We brought a 4 month old puppy just over a week ago, shes the same breed as my other girl, shes not bouncy or in the other dogs face at all. Now my problem is my older girl is not used to other dogs but she took to the puppy after 24 hours we introduced them slowly, allowed them to play in the garden etc. It was all going great until about the 4th day, they were in the garden playing together with a squeaky toy, my older girl went and lay down on the grass and the pup walked past her and sniffed the toy. The older girl took off after the pup with real intent to do harm, she gave no warning and was not listening to my calls, she backed the pup into a corner with her cheek in her mouth thats where I managed to get hold of her and pull her off. She was put in the kitchen on her bed away from the pup and left. Now Im scared to let them together again, I do knowing keeping them seperate will only make matters worse, but I will only have them together with a muzzle on the older girl which she hates. She has played with the pup since the incident while wearing the muzzle but we cant keep it on her forever. She is having a phantom pregnancy we discovered she was producing milk the other day, could this be the cause of her sudden outburst? If so what can we do to aid in the recovery of the phantom and to get the two dogs to tolerate each other? She has not gone for her since and will initiate play with the pup while its in its crate so I dont think she hates the pup if she did she would be trying to get at it all the time wouldnt she? Any help at all would be most appreciated.

Personnally I would keep them seperate when you aren't there to supervise (you may already be doing this). Keep all toys away from them if you are not with them and keep play short and sweet. Make sure it doesn't get to the point that your elder girl starts to resourse guard. Also squeaky toys are very good at getting a dog into a hightened state emotionally so perhaps stay away from them for a few months. 1 week isn't a long time for dogs to get to know each other and expecially with a dog that is slightly uncertain of dogs.

Did she make any mark on the puppy - if not it shows that it was just a warning and the pup will be more careful next time.

HTH I am sure others will be around with more info (or may have already whilst I am writing this!)
Best of luck
Anna

Blood was drawn on the pups cheek and neck (two puncture wounds) but the pup is not bothered by the older girl and is really eager to play. They are allowed together when Im around for ten to fifteen minutes at a time but my older girl spends all this time hunched up glaring at the pup:rolleyes:. She will on occasion play with the pup but prefers to stay away in a corner or trying to stand behind or beside me (which I dont allow). I just want to get her over this phantom she had the galastop last time and it made her ill so wanted to aviod using it again.

Phantom pregnancies can definitely cause mood changes in some bitches - and nursing\ guarding of toys. I would also suspect that if your bitch had serious intent the pup would have been injured before you could get there, and you would have had a very big job getting her off - and she wouldn't be trying to play with the pup now. :) Though of course you do need to be cautious about reintroducing them, someone else will I'm sure have some advice on how to do this.

Phantom pregnancies can be treated with galastop from the vets, and I think there are also herbal things that can help, but I'm not sure what. It might be raspberry leaf, or I might be completely wrong - Dorwest do herbal stuff.

I wouldn't keep them separate when you are there (though keep them separate when you can't supervise), but I would remove the toys for now to prevent the same situation from happening again. The phantom pregnancy may well have had something to do with it, but it sounds much like resource guarding to me.

To help with the issue, you could play with them with a toy when you are there to play with them and supervise. Also make sure that both dogs have a reliable "leave" to drop toys on command.

Vera

Yes, I agree in not keeping them seperate whilst you are there.

Your girl does not dislike the pup at all, otherwise she would not tolerate her and play with her. Older dogs do put pups in their place all the time, it is usually noise and teeth, no real skin contact and certainly there should be no blood drawn. Sometimes it can look really scary but it is just to let a pup know it's place.

I agree if toys are causing a severe reaction of guarding from your older girl to remove the toys and play with your pup throughout the day, a tug rope or soft toy games will be great for bonding with yourself and your pup. Toys are important for a pup to play with though, so if possible, I would give some segregation time also so that the pup and your older girl can have toys to themselves.

Your pup will have great fun playing with your older dog, but make sure the older girl has somewhere to go for some solitude at times, as with all young and don't be too afraid of her growling and snarling at the pup on occassions it is all doggie politics. :-)

I wouldn't keep them seperate either and the phantom pregnancy could be the problem.  Just don't let them have toys when they're together, it's not worth the risk.

she may not do it again if you give her a good telling off, my dog used to be a bit nasty and selfish with toys ( not to that degree) but he soon learned he had to share and now he is fine. im sure over time they will be fine together with toys.

I think that I would persevere for a bit longer. I had a phone call today from a friend who has a 8 yr old English Bull Terrier, Sykes, he is castrated & up to last weekend had never, ever shown any signs of aggression with other dogs. My friend has a cat, the dog took to him & there was never a problem. Last weekend after a lot of thought & preperation she bought home a female bulldog puppy. Things were fine until the puppy bit Syke's tongue, while being a bit rough in play. Apparently Sykes went crazy, my friend thought he would do the puppy serious harm. We are all completely gobsmacked, it is so out of character for him. She had to get a muzzle & she also got a behaviourist in. He saw the dogs together & told her to take the puppy back. She is devastated, but the breeder was very understanding. It just goes to show that dogs can be unpredictable & that you never know for sure how they will react to certain situations. I have known him since he was a puppy & walked my 2 with her & taken them in his house, I have also seen him interact with other dogs. He has never before, even growled at another dog. She had no choice, but I think if you play it safe & are always there when the 2 dogs are together, they may sort themselves out. Good Luck.

Hi there

I do think that the phantom is the cause.  She will be guarding the toys and sees the puppy as a threat.  I would certainly look at getting something from the vet or a herbal as advised above.

If your dog is having a phantom its the hormones that are making her this way.  I wouldnt advise that you separate them when you are there either but I certainly wouldnt advise that you play with the puppy to the detriment of the older dog.  The older dog has to be made to feel that this puppy is not a threat.  By muzzling her etc., she sees the puppy as making her life miserable.  Telling her off isnt good either because the older dog is simply doing what older dogs do and that is put the puppy in its place.

Whenever I introduce a puppy to my household there are always situations that arise.  However, thats not the resident dogs fault because her space is being invaded.

I think that the answer here is to make sure that whenever the puppy is around the older dog gets positive experiences.  You could give her a treat when the puppy is around so that she associates puppy with nice things.  Dont leave any toys around and take time out through the day to actively play and spend one to one with the older dog so that she knows she is not being pushed out in favour of the puppy.  When the puppy does something to the older dog and the older dog tells her off, there is no point in putting the older dog away.  This simply tells the puppy not to listen to the older dog and it tells the older dog that the puppy is getting preferential treatment.

I hope I am making sense here.  The general gist is to make sure that the older dog gets more attention so that she doesnt feel left out.  If she tells off he puppy then stop the game and take the puppy away - not the older dog.  Puppy will then get the message that when it does this the games stop.

Hope this helps.

Spettadog