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Seeking the doggie experts...why are they doing this?
We are currently watching my mother's dog, a small 15 pound terrier, while she's in the hospital. We have a 13 week old puppy, Shep/Lab mix, 25 lbs. Our girl wants desperately to play with my mom's dog, but he wants nothing to do with her. He's been around other dogs before, grew up with them, and he plays fine with the neighbor's dog. But he seems afraid of our puppy and growls at her, will run into a corner where she can't reach him and hide from her. Now, this has become a game to her. She's become relentless about it. She's just a social dog and she wants desperately to play. She does it with EVERY dog she comes across. I should add here that she's never mean about it--she licks his face, his ears, gives a playbow, but she will not leave him alone, and he's constantly snipping at her (he doesn't do this with any other dog but her--BUT...for him, just being away from my mother is VERY stressful on its own. my mom says he's this way every time she has to leave him, no matter who she leaves him with).
But here's the curious thing and my actual question: we've discovered if we toss them both out in the backyard (with water), they quiet down, ignore each other and behave. I mean it's instant. We come around, and it starts up again. It's complete chaos and I've tried everything from reprimanding our puppy, praising her for when she leaves him alone, to a rolled newspaper (smacking my hand or a nearby wall, NEVER her), but it doesn't stop her. But throw em outside and everything quiets down.
I'm really curious by this dynamic. Why in the world are they doing this? And how can i get this peace INSIDE my house? He can't leave and keeping them separate appears to make the situation worse.
I figured that much out. But why does it stop when I put them both outside. They're both sitting by the back door right now good as gold. I let them in and chaos begins the moment they step across the threshold.
LINULEB (hope I spelled that right)--thank you!!! You are the first person to actually give me a tip on how to handle this and not just throw judgments at me. Leave it is a command our puppy is starting to recognize (she's not perfect at it). I can work with that. Thank you!
POPPY--thank you so much for the positive comment. The older dog has no teeth. He can't actually hurt her even if he WERE to bite her. And he's more stressed at just BEING here. He really is a bit overly attached to my mother. He's been here before and he hates being here because it means he's here without her. The puppy's not being mean. But she IS a puppy. But you're right, my mother is a bit disabled, and she doesn't have a backyard, so her dog doesn't get to be outside and just lay out in the sun very often. He loves to just wander around our backyard sniffing it. Which is what he does when I toss them out there.
Right now, they're both laying on the couch with my husband, who works from home. Go figure.
6 Answers
- linuleb7Lv 710 years agoFavorite Answer
The terrier is off-balanced, disturbed. He doesn't feel like playing as we don't when we are depressed. Normally, the dogs would sort it out by themselves but I suspect the problem might come from the fact the older dog being so much smaller, it cannot dominate the puppy.
To solve your problem, teach your pup to "leave him alone" by calling him to you when he harasses the other dog and giving him a treat. You can drop the treat once he understands.
- •Poppy•Lv 710 years ago
My dogs usually don't interact an awful lot outside because there's just so many other places for them to go - other things to do, other things to smell, other things to see. They forget about each other pretty quickly.
It may be that your puppy gets distracted outside. It may also be the older dog likes being outside and feels comforted.
Either way, that's pretty neat. You're handling the situation great - puppies can be very pushy at times; I usually work on making sure my puppy doesn't bother the older dogs too much, but in all honesty they can get their point across much clearer than I can.
- 10 years ago
Its obvious your Mother's dog does not want to socialize with your puppy. Dogs are very different when inside versus outside. They create barriers in which they live. He apparently either feels threatened by the puppy or just isn't in the mood to put up with his puppy antics. I would definitely not risk the health of the puppy in case he decides to attack. Its not fair to him that he is forced into a different, stressful environment. I would keep the puppy away and allow him to settle down. Putting them outside really isn't the answer to them getting along. You just may have been lucky up to this point! His life is upside down right now.
- LorraineLv 710 years ago
A lot of adult dogs do not like puppies around them all the time, and you should find the older dog a space he can call his own and get away from the pup when he wants to.
This is not unusual at all.
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- EmmyLv 410 years ago
I assume your mother's dog is older than the puppy. He probably doesn't want anything to do with the puppy because it bothers him. My dog didn't like my brother's puppies either. They would constantly bite him or try to pounce on him and it bothered my dog. You need to keep the two separated because your mother's dog is clearly agitated with your puppy
- ?Lv 710 years ago
Maybe if your mother's dog is old, he is trying to teach your puppy manners or IDK. He's being dominant if he's snapping at her.
