# Adult Dog not getting along with puppy



## aqueous18 (May 13, 2013)

So Kain has been with us since Monday. I was wondering how long it took your existing adult dog to tolerate your puppy? I have a nearly 4 year old Yorkie (Wookie) who normally loves other dogs. Part of the reason we decided to get another puppy is so he could have a friend! The only time the Yorkie seems to be really happy is when we are at a house with a dog to play with. 

Wookie has been nasty to Kain. He bares his teeth and snaps at him whenever he tries to initiate play. I try to make sure the puppy doesn't overrun him especially because at 9 weeks he's almost twice his size. I also make sure to feed Wookie first and let him out first to let puppy know he is the new guy to town. 

ANYWAYS, how long did it take for your existing dog to accept your puppy? And any suggestions to help the process? I'm worried that Wookie will be miserable.


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## Loic (Feb 11, 2013)

I kept them separated for 2 weeks, during that time I gave a lot more attention to my 7 years old dog. after the first week i took the pup in my arm and would sit down so my older dog would come and snif him. I had to call my older dog to come and look at the pup as he didnt want anything to do with him. I did that a couple times a day while still giving extra attention to my older one. Then I put the pup on the floor and staying very close to him. Very slowly ths older dog accepted the addition tk the family, and one day he brought a toy to the pup and they started playing.

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## HuskyMal89 (May 19, 2013)

It varies dog by dog and situation to situation, i have dog aggressive breeds with Malamutes and huskies and my alpha male still hasn't fully accepted my 16 month old Male pup. He may never accept him. That is just his nature being top dog......any threat to that won't be tolerated in his eyes lol. I would say give them some time and all should settle down...I am sure your older dog is a bit ticked off that a new puppy is encroaching on his turf. Your older dog will eventually at least tolerate your GSD pup because he will be so much bigger than your Yorkie haha.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

you bought a gsd that will be around 80 pounds aggression and high prey drive, dominance to be friends with a cat sized or smaller yorkie? really? if your yorkie needed a friend you had 100 other easier breeds to pick like a crested.

That is almost like me saying hey my cat needs a friend I think i am going to get a leopard.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

No need to be nasty, pets4life. My dog is excellent with small dogs and actually prefers them to big dogs. And I know lots of small dogs who prefer big dogs. 

Regarding the OP's original question: my Chama was never happy when I brought home a foster or a new dog and it usually took her a couple of weeks to accept the newbie. I would be sure to spend time separately playing and hanging out with your older dog and would see if you can find some puppy friends for your gsd.


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## aqueous18 (May 13, 2013)

Wow totally rude and unhelpful to the question I asked. If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. Talk about a troll.

And Ruth is right. My Yorkie gets along better with big dogs because he likes to play rough and is very active. He tends to run dogs his size over. Also I don't intend on getting more than 2 dogs and I wanted my GSD while I have no children and have the time to spend with him.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I will say that my shih tzu hasn't accepted my puppy either. Puppies just initiate play too roughly for some dogs. My dog isn't interested at all in playing with the puppy and probably never will. I referee to make sure the puppy leaves the old dog alone. Maybe when your puppy matures some they will get along better.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

My sister and brother-in-law have a min pin who thinks he's 10' tall and 5000 lbs lol. He'll run right in between two large dogs barking and nipping and we do have to be careful and supervise because while all our dogs are good with both large and small breeds, the small breeds can be hurt badly entirely unintentially (stepped on, rolled, redirected bite, etc). He simply doesn't realize how small and fragile he is!

I have no problem with small and large dogs playing together, but I think supervision is needed and you need to train a command for play to stop. I use "be nice" which is a warning to calm down the intensity of the play and "that's enough" which means immediate game over, the dogs get separated and a short time out to cool their jets

As for getting along, both of my dogs are treated equally in expectations for obedience and manners. They both get fed at the same time; both get equal treats, and toys. I don't tolerate snarkiness; one growl to warn off the other dog is acceptable if the other dog is bugging the other. That growl is *my* cue to step in and fix the situation before it escalates. I don't allow stealing from each other or resource guarding, or for one dog to correct the other for doing something simple like walking by the couch while the other dog is lounging on it. Both my dogs know the rules and will come to me to "fix" problems rather than deal with it themselves which helps keep the peace in the house 95% of the time.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

You never know how they are going to get along. I thought I was going to had a problem with my female when I brought Lakota home, turns out I had a problem with my male. The 2 girls are bff's and Lakota and my male have a sort of love/hate relationship.
Just make sure you don't let the pup aggrevate the little dog. Puppies can be obnoxious. Lakota loves cats but didn't seem to care for the little dogs we've met.


