# Mother in laws dog hates new GS puppy



## curedba (Mar 31, 2013)

We got Argos about a week ago and my mother in law lives with us and has a small mutt dog "not sure what kind" who had a rough puppy experience growing up... He would often play with my sister in laws dog who was way... to rough with him and would grab him by the scruff to play and bite, shake etc... this ended up making my mother in laws dog very unstable and scared as soon as any dog, cat, person came near his neck.

So Argos is only 9 weeks old and puppies will be puppies he wants to play and well my mother in laws dog who lives with us never learned how to do that properly so evertime Argos goes to play with my mother in laws dog "Taz" he jumps and barks and bites at his neck to "play" but "Taz" freaks out turns around really fast growls and tries to bite Argos in the face and it doesn't look like he is just "playing" he looks serious and I am afraid Taz will hurt Argos by biting him in the face and the last thing I need is for Argos to be afraid of dogs or to end up needing stiches because Taz bit him.

So I have asked that my mother in law keep Taz away from Argos until Argos calms down a little out of puppy hood so he doesn't get hurt but my mother in law doesn't understand my concerns and says they will just "fight it out" but I don't want Argos to get hurt or be scared especially since he may be training to be a service dog for our daughter. So he cannot be scared of anything especially other dogs.

We take Argos to the dog park and pet store at least 2 - 3 times a week and are trying to make sure we socialize him properly with the well balanced dogs as much as possible as well as all kinds of people of course  

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to fix or control this issue I am almost to the point of putting a muzzle on Taz so he can play with the pup without hurting him. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Whose house is it?

First, if it's your MIL's house, then you need to make sure Argos is not loose with Taz. If they are loose, do not let Argos "play" with Taz. He's a fearful dog.

If it's your house, tell your MIL the rules and that's that. He is a potential service dog for your daughter. There can't be any "fighting it out"

Get crates and rotate the dogs. Teach Argos to be gentle with Taz.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't think separating them is a good idea, only because eventually they will have to be together or you will spending lots of time rotating them. The older dog will correct the puppy, when the puppy figures out he's being corrected he will back off. For now you should supervise them to make sure no one is getting hurt, take them for walks together, do some obedience together, etc. This way they are doing good things together. It can work. You don't want the GSD to eat the little dog when he gets older and bigger.


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## curedba (Mar 31, 2013)

It is our house and we have told her pretty much exactly what Jax08 said if he is going to be a service dog they cannot just "work it out" her dog Taz is just a pet and she doesn't quite understand that I do not want Argos who will be over 100+ pounds full grown to have any sort of aggression or fear she just tells us well "I guess I better just put Taz to sleep then" She gets very upset when we try to explain things to her often leaving her to slam doors around and cuss which is very stressful for us and for the dogs. All in all Taz is a good companion dog for her anyway but he is has way too much anxiety for me and is very neurotic/ scared/ fearful etc... I am trying to explain nicely to my MIL how things need to be handled but she doesn't quite understand. I think another part of it might be jealousy as she is legally blind and doesn't understand why my daughter who has a form of Autism needs a service dog if she doesn't need one and is legally blind. I will keep reading all your suggestions we have taken them to the dog park together they seem to be ok there because Taz then and goes and does his own thing "chases the ball" while Argos just sits there by my daughter waiting for other dogs and people to come up to him lol he hasn't quite figured the dog park out yet.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I would have a serious talk with your spouse on what to do with the MIL. She sounds manipulative and is sabotaging the situation with your daughter. Blind or not, as long as she has all her marbles she should be respectful to you and thankful for your support. It is not all about her.
Muzzling her dog won't fix the issue. I would keep them separated so your dog won't develop bad habits towards Taz that will distract from his training and future job.
Wishing you all the strength you need.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

curedba said:


> All in all Taz is a good companion dog for her anyway but he is has way too much anxiety for me and is very neurotic/ scared/ fearful etc...



Ok...from experience....you need to keep Argos away from Taz. When one is out, the other is either in a room or in a crate. Only supervised, on leash, interaction until Argos is old enough to understand that Taz does not like rough play.

We have one dog who is anxious/neurotic/scared/fearful...and one dog will learn from the other and will also learn to be reactive when they constantly have to defend themselves against the other. This is not a case of the older dog fairly correcting the puppy...it's a case of the older dog attacking the puppy. 

I don't know how you explain this to your MIL. Good luck with that. My MIL isn't allowed in my house so I certainly can't give you advise on THAT relationship!

And be careful at dog parks...there are alot of horror stories of ill mannered dogs with not so sharp owners.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> My MIL isn't allowed in my house so I certainly can't give you advise on THAT relationship!


