You may be thinking of getting a new puppy to bring more joyous to your house. You may also think to get a new companion for your older dog at home. Maybe a new blood will give a new excitement to the older dog so he can feel new energy in the house.
If you are a new beginner to own a dog, why don’t you see 6 Easiest ways of caring puppy at home for beginners to understand how to raise a puppy.
However, sometimes it’s not going according to our plan. What we think will bring excitement and happiness turn out to bring chaos, growls and grumpiness. The new puppy surely will act as his age. He likes playing, jumping, running and teasing. The older dog might not be happy with the new member. The older dog growls, grumps, and barks at the little one. So far, he always initiates the fights, he snarls and shows his teeth threatening the little pup.
Here are some tips and trick how to teach your older dog to accept a new puppy. There are some stages you need to prepare before you bring a new puppy to your home.
1. Before the Introduction
It is necessary to prepare your home before your new puppy arrive. This is needed to create a situation where both older dog and new puppy can become friends in a short period. As the dog who has been staying with you longer, he will feel that your home is his territory. Thus, your new puppy can be considered trespassing his territory.
- Keep away your older dog’s things like toys
Your older dog has their own belongings and he won’t like a new dog to take what is his. So it’s better to keep the toys away from the new puppy. Not only dogs, we don’t like our belongings to be snatched away from us, right? So, to have peace at home, better to keep away your older dog’s toys from the new member.
- Create separate spaces for each dog. This is to keep their own territory
Each dog will need time to accept each other. Even after when they get along, they will also need their own space and territory. Hence, you should create each other’s space so they can be their own king in their own space.
- Give them separate food bowls.
This is very important. Treat them as individual that they have their own things. Surely you don’t want to see your dogs to fight over the food, right? Then prepare their own bowls and it’s better not to put them close during their meal time. Let them enjoy their own meal without worrying one will snatch their meal away.
It’s a must. Always give them the vaccines when it’s time. This is to keep them healthy and away from the illness.
2. During the Introduction
Remember, that your older dog came to your house long before the new puppy. It’s very normal that he considers your house as his. He might think that a new puppy as his enemy. He can turn into an aggressive dog if he thinks that there’s a threat coming from the enemy to invade his house. So, to prevent the fight,
it’s better to find a neutral area to introduce them both. Like in the park or in neighbor’s yard. If they meet outside, the older dog won’t feel threatened with the puppy.
Put a leash on your older dog while other holds the puppy, also in a leash. Let them get to know each other through sniffing. You can also put a tennis net between them so they can sniff but also separated. If you put your dogs on leash, don’t hold them too tight as they need to feel free to introduce themselves.
Now you look at their signs, whether they can accept each other. If you see the tail is wagging, that means they feel good to each other. And if the adult dog yawns, that can be interpreted as ‘I am not a threat’.
There is another signal you can say is a good sign. Licking the face of other dog and rolling on the back means submission. The puppy usually shows this behavior, which means that he is just a baby and to cut him some slack.
Don’t take too long time for this introduction session. You should also be calm as your dog can feel your emotion and it will be reflected from his behavior.
After you have passed the introduction successfully, take them to your home yard and introduce them again. Off leash, if your yard is fenced. Separate them every few minutes, to prevent them for over excitement. Introduce your new pup to only one resident dog at a time, not to the whole pack.
3. Initial stage of being housemates
Now it’s the show time. Arrange your resident dog outside of the house when you bring in your new pup into your house. Let the older dog to play outside in your yard while you take in the new pup. So when the older dog come into the house, he will already find the new puppy inside the house.
During the initial time to be housemates, you should always monitor both of your dogs to ensure their safety and comforts. Keep the routines you set for your older dog, don’t change it. While you also need to schedule a routine for the puppy as well.
During this early stage, observe your dog’s body language. You will learn how they are interacting to each other. For the young puppy, he may not understand yet the body language of the adult dog.
Walking in parallel is another alternative to create a closer bond for both dogs. Walk them parallel to each other with different person handling the leash. Keep the leash loose and give them some space to roam as the leash allow them to move. This can reduce the tension between them. Walk them together to five to 10 minutes before you allow them to meet face to face.
Another important links to know for you, dog owners How To Keep Your Puppies Safe Playing Outside Home. Find as much information as possible so you become more knowledgeable about your pet.
You can try to have training games to both dogs near to each other. Rather than letting them loose in the yard and watching them interact toward each other, it would be good if you turn that opportunity into a series of training involving both of them.
Train to commands like sit, stay, high five, turn in a circle, etc. Run some command to your older dog and reward him some treats to distract him from the new dog. Ask another person to handle your new puppy and to give him basic training. Both of them will be busy and occupied with the train and the games.
So this is a little bit tips and trick on how to teach your older dog to accept a new puppy. Hopefully you who intends to have a new puppy will be helpful with this information.
Let me take you to peek into How to make your dog stay in the yard as this is one of the training that you must know. And if you like to have a rabbit as your other pet, let’s see in 7 Tips of How To Pet A Rabbit in Your House.