Advise on Dog Behaviour when introducing new puppy?

Question

I have a 1 1/2 year old male Yorkie who has always been extremely affectionate and loving. We bought a new Cav KC Spaniel female puppy a few days ago, she is 12 weeks and extremely playful. The problem I have is that my Yorkie's behaviour has changed dramatically. I knew it would have some affect but no where near as much as it has...its breaking my heart!

He spends the majority of his time upstairs when she is downstairs, he isn't eating properly and runs away when i approach him. They play well together when in the garden but he isn't happy at all and I was wondering whether anyone can make any suggestions to help?

Currently my Yorkie is sleeping in my room at night and his food/water is up there. The Pup is sleeping downstairs in the Kitchen and so far at night and when i am out i keep them seperate as i am scared that something may happen if i leave them alone together.

Advise needed - should i just put them together and see what happens, the last thing i want is for my Yorkie to think she is taking over.

Answer 1

First off, this is understandable.  For a moment, put it into a human perspective.  Baby one does tend to resent baby two, for a while, don't they?  Your Yorkie has had your undivided attention for over a year now and suddenly, in comes this little bundle of joy and everybody is oohing and aaahing over her.  He feels completely shut out (even if he's not).  You will have to reinforce him big time.  

First purchase, after new puppy - NEW CRATE.  Puppy needs to know how far she can go with Yorkie.  And if he won't sort her out (kindly) when she oversteps the mark with him, you must.  And a crate is an ideal aid.  Most adults, and your lad is now a young adult, won't attack a puppy and in fact, can be, and are often, frightened about them because they don't know how to deal with them.  So he's retreated to a safe place - upstairs.  Let him know that you are there for him - remove puppy and put her in the crate for a time out.  He will realise you are on his side - still.

I don't think you should leave him upstairs - so he misses a few meals, he will eat when he gets hungry, and if you put puppy away while he's eating, he will know she's not going to be able to muscle in, and get on with it.  I also don't think you should leave them alone at the moment.  When you have to go out, put puppy in the crate, and leave him in the room with her.

I'm sure he's just in a snit at the moment, and once he realises that this new addition is a friend, a companion for him, he's going to love having her around.

I hope I can practise what I preach here because I'm going to be bringing a new puppy into our home in a few months.  I have my last Basset, male, 11 years and he's having a very hard time since the loss of his sister 2 months ago, to cancer.  He's never lived alone, and indeed was one of 6 adults, and his sister, when they were born.  Gradually they've all gone.  I'm switching breeds now (long story) and am just hoping my lad will accept, and come to love new puppy as much as he did his sister!

Answer 2

Puppies are excitable, lovable hooligans. They have bursts of unbelievable energy, however in order to grow they need lots of sleep. New puppies need a room where they can rest and sleep and the other dogs in the house need respite. Older dogs don’t want puppies biting their ears and chewing their necks, if a puppy does this, the older dogs should be allowed to chastise the puppy. How would you cope if you were expected to cope with an unruly toddler twenty four hours a day? Would you be annoyed, if you had a toddler thrust upon you who pulled your hair and poked your eyes? I am sure that you would grumble. Your dog needs to know that he can be with you downstairs without having a puppy to contend with all of the time. I wonder if you have chastised your Yorkie when he has grumbled at your puppy, perhaps this is why he does not want to come downstairs. He does not want to be mobbed by the puppy.

Please don’t expect your dog to cope with an unruly puppy and to baby-sit twenty four hours a day.  Supervise them for SHORT play sessions in the garden and if the puppy is over exuberant, allow your dog to chastise it, then put your puppy in its own room to rest. Don’t expect your dog to want play with it constantly.

Your puppy will possibly need about four meals a day. Stop leaving food down for your Yorkie, feed him downstairs.Divide your Yorkie's rations into four and feed him when you feed your puppy.  feed him first and let your puppy see you doing this. It would help if you could use a "baby gate" as a barrier to stop the puppy stealing the Yorkies food, however it is important that your Yorkie knows that he will be allowed to eat in peace. It is also important that the puppy sees him eating and having his meal first. Give your existing dog extra attention when the puppy is resting and make him feels special.

