Older dog not accepting puppy

We had puppies and older dogs at various (?6 times) times and I don't recall having much trouble- I ignored the older dog if she growled or snapped so the behaviour wasn't reinforced by giving her attention.

Leave them to sort themselves out, I'm sure it will be fine, it's highly unlikely boss-dog would hurt the pup who needs to accept the underdog position.

Yes. My daughter got a Jack Russell puppy about a year ago. I have an elderly dog and next door's dog comes to my house too during the day. The puppy used to torment them all the time.

My old dog could be induced to play but Daisy hated the puppy and one day turned on her. She pinned the puppy down and wouldn't let her up, snarling at her all the time.

I watched this, prepared to step in if it got out of hand, but not interfering. She released the puppy unharmed after a minute or two and things were better for a while. The puppy showed her submissiveness by rolling on her back and presenting her belly to to older dog. This is a good sign.

Then last month, now that the puppy is older and stronger they had a set to over a bowl of food (they were both staying overnight). It was mainly handbags and only lasted a few seconds. But puppy was trying to gain dominance again. Happily the older dog 'won' and puppy is now rolling over and showing her belly.

But there are things you can do to help. Always greet your older did first when you come home/into a room. Put down your older dog's food first. Let your older dog sit closest to you. Try to do lots of little things to show that the older dog is higher up the pack than the puppy. And keep doing it - even when she grows up. Jack Russells are quite feisty little dogs and need telling.

Oh....best tip of all.

When you give your dogs a treat...make them sit and always give Mollie hers first. If puppy tries to snatch Mollie's tell her off in no uncertain terms.

I can now get all three to sit quietly, and treats are given in a strict order.

I so agree with reinforcing the notion of "top dog" although it seems to go against the grain in our treatment of children ("play nicely", " don't be unkind to your little brother" etc)
But dogs are different, and however endearing and cute this little girl is, she will only be accepted if she knows her place and if your older dog does not feel threatened.
Imagine this scenario
DH comes home with a blonde bimbo to "keep you company"
Say no more.

Good advice from Anya about always feeding, giving treats, stroking etc i.e. any positive attention to the older dog first. Alea is right, dogs are different and a hierarchy is important to them.

I've usually had two and often three dogs for years now. My experience has consistently been that the oldest (top) dog is the one who imposes rules on the interloper. My old rescue boy and our 2nd dog shared a big dog bed but when the puppy arrived, the gentle old dog would not allow the pup on the bed for about two or three weeks. He'd show his teeth and growl until the pup slunk off into his own bed. He wouldn't play with the puppy, growling if the pup persisted. Once the puppy was showing some respect, the old dog allowed him to snuggle up on the big bed.

The same pattern has happened with every pup (including my daughter's visiting pup) and our current senior dog. She's a big, soft lovely girl but she sets a standard, pups not allowed to misbehave. She'll bark in their faces if they get over excited and they lie down, submissively. Most dogs would never hurt a puppy but they will teach manners. I wouldn't worry but of course, keep an eye on them. One thing I'd forgotten when my last puppy joined us was how tired they get. They're like toddlers and need to sleep - I crate trained mine and when he got over tired, running around, pestering I'd pop him in his bed and he'd sleep for a couple of hours, emerging a calmer, more civilised pup. It's hard work isn't it but worth the effort and time.

Congratulations on your new arrival Glovers1. How exciting, nothing like a new puppy to liven things up.

My first question is does Molly have lots of canine friends? Does she socialise and interact with other dogs often and happily?

Im going to make a guess here and say she's not that keen on other dogs, maybe even indifferent( I know our Sam is - he's a person not a dog ). If Molly fits this category then I'm sorry to say there's no way she will fall magically for her new puppy roommate.

The behaviour Molly is exhibiting is no problem for her but it is going to have an effect on the puppy. Dogs are by nature, social animals so for a puppy to live with hostile roommate will be stressful and you're right this can bring on the very behaviour that you're seeing from Molly.

You can mitigate some of the issues though. Firstly, you cannot treat both dogs equally. Puppies have a huge amount of energy and a tired puppy is NOT an irritating one. So lots of play with the pup, that might even mean an additional walk without Molly. Do socialise your puppy with other dogs. Most are extremely tolerant and a pup will get a lot of leeway with most dogs.

Your pup needs to get some good doggy etiquette under its belt that it can apply to the Molly relationship. Secondly , training is essential , start as you mean to go on. A well trained pup can be stopped in its tracks as it goes off to leap all over Molly. Have you considered puppy playgroup?

A bizarre sounding thing but its a great place for puppies of a similar age to practice good dog behaviour. For instance when greeting another dog -it will learn leaping all over them and tugging their ear will not be a happy experience for the pup . The classes are lots of fun and its usually only an 8 -12 week course.

Finally, learn Molly's 'tells' . She will have a specific behaviour when she is reaching the end of her tether. It might be turning her head away and licking her lip, her ears may go down, the fur on her hackles may start to stand up. If you see her exhibiting that type of behaviour remove the pup before things get hairy. The odd nip and growl will only serve as a lesson but constant fighting will tell on the puppy.

Sorry for such a long answer . Im sure you will find the way to have 2 happy healthy dogs in your home and gets lots of pleasure from the. Do let us know how things progress?

Thank you so much for all of your reassurance advice and tips .i will take all of this on board and am certainly going to enrol Katy the puppy in classes.Molly is not a particularly social with other dogs she prefers people so I think this was going to happen.! hopefully implementing your suggestions will help them live happily together.
Many thanks

I think that fact that you have recognised the challenge will make things easier. Im sure you're like me , loving the new pup but keen for the 'oldie' not to have their nose put out of joint

Have fun at puppy classes , they're a blast! Its like organised chaos !!

I too have a dog that thinks its a person and is not in the least interested in those 'inferior' dogs lol Truthfully- we treat him like a little person too - cue Grans all over the country making vomiting noises