them.  To advise somebody to do something that could have serious consequences,not only to the owner but to the dog, without knowing the dogs in question is not something that I would do.  If the dog were to turn on the owner then that would jeopardise the onwer/dog relationship which would then make  the matter worse.  If this scenario is about food then the only way to handle the situation is by keeping them separate at mealtimes.  I also notice that the OP has posted saying the dog attacked when they were sitting at the table.  My interpretation of that is that the dog has probably been fed from the table and is guarding what he sees as his food resource.  Keeping the dog out of the room at mealtimes again would solve this problem.

You are very lucky to have 4 dogs that get along, as am I.  I have had problems in the past when a new puppy has been introduced and I just wanted to give the OP some sound advice gained from experience. 

Kind regards
Annie

I notice that the OP has said she doesn't feed the dog scraps from the table.  My thoughts are that he was probably fed from the table in his previous life and still sees this as an opportunity for food.   Sorry!!!!

uve no need to be sorry your entitled to give your advise as much as the next person dogdeli1 ! :)

I think your right on that one dogdeli1 he thinks he has to protect any morsel of food so he's guarding it with his life, in my opinion i'd put them out together while your eating and feed them separately so there's no hassle.

Warm regards Susan