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Old August 3rd, 2011, 09:22 PM
Imolman Imolman is offline
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Older dog behavior changed with the new dog

We just adopted a 1yr English bulldog male. We already have an 8 year old Labrador, who is highly intelligent and well trained. The new dog is not trained at all and behaves very poorly. We are trying our best to train him now. The dogs were introduced and seem to ignore each other. They do not fight and I don’t see any obvious dominating traits in either. My older dog seems to be depressed; almost not ever leaving her cannel (this is where she feels most secure). She comes when we call but immediately goes back in her cannel. She comes out only when he is crated. She also seems to react to all the commands we are trying to teach the other dog. Since we are now frequently saying “No”, “Stay” etc… she seems to think we are addressing her, even though we are not. The older dog has cancer; we are trying to make her last months /years as comfortable as possible. She is very cuddly and loveable and seeing her so depressed and almost fearful breaks our hearts. Please help.
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Old August 4th, 2011, 06:48 AM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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First off congrats on the new dog and I am very sorry about your older dog. You need to make sure you give the older dog more attention as part of the process. He may be feeling left out and is causing him to be depressed. The older dog should be fed, treats, pats when you come in first always, establish the pack order to the new dog. Try and do things with both of them together and do spend some one on one with the older dog let him know you are not replacing him, he needs you now. Good luck
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Old August 4th, 2011, 07:42 AM
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Marty11 Marty11 is offline
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My senior golden was not impressed at first with a new pup, but it worked itself out. Oh and then we got a pal for the new pup a little later of course, and that was horrible at first, wanted to take the pressure off the old guy. But now they are bonded perfectly My two terriers.....
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Old August 4th, 2011, 08:38 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Re. the older girl responding to commands meant for the new dog. This is partly why I learned the dog's name preceeds the command. The name catches the dog's attention and the dog is supposed to know to wait and see what the command will be. With more than one dog the name tells all the dogs who the command is meant for. If your girl did not learn this then you could either separate the dogs while training or, your girl might even be a help in training.

Separate training might be good for another reason too. If your new boy bonds more to your older girl than to you it's going to be that much harder on him to lose her when the cancer progresses.

I agree, give your girl lots and first attention and plenty of it on her own. Poor girl, is it possible the cancer or meds she is on for it make her feel out of sorts and dejected? She may have coped till the newcomer pushed her over the edge. Animals are very good at hiding their pain. Good wishes for her.
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Old August 8th, 2011, 02:06 AM
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kheops-ramses kheops-ramses is offline
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We had a similar situation when we got our second puppy, and the older one was 2.

He acted a bit jealous, so we had to make sure they would get the same level of attention and at the same time. We also always made sure to say their name before a command, but it took several months before the older one finally understood when it was meant for him or not.

Patience and lots of hugs and kisses will to the trick
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Old August 13th, 2011, 10:25 PM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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I would make an effort to work with the older dog even more. Have him on the leash as you move about the house and revive your relationship. It is the nicest gift you could give him at this stage of his life.
Teach him some fun new tricks, engage his mind, which will feed his heart and soul.
When you are directing a firm 'no' or 'stay' at the new dog be sure you use the new dogs name, then say 'good' and the older dogs name in a happy tone. Be sure they each feel the words you are saying by changing your tone, energy and even your facial expression. They will learn to be clear as to whom you are speaking.
We like to practice talking to a group of dogs by acknowledging them one by one and having each of them do something different. This way they are well rehearsed at listening for their name and the direction.
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Old March 5th, 2012, 09:58 PM
Imolman Imolman is offline
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Thanks everyone for the advice. It has been 7 months since I first posted with my problem. The dogs have adoppted beautifully to each other and now great friends. The older one was a good influance on the buldog, I think she taught him what is appropriate behaivor better than we ever did. They play very well and our old dog is not depressed anymore. I think the pup breathed some youth back into her. She does get a little jealous when I am petting the younger dog, but I just make sure she get a fe extra huggs and kisses.
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Old April 30th, 2012, 11:34 AM
067734m 067734m is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imolman View Post
Thanks everyone for the advice. It has been 7 months since I first posted with my problem. The dogs have adoppted beautifully to each other and now great friends. The older one was a good influance on the buldog, I think she taught him what is appropriate behaivor better than we ever did. They play very well and our old dog is not depressed anymore. I think the pup breathed some youth back into her. She does get a little jealous when I am petting the younger dog, but I just make sure she get a fe extra huggs and kisses.
I'm having a similar problem that I posted in another thread (Adopting a Second Dog). Did it take the entire 7 months for your dogs to get along? We've just adopted our younger dog (approx 3yrs) and our older dog (approx. 6yrs - but no health issues) wants NOTHING to do with him. I'm trying to follow the above suggestions, esp when training the new dog... Any other advice??
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Old May 15th, 2012, 01:31 AM
jenniferkdiaz jenniferkdiaz is offline
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Really? The older has cancer? Sick dog. It's obvious that she is jealous with the new one. Although they haven't fight but you can feel that there's something wrong. You treated them equally right? She has a cancer, just treat her extraordinary on her remaining days.
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Old May 15th, 2012, 09:38 AM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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You don't adore everyone you meet right off the bat. Sometimes dogs needs to learn to trust and appreciate each other over time. But often the best way to get to know each other is when we work together.
Engaging the dogs in drills and games with you can help them take the pressure off each other and focus on you - which has its own set of benefits. Then they can feel united as they walk together, play ball (with rules) together, do drills together. Kind of like joining a team!!
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