Caring for a good ol' boy when pup arrives

[childsplay]

Our puppy will come home the first week in March. I would love to hear your tips and suggestions on going from a one dog house to a two dog house.

Our current dog, Cajun, is 9 and as sweet as pie. Gentle, obedient, low maintenance, and has lots of exposure to other dogs. I want to try my best to keep him happy and comfortable while our new addition is getting settled in.

Can anyone share their experience with a similar situation?

Thanks!

[SamanthaBrynn]

From painful experience...and I'm still going through it...old dog comes first. He gets to eat first, he gets water first he gets your attention first. You don't want baby #1 to feel like you don't love him since the new guy is coming in. Also, I'm assuming Cajun is well socialized? Let them meet somewhere that isn't your yard or home. Puppy will want to be in his face 24/7 so you may need to help him get his space. Crating the puppy while he/she adjusts might also be a good option. There are many on here who have lots to share...good luck!

[BlackGSD]

Don't let the puppy harass (sp) Cajun!!!!! Puppies can be a giant pain in the rear for an older dog to deal with. I would keep the puppy on a leash 24/7 unless it is in a crate. That way you are able to keep it from driving your older guy crazy.

[Barb E]

Originally Posted by BlackGSD

Don't let the puppy harass (sp) Cajun!!!!! Puppies can be a giant pain in the rear for an older dog to deal with. I would keep the puppy on a leash 24/7 unless it is in a crate. That way you are able to keep it from driving your older guy crazy.

THIS!!!!

Dante is 7 years old, Kaos now 13 weeks old. I let them play but it's closely supervised and both have quickly learned what "Enough!" means

Be sure to find time to spend with Cajun alone!

Somewhere I have a post here titled something like So you want to get a puppy about the first bit of time with Kaos here

[kiya]

Most of my older dogs came back to life when a pup was brought home, it's great to see that spark in thier eyes when they play, you just have to make sure when enough is enough. When the older dog doesn't think it's a good idea, protect the pup. That was what happened with Apache & Lakota, he wanted no part of her since day 1 it took him a long time to warm up to her, they still butt heads.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Barb E

Be sure to find time to spend with Cajun alone!

I actually found this to be pretty easy, especially when the puppy was really young. Until they're reliably housebroken and can be trusted not to shred your house and ingest the contents, puppies have to be constantly supervised. So whenever I needed to get anything done (take a shower, clean house, make dinner, eat meals...) and I couldn't watch it every second, puppy went into the crate and the older dog was left loose.

[childsplay]

Thank you all!

As luck would have it, we ran into a puppy today on a trail walk. Cajun and the pup were both off leash and they did the typical little "sniff dance" and then Cajun lost interest and started to move on. Well, the pup (a Standard Poodle) was not going to be ignored and started yipping and nipping, etc. The owner then leashed her puppy but I was pleased to see how calm Cajun was with the little whipper-snapper.

I'm sure it will be a little different when his home gets invaded!

4 weeks to go!

JC

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted by childsplay

I'm sure it will be a little different when his home gets invaded!


JC

Not necessarily. When Siren was a baby puppy I had 2 seniors. A 10yo spayed female GSD and an intact male Cattle Dog/Aussie mix. As far as they were concerned, a puppy could "do no wrong". Neither one EVER even attempted to so much as show their teeth or growl at her, let alone anything more serious. There was no need to "protect the puppy" it was the older ones that had to be protected from HER.

[mysweetkaos]

Originally Posted by BlackGSD

Don't let the puppy harass (sp) Cajun!!!!! Puppies can be a giant pain in the rear for an older dog to deal with. I would keep the puppy on a leash 24/7 unless it is in a crate. That way you are able to keep it from driving your older guy crazy.

Originally Posted by kiya

Most of my older dogs came back to life when a pup was brought home, it's great to see that spark in thier eyes when they play, you just have to make sure when enough is enough. When the older dog doesn't think it's a good idea, protect the pup. That was what happened with Apache & Lakota, he wanted no part of her since day 1 it took him a long time to warm up to her, they still butt heads.

I agree with all of that. We added Sherman when Kaos was 9. LONG process. They do great outside for periods. Kaos really does spark up and play with Sherman....but when he's done, he's done. I do a lot of crate and rotate in the house. Kaos hadn't been crated for 7 yrs, so we had to get it back out. He has arthritis so when he wants to lay down he does not want a puppy running all over him, and since he prefers to lay in doorways and the middle of the floor , it can be tricky. One thing I did not expect, is my perfect trained Kaos has started following Shermans lead in digging, counter-surfing, knocking over the wood pile...all things that had been trained out of him years ago.

[BlackGSD]

A puppy didn't cause my older dogs to spark up and play, it caused them to get the look of, "oh cr@p"!!!!! How long is IT staying????????