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

I have a 9 lbs peke mix when I got my 9 weeks GSD. The first two days my peke was in shock (total disgust) and 2 weeks to tolerate and 2 months to become great friends. Now the peke more than tolerate the shepherd beyond reason and adores the grown GSD. I did have to "train" both dogs to listen to me about what's acceptable behaviors toward each other (ie. they can't yell at or steal food from each other) and to heed my command to stop when things get too heated. For my situation, I learned that if I only correct the GSD and not the peke, that will not solve the bickering problems that used to happen from time to time as they both contributes to the bickering. 

I also fostered a 6 months GSD that is already the same size as my grown GSD. It took my GSD 3 days to become best buddies with the 6 months and they played non-stop after that. The first 3 days my GSD looked at the puppy with disdain and will not allow the puppy to touch anything. Suddenly one morning, my GSD decided the puppy should be her new best friend.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

BowWowMeow said:


> No need to be nasty, pets4life. My dog is excellent with small dogs and actually prefers them to big dogs. And I know lots of small dogs who prefer big dogs.


Mine too. When my pup went to daycare her BFF was a Shih Tzu puppy who was a month younger than her. 

http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums...9_174500616020036_134474521_n_zps8a5fe9b5.jpg

http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums..._170422396427858_2009840981_n_zps2abb04e2.jpg

http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums..._166955086774589_1553054042_n_zps38d1009d.jpg

http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums..._170422416427856_1814189385_n_zps0d29862e.jpg


It took my parent's Lab some time to accept my puppy. I would be very careful though, as your GSD puppy will be very exuberant and they play really hard, which could result in injury to your Yorkie.

I think it does depend on the dogs though, so you don't really know, I'd just introduce your puppy to your Yorkie in a safe/controlled way. I've heard of people using baby gates to get a cat used to a new puppy, so they can see/smell each other, but not interact.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

pets4life said:


> you bought a gsd that will be around 80 pounds aggression and high prey drive, dominance to be friends with a cat sized or smaller yorkie? really? if your yorkie needed a friend you had 100 other easier breeds to pick like a crested..


Oh, pa-LEASE!  What a load of hooie!

My GSD plays with my Cresteds just fine and he has VERY high prey drive.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

aqueous18 said:


> Part of the reason we decided to get another puppy is so he could have a friend! The only time the Yorkie seems to be really happy is *when we are at a house with a dog to play with*.


This may be part of the problem. Wookie may like other dogs when he's at THEIR house but doesn't want to share *HIS *house with them.

Try making sure the puppy is tired out before he interacts with Wookie so he's not too rambunctious. Make the encounters extra fun for Wookie as well.


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## Gwenhilde (May 5, 2013)

We have three older males (9, 7, 5 years) and brought a 4 month old female in the mix 2 months ago. 
2 out of the three still have not fully accepted her and suprisingly we were mistaken in which dog would take her under his wing.

We had figured that the youngest male would be excited about having a playmate. He is actually indifferent from her, not sure how to play and handle her at all but tolerates her fine as long as she doesn't do her zoomies and bodyslams him. He snapped at her once because of her being to rough and that was it.

The 7 year old (the dominant male who rather sleep then do anything else) LOVES her he plays with her a good 2 hours a day has taken it upon himself to teach her some do's and don'ts and is fantastic with her. (and has shed some much needed lbs  ) Yes he puts her in her place when she snags toys or gets to annoying. But he is honest and fair with her. 

Last but not least is the 9 year old. We have a feeling he will not accept her at all. We keep them separated out of safety. He is a big strong dog, how has attacked dogs before. And he really is a grumpy old man  So for her safety and his sanity they spend most time apart (yay for baby gates). He just want's to be left alone. The old he has been getting the more of a loner he has become towards other dogs. He loves people and cats but other dogs it becomes less and less. Her giving him "good morning" drive by kisses (which she does politely sets him off and he will start a huge growling tantrum). As clearly as she reads the other boys him growling doesn't seem to face her though she would love to continue, though we call her back to leave him, as she wouldn't be a match for him at this point and we really do not trust him to fairly reprimand her. Odd thing is the first day she got her he actually let her lay against him....

To not get any situations at this point in time, everybody is fed separately in different locations. When we leave the older dog gets to stay in one of the bedrooms the puppy stays in her crate and the other two roam the house. Everybody gets personal alone "me" time and play time.

hmm this post got a lot longer then I initially intended


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## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

pets4life said:


> you bought a gsd that will be around 80 pounds aggression and high prey drive, dominance to be friends with a cat sized or smaller yorkie? really? if your yorkie needed a friend you had 100 other easier breeds to pick like a crested.
> 
> That is almost like me saying hey my cat needs a friend I think i am going to get a leopard.



Don't you have cats and a GSD? Or did I misunderstand your posts? If you do have cats with a dog why do you post the above statement.


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