Puppy introductions

[Emmy J]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping someone could give me some helpful hints and tips about how to
best go about introducing a new puppy to your home.

At the weekend, my parents went to pick up a long-awaited puppy, called
Victor. He is just over eight weeks old and very friendly and outgoing. My
mum tells me he has settled into the house nicely, housetraining is going
smoothly and they've already taught him to 'leave'. The problem is not so
much with the puppy but my parents' other dog, Gaia. She is nearly four
years old and well socialised with dogs and people from an early age. Both
dogs are German wirehaired pointers. Despite getting on fabulously with
other dogs, Gaia doesn't seem to like Victor. My mum says she's seen Gaia
playbow occasionally, which is obiviously a good sign, but she will only
accept Victor coming near her on her terms. If he comes 'uninvited', she
will growl or even snap at him if she's in that sort of mood.

I can appreciate puppies need to learn the ground rules when there is an
established dog in a household and this is a very boisterous breed, but is
there anything my parents could do to make things run a bit more smoothly?
Any suggestions of games or training exercises as well as management
techniques would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Emmy

[Neil]

On Thu, 29 May 2008 22:48:17 +0100, "Emmy J"

Post by Emmy J
Hi everyone,
I was hoping someone could give me some helpful hints and tips about how to
best go about introducing a new puppy to your home.
At the weekend, my parents went to pick up a long-awaited puppy, called
Victor. He is just over eight weeks old and very friendly and outgoing. My
mum tells me he has settled into the house nicely, housetraining is going
smoothly and they've already taught him to 'leave'. The problem is not so
much with the puppy but my parents' other dog, Gaia. She is nearly four
years old and well socialised with dogs and people from an early age. Both
dogs are German wirehaired pointers. Despite getting on fabulously with
other dogs, Gaia doesn't seem to like Victor. My mum says she's seen Gaia
playbow occasionally, which is obiviously a good sign, but she will only
accept Victor coming near her on her terms. If he comes 'uninvited', she
will growl or even snap at him if she's in that sort of mood.
I can appreciate puppies need to learn the ground rules when there is an
established dog in a household and this is a very boisterous breed, but is
there anything my parents could do to make things run a bit more smoothly?
Any suggestions of games or training exercises as well as management
techniques would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Emmy

It really depends upon what you consider to be normal adult dog/puppy
interaction. It's almost impossible to advise without seeing the
behaviour first hand.

However, your parents need to establish themselves as pack leaders
particularly with Gaia, which requires considerable discipline and
commitment. Once this is achieved, they will then have the authority
to correct Gaia's behaviour when it exceeds what is acceptable.

Only a suggestion! :o)

Neil


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