New Puppy and original dog--- HELP
 

I have a 4 year old spayed English Bulldog. She is a good dog and gets along well with other dogs and people. Last week we adopted a 14 week old pit mix, (he was neutered before we adopted him) and I'm not sure what to think about him. He is very timid of hands, he will come up to us, but when we go to pet him, he scoots away. He is full of energy, as a puppy should be, but he knows no boundaries when it comes to playing with our EB. He will leap on her, bite her, snap at her, and she will play with him for awhile, but he gets out of control. He will bite her hard to the point of drawing blood with those razor sharp baby teeth. She will then growl at him, and snap, but he doesn't back off. A couple of times she rolled him to the ground and he was up instantly and charging at her, teeth snapping. I will put a leash on him, and he will continue to lunge at her, it never stops. And this is when they are outside in a large fenced yard. Indoors, it is next to impossible to have them together. He will get between the couch and coffee table where there isn't much room, and just bite and snap at her. I'm not sure if he is playing or not, but my EB gets nervous when she doesn't have a quick escape from him. He will chase her under the kitchen table and she can't get out because whatever way she tries to go, he is there with teeth snapping. I realize it has only been a week, but I don't want things to escalate out of control. What can I be doing to make sure they can get along. I didn't get another dog to keep them living separately in the house. If I can not be right there at all times to supervise, one is downstairs in the family room, and the other is upstairs in the living room. My EB has been to obedience classes and lived with a trainer for 2 weeks, she is a typical bulldog, and can be stubborn, but on the whole, she will listen well. We will be starting puppy classes on May 1st with our pit mix, but honestly, I am beginning to wonder if we did the right thing in adopting him. Is this behavior normal, should I be worrying that it is getting out of control? Today they were outside and playing escalated into a fight, and the puppy never backed down. I yelled and my EB instantly came to me, the puppy right behind her and I was able to grab his collar and snap a leash on. But when we walked inside, he turned and bit her neck, not drawing blood, as I was opening the baby gate to let her upstairs, and put him downstairs and this all happened on the landing. As soon as she is on the other side of the baby gate, he is calm.

The rescue that we adopted him didn't know anything about him, just that he came from a kill shelter at 11 weeks old. The rescue couldn't put a collar on him because he would scream. So the first 5 days we had a harness on him, but now he wears a collar and he didn't scream when we put it on him. He doesn't even seem to notice that he has it on. But I just can't figure out why he shy's away from hands, he comes up to us, but can't pet him, he runs away. Even sitting on the ground/floor at his level, so it's not a huge person leaning down at him, he won't let us pet him. Though he will run up and bite us if we aren't paying close attention to him. Now when I say bite, I don't mean he latches on and doesn't let go, I mean he will nip at us, but it is a hard nip and draws blood. If I scoop him up in my arms, I can hold him and he really seems to enjoy it. He is calm and doesn't bite or nip. But as soon as he sees our EB, he will struggle to get down and get to her.

I'm open on suggestions on what to do. Can they live peacefully, or do I need to give him back to the rescue. I want to do what is best for both of them.

It's so hard to tell what's going on unless you can be right there to see it. Puppies do tend to drive older dogs to distraction--they don't know when to stop. But whether this is normal play or not, I can't tell.

Is there a behaviorist in your area who will come out to the house and do an evaluation of your pup's behavior? That might be your best bet to get some solid advice on how to deal with the situation.

Right now I think I'd keep Puppy on the leash, either dragging the leash in the house, or tethered to you if you can wing it. That way, you can correct him when he gets too uppity. The risk is having your EB get to the point that she can't stand the sight of him. If this is normal puppy behavior, eventually he'll grow out of the usual hi-jinx phase and settle down, but if, by then, she hates him, they still won't get along...

When puppy crashes, do they lie down companionably together?

Thank you for your reply. So far they have never settled down and lain near each other. Basically because if the puppy sees my EB, he doesn't settle down. I can tell he is tired, he will sit and pant, but as soon as he gets a bit of energy back, he is at her again. The only time he settles down is if I put them in separate rooms. Once he is by himself, he crashes, will sleep for hours, but I think that is because he is so worn out from nonstop running, chasing and biting my EB.

The puppy classes we are starting on the 1st of May are held by a trainer who does private classes also. I will speak to her and see what she suggests. Off hand I don't know of any behaviorists, but she might.

The new puppy is as cute as can be, I just hope we can get this to work.

New puppies are always a trial--I forget mostly, when we're between puppies, but occasionally I still have PTSD-type flashbacks! :eek: :laughing: But they usually eventually mature and mellow out, so don't give up just yet. I even find myself missing some of those puppy, high-energy, hi-jinxes...now and then. :o

With luck, the trainer will be able to give you some good pointers and will know of a behaviorist who can help.