There will be visitors, who want to see your puppy. When the doorbells rings, put your puppy into another room and tell your visitors to fuss your adult dog  and give him  treats BEFORE they make a fuss of the puppy.

Older dogs love puppies, with the proviso that YOU stop the puppy from being a pain in the bum. They don’t want a puppy being thrust upon them all of the time. If you do this any dog will object and be confused.

Some people will tell you to just leave your dogs to sort themselves out. This is not fair and it is important that you regain your older dogs confidence.

Answer 3

just give your yorkie some time its like a child when they get a new brother or sister they feel left out .just give her plenty of attention and soon they will become friends

Answer 4

i had a similar problem with my american Eskimo, it seemed like he felt he was being replaced. eventually he got used to it, now he loves the second dog, it took him a couple months, but he adjusted and is happier than ever. this might help too... always make sure everyone gives him the hello pat first, give him more attention first, so he knows he's still the first dog if that makes sense

Answer 5

You need to be giving your Yorkie a lot more attention than the puppy. Adult dogs will get jealous when i new puppy comes into his house and is introduced into his pack if you don't lavish him with attention. When people come to see you everyone wants to hold the new puppy but make sure the Yorkie is gettin plenty of attention too. Adult dogs get jealous of puppies but puppies don't get jealous of adult dogs. Don't forget he's had you all to his self before now and now he has to share attention.

Answer 6

My first dog reacted exactly the same when when I introduced my second dog. They played all the time, but then when things were quiet and they weren't playing, my first dog seemed depressed and hurt, and she didn't want anything to do with us. She was normally extremely affectionate, so this was hard to deal with for us. We were worried she was changed forever. And I know exactly how you feel, it really is totally heartbreaking to know your decision to get a second dog is causing your first dog pain!

It took Maddie a good, solid month before she was mostly back to herself, and I'd say at least two months before she was 100% normal. All it took is time. I don't think there's really anything special you can do to speed the process. Just go about life normally. I wouldn't go out of your way to treat him specially (although obviously you want him to know his place in your life hasn't been taken over), because I firmly believe that could slow the process. You also don't want to ignore the puppy at all because you are afraid of hurting your Yorkie's feelings. He needs to know that the new pup is a part of your family now too, or he'll never accept it as such. By treating them differently, you might be aggravating the situation.

Doing activities with them together like playing or going for walks may help your Yorkie bond with the pup. If your Yorkie gets demanding or jealous at all, you just need to gently let him know that kind of behavior isn't going to be allowed.

Now my dogs are good friends and spend most of the day together. I am even considering a third dog, because having a canine friend really seems to make them very happy.

I know what you're going through, and I wish I had better advice for you, but all you can really do it let time take care of it. Good luck, and be confident that your boy will be back to his old self soon.

Answer 7

Amanda is quite right with what she is saying.

Your Yorkie has basically had his nose pushed out of joint and needs to be treated the same as the other dog to stabilise the relationship between you and the two dogs.

By letting him sleep on your bed or in the bedroom and the pup downstairs you are giving the Yorkie a different idea of what things should be like. Treat them, feed them and walk them at the same time and after the rest of the family as this will show them both that their place lies at the bottom of the pack. This will make training easier and more controllable. Let them both sleep in the same room downstairs to get use to the fact that they are no different from each other. If a scrap does incur try not to interfere as the scraps are not usually that bad that blood is drawn, it usually ends with one pinnig the other down into submission. All they are doing is sorting out their rankin g as a pack of wolves would do. This is natural and is another learning curve for your older dog.only get involved if there is blood drawn.

By letting the Yorkie get away with things the the new pup cannot, you are telling that dog it is at a higher ranking to the other dog which will cause complications with obedience and possible fighting between the two dogs.

Answer 8

there like kids when you have a new baby everybody fusses it because its cute and forgets about the older one make sure u give the biggest more cuddles and invlolve him in everything! they will get used to each other remeber they have to get used to each other just like people.