New Puppy - Older Dog...Help!

By: Michael Royce

English Springer Spaniel I remember (several years ago now) brining home my brand new Keeshond puppy Theo, to my mini-dashund Duchess. I was a little nervous because Theo already out-weighed Duchess and I just wasn't sure what would happen, but I had a plan.

Here are five top tips on how to train your dogs successfully:

1st - I Laid The Groundwork

Before I brought Theo home, I set up his living space ahead of time. I knew he needed separate quarters from Duchess so I arranged something that belonged just to him. I used an old pet carrier I had and I put it in a location away from Duchess's usual spots.

The other thing I prepared was my time. I knew it would take some time for the dogs to get acquainted so I brought Theo home on a Friday night. That way I had the whole weekend to deal with issues if I had to.

2nd - I Made The Introduction

I knew that it was best to put them together for the first time on "neutral ground" and the best I could come up with that night was the bathroom. That was one place Duchess never went - the floor was too cold I think. So these future roommates met on the floor of my bathroom, next to the tub.

I brought Theo in, sat on the floor, holding him in my lap, and called to Duchess. She waddled in and I started petting them both; each on one side of my lap. All the time I was speaking to them with loving tones and using their names a lot.

Duchess did most of the sniffing for a while and then turned her attention to me. Then Theo did some sniffing of his own and jumped on me as well. We stayed there for several minutes; playing, petting, sniffing. Then I figured they'd both had enough so I whisked Theo off to the carrier and made sure to spend some extra time just with Duchess.

I repeated that process a couple more times that evening. The last time I left them together for a minute or so on their own. The whole thing went really well, but, as it turned out, they were both excellent, gentle dogs so I was pretty lucky.

3rd - I Became The Hall Monitor

The next couple of days the real adjustment occurred. I let Theo loose to explore the kitchen & dinnette (his space) and Duchess patroled around him growling or snarling every now and then to let him know who was the boss. I knew this was natural behavior and that Theo needed it learn his place in my "pack."

I was very careful not to leave them alone together for very long at any time that weekend. I didn't want any fireworks. I was also very careful to feed them separately - in different locations. I knew they needed to learn how to respect the other's space before I could feed them together.

4th - I Played Psychiatrist

I knew that Duchess would be a little emotionally upset with this new living arrangement so I took special care to spend extra time with just her. I needed to reassure her that she was still "number one."

In less than a week, they were getting along famously. In a few weeks, you'd think they'd been litter mates!

Post Script

Duchess developed a habit of strolling over to Theo (about once a day) and grabbing a tuft of his neck fur in her mouth...then shaking it back and forth while growling. Theo just accepted it; never tried to fight it...even when he was fully grown and almost 4-times her weight.

Introducing a new puppy to an older dog isn’t rocket science; it’s just common sense. Take your time, be smart, and enjoy. Owning two dogs can be fun!

Hope this helps and thanks for reading.

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About the author Michael Royce
Michael Royce is an amateur dog trainer who has lived with, trained, (and been trained by) more than a dozen dogs in the last 25 years.

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