Sounds like the best advice so far. You cannot let people walk all over you, ruining your and your family's inner peace, MIL or not. That stress has a negative influence on everybody, incl. the dogs


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## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

Welcome to the world of crate and rotate.

These animals shouldn't be interacting at all, and your mother in law needs to get it through her head


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

Sometimes it takes time for animals to get along. It would realy help if you kept the pup from annoying the older dog. Apache & Lakota never really bonded. For the longest time it was a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship. I think it was about a year before he actually played with her. On the other hand the dog I thought I was going to have a problem with became best buddies instantly. 
Give it more time and keep the puppy from getting into trouble.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I think the dog park and pet stores might be something to put off until your puppy's had all his shots. Those places can be dangerous for puppies, germ-wise and parasites too. I took my puppy to hardware stores at that age, those are good place to socialize. As far as your MIL, I feel sorry for the lady and it sounds like she feels sorry for herself too, saying she'll have to PTS her dog because it's too much trouble. Whoa. Can't you put up baby gates or something to keep them apart? Good luck!


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## curedba (Mar 31, 2013)

Thanks everyone I will try to take all of your suggestions into consideration I am hoping that one day my mother in law will get off her high horse and understand where I am coming from. Until then I guess we just have to keep them separated.

Thanks again for everything.


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## Dbrooke407 (Apr 18, 2013)

I would suggest putting Taz in a Thundercoat and bringing the dogs out together. Sit on the floor and put a few treats in each hand. Have Taz at one hand and Argos at the other. Your arms should be fully extended away from your body. Gradually move your arms closer together while giving each dog treats. What this will do is teach each dog to associate good things happening with the other dog's presence. Continue doing this until your hands are right next to each other. If the dogs get ugly with each other, quietly say "ah-ah!" and separate them and start completely over the next day. Once the dogs can be next to each other with no problems, take the Thundercoat off Taz and begin at step 1 again. Arms fully extended. I would also suggest feeding the dogs something special that they NEVER get. String cheese or hot dog pieces. As long as they are eating and paying no attention to each other, quietly and calming praise them both. Be sure that both dogs have not eaten for a few hours before doing this so that they will be hungry and more likely to focus on the food in your hands rather than each other. 

When you aren't doing this with them, keep them separated. 

Another thing you could do is to get a baby gate and whenever it's time to feed the dogs, put the food bowls near the gate so that the dogs are in each others presence when eating. This will also teach them to associate good things happening while being around each other. 

Once they're comfortable in being around each other, let them play together. Be right there next to them and as soon as one of them gets fussy, say "ah-ah!" and separate them. This will teach Argos that if he's rough, he looses his play time with Taz. 

Hope this helps!!!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## rgrey (Jul 30, 2013)

Just to throw out there-we were told to do the 'fight it out' thing when the Ol Man was a puppy. He'd try and play with my husband's dog (a Great Dane) who was older and wasn't interested in playing. Three trips (yes, three, I look back and still have no idea why it took us so long) to the ER for stitches to the Ol Man's head before we finally separated them except for closely supervised times. The last time he almost lost his eye (3 inch, to the bone, cut right at his eyebrow area that became infected).

As the Ol Man grew up and wasn't quite so rough-puppy-playful the dane became more accepting of him, till there were a few years they would play together happily (always supervised) before the dane passed away. 

Lots of great advice from others on here, wish I'd know of this forum years ago!!


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## ODINsFREKI (Jul 30, 2013)

keep them both away from your companion and investment. 

good luck on that one! G-d bless! You will need it!


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## Oisin's Aoire (Jun 17, 2013)

I don't know if this is still a growing concern in your house ..but we have 2 older dogs and a 5 month old we hope will make candidate. Part of his training program is not allowing him to "pack up" with the other dogs. The only time they are interacting is when I take them to the designated play are - the yard. I supervise and make sure everyone plays nice . Alvin also does not merely relieve himself in the yard like the pets do. I walk him several times a day and he goes where and when I tell him. That is important , because if he is going to be a child's service dog , he can't make any kind of mess in children's playgrounds where pet dogs are not allowed.

From what I have been instructed , he is to take taking every living and breathing decision from me , not from another dog. So letting another dog "teach him" anything is counter productive to being his handler. 

We socialize him with other friendly dogs that we know , and only for a limited play break. He plays with my son , all day . They sleep together for 3 weeks now( with me on the floor supervising- oh my back!) They are bonding incredibly . Any relationship with an older dog in the house ( good or bad) can interfere with the process.

Well , hope by now you have solved things with your MIL ( mine lives in Ireland - yaya!!!) . My son has autism too . And my 2 year old is multiple disabled. Even if Alvin does not make SDIT , he has been a blessing for my kids 

How is Argus' training going?


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