When Should I Get My New Puppy?

Factual Questions
1

I have an adult female dog, eight years old. She has a very dominant personality. She’s very slow to accept other adult dogs. I’ve seen her tussle with dogs twice her size order to stress that she’s Alpha Dog in these here parts. (She’s never caused any injury to them.) She’s an “only child”, rather spoiled, and needs a lot of attention.

We’re planning two things: moving to a new home, and getting a new puppy. My theory is that we should have the puppy in the new house when she arrives, so she doesn’t feel that it has invaded her territory. I’m hoping she’ll think along the lines that the puppy is part of the new house, or that this is the puppy’s territory.

On the other hand, I’m concerned that this might be too much change all at once, and that it might be easier for her to establish a relationship with the puppy on familiar turf.

I’m planning to get a very submissive puppy so that there will be as little conflict as possible. I’ll let her keep her Alpha status-- eating first, going through the door to the yard first (which seems to matter to her a great deal). However, since two dogs on the bed will be a bit much, I’m planning to make both of them stay off of it. (This will be hard on my dog, part of whose morning routine is to hop in bed with me as soon as my husband vacates it.)

I’m a bit worried she might be too rough with the puppy, but I’ve heard that young dogs, who still have that “puppy smell” trigger some sort of protective instinct in dogs, which will keep them from hurting the pup. I’m not counting on that with her, so how should I introduce her to the puppy? Should I just put the pup on the floor, and see what she does? (I’m afraid that if I act too protective of the puppy, it will make her jealous and angry.)

So, dog Dopers, what do you think I should do? Should I wait until we move into the new house to get the pup, or should I bring it home before we move? Is there any way I can prepare her for the “invader”?

2

I think you should wait a bit after moving before getting the puppy. A move can be quite traumatic on a dog, so he will need some time to get used to his new place and establish himself as king of the house.

I had no problem introducing a puppy to very alpha male. I just brought her home from the shelter and plopped her on the floor in front of him. He was thrilled and very protective of her. He was also pretty nervous and puked on the rug a couple times, but this settled after two or three days.

Introducing dogs as adults can be a bit more tricky, but I’ve never had any particularly aggressive dogs, so it’s never been a problem.

3

That’s what I hope will happen. I’ve heard, though, that females can be a bit more difficult in this area than males.

Does the sex of the puppy matter when it comes to how she’ll react to it?

4

I’m not sure how it would work with a puppy, as our second dog was two when we broought her home, but you really need to have the dogs meet–on neutral territory–before you bring the new one home. You’ll be able to see first-hand how your girl will react.

I would say either get the new one several weeks before you move, or several weeks after, since your old one will have enough to adjust to at the time of the move itself. If housebreaking will be an issue, then you might want to get the new one while you’re still at the old place.

As for gender, we had a 4-year old boy dog (Tino) when we brought Willow home and we specifically got the opposite gender, having heard there would be fewer conflicts that way. It has worked out well for us but Tino was never particularly alpha so he may have been just as fine with a brother. They have been pretty much best friends from Day One and he loves having her around.

Good luck with whatever you do. Having two dogs is great!! (Crazy sometimes, but great.)

5

But what do I do if she flips? I wouldn’t even consider taking the puppy back to the pound. Somehow, I will have to coax her into accepting her new sister.

I don’t know that neutral territory will be helpful-- my dog is somewhat nervous when away from home. She is more agressive on foreign territory. For example, at home she will allow other dogs to approach her for an introductory sniff, but at the park, she growls at any dog who dares approach. (I think she’s trying to protect us. When she’s outside on the tie line, and I’m inside the house, she greets other dogs in a friendly fashion.)

We’ve moved a few times already, and she’s quickly adjusted to it. I don’t think the move will be all that traumatic, especially since she’s getting a new fenced back yard to play in, instead of having to be on the tie-line to go outside, and the house has many sunny nooks perfect for a dog nap.

Someone suggested to me that I wrap the puppy in one of my t-shirts when I present her to my dog. That way, it will smell both like puppy and like me-- hopefully giving the dog the picture that this is not something to be harmed.

6

Oh! One question I forgot to ask: Does the size of the puppy matter?With some large dog breeds, the puppies are big big the time they’ve been weaned. Will she still recognize it as “puppy” even if it’s almost her size?

7

Dogs seem to be pretty oblivious to their relative sizes. (Ever see a mild-mannered Doberman cower in fear from a pissed off dauschound? Funniest thing ever.)

8

[QUOTE=Lissa]
But what do I do if she flips? I wouldn’t even consider taking the puppy back to the pound. Somehow, I will have to coax her into accepting her new sister.

I don’t know that neutral territory will be helpful-- my dog is somewhat nervous when away from home. She is more agressive on foreign territory. For example, at home she will allow other dogs to approach her for an introductory sniff, but at the park, she growls at any dog who dares approach. (I think she’s trying to protect us. When she’s outside on the tie line, and I’m inside the house, she greets other dogs in a friendly fashion.)
QUOTE]

Hmmm. Can you bring the puppy to your house before you move her in permanantly? I am surprised that the pound will let you take her without introducing them first. We had to do this with our dogs–but it was through a rescue organization so maybe that’s the difference?

What do you mean by flips? Growls or actually attacks? Keep the puppy on a leash but let the older one loose. Let them sniff each other out. If older dog actually goes after puppy, then snatch puppy away and maybe try the shirt thing. But if it is just growling, it might not be that bad. She might just be schooling the pup a bit. It might be that they ignore each other, which would not be the worst thing in the world. Has she ever actually attacked another dog? Have other dogs been in the house before? Have you played with other dogs in her presence before? You might be able to judge the reaction based upon what she did in the above scenarios.

9

[QUOTE=jeevwoman]

Yes. That’s what I’m ultimately concerned about: that she may hurt the puppy-- not necessarily intentionally, but she may be too rough in trying to assert her dominance. She’s never been around a puppy before.

It depends on what you mean by “attacked.” She has scuffled with other dogs before, but never causing any injury. At the worst, there have been a couple of nips, but nothing serious.

Yes. When we moved back to town, we had to temporarily live with my grandmother. I’d lived with her before I was married, so my dog considers grandma’s house to be her territory. When we moved in, my dog was quite displeased to find a new dog in “her” house-- grandma had gotten an adult male Airdale.

She jumped him the moment she had a chance, and they tussled. I freaked, thinking they were going to hurt one another and pulled them apart. I soon realized that while the growling sounded vicious, neither dog was actually biting. It was more along the lines of trying to force one another to submit. I just let them go. Intitially, there was a lot of “fighting” but it became a grudging truce after a while. She never truly accepted him, but this might have a lot to do with the fact that he kept trying to mount her.

Whenever we would play with him, she would try to tempt us away into playing with her. She would knock him aside trying to go through a doorway first, and God forbid he should try to eat first. (They had seperate dishes, but she would push him away from whatever dish he chose if he tried to eat before she did.)

There are a couple of differences, I think. Firstly, I’ll only get a female, and a very young puppy. I don’t know for sure, but I’m hoping she’ll react differently. Grandma’s dog was calm-natured, but not necessarily submissive. I think that possibly if she’s able to establish dominance very quickly, and the puppy accepts its status, she’ll be able to live with it.

At least, I hope so.

10

I think you are probably worrying a bit too much. I had Danes for 20 years, and they often tend to rather-to-very dominant personalities (at least WRT other dogs - except toys, which they tend to regard as perpetual puppies, to be indulged). If you get a puppy that is between 6-8 weeks old (and be sure the pound/shelter/whatever is certain of its age!! Older pups are harder to acclimate, and you don’t need any extra challenges.), it doesn’t need to have a meek, submissive nature; it will automatically behave submissively to any adult dog it encounters, unless there’s something truly wrong with its personality (or maybe if it’s a terrier breed or mix - in your case, those are pups to avoid; come to think of it, doxies (and mixes) can also be aggressive from quite young ages). Ennyhoo, your shepherd/poodle/collie/Dobie/spaniel/Shih Tzu/beagle/most-breeds-and-identifiable-mixes pup of appropriate age will probably stop inside the door when it spots your dog, squat and urinate (a major sign of submission). :slight_smile: HINT: if there’s a rug just inside the door, kick it out of the way before the pup walks in. :wink:

Your dog, especially if she’s never been spayed, but quite likely even if she was, should trot over, sniff it (at which point it may roll over and present its neck and tummy (sign of utter surrender and “don’t hurt me” signal)), give it a token lick with her tongue, and turn away. It is entirely possible that she may even decide to “mother” it, in which case you’ve “got it made in the shade,” as an ancient American saying goes. Do not worry if the pup licks at the adult’s face, especially her lips. That’s puppy language for “I’m a baby; please take care of me.” It is even remotely possible that your “old lady” will eat her food, go over to the pup, and regurgitate some of it for the pup to eat. All of the behaviors I’m describing are INSTINCTIVE and not limited to the mother/father of pups, so, depending on how bright your dog is, she may well exhibit ALL of them (yes, brighter dogs tend to exhibit more of the ancestral traits). Once she has accepted the puppy, she will (95%+ probability) take over training the puppy, including housebreaking and many other things. Eight years old is, IMO and also that of many other experienced “dog people” just about the perfect age to introduce a new pup. If she were a bit older, she might not be as patient teaching it. But any “only” dog of six or more years, unless it is terminally ill or has severe (untreated) arthritis is quite likely to take well to the introduction of a puppy, and to train it to behave just like its mentor (which is usually a Good Thing). :slight_smile:

As I said, I’ve got 20 years experience with large dogs of all ages, plus many, many years of observation of other breeds than my Danes & Salukis.

I don’t object to personal contact, if you’ve got a question that doesn’t get answered here (I don’t always monitor this board; I’m about to resume being very active in a very large SF maillist, and at other times am active in a large Native American group on Yahoo, and my attention is limited), don’t hesitate to contact me via Yahoo. I’m always glad to try to help anyone with dog questions.