Introducing a puppy to poorly socialised dog??

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

We have a 10 year old rescue labrador who is a retired brood bitch (puppy farm rather than breeder). She is a fabulous family dog and is very gentle with our children but is very poorly socialised and is aggressive towards other dogs. Before we rescued her she did a close pair bond with another brood bitch but they were separated before we adopted her.

We are now looking at getting a puppy - a springer spaniel rather than another lab, and I was wondering if anyone has had a similar situation and how they dealt with it. Is our bitch likely to be more accepting of a puppy or is this a potential disaster waiting to happen?

Thanks in advance.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Will the pup be male or female?
She is an old girl and she might find a bouncy puppy incredibly annoying, or it may give her a new lease of life, you'll not know until you try.

With ours, we have a four year old male who was not socialised, is a bit insecure and doesn't like rude dogs.
The pup is very bouncy, loves to play and will get a bit pushy with dogs who don't. So yeah, he could be construed as rude!

The key is letting the older dog have somewhere to escape to, not allowing the pup to push their luck and not expecting everyone to be bosom buddies overnight.
It may take a while and you may have to do some things separately for a while, my older dog finds the younger one a bit overwhelming so we do not force them to be together all the time.
Do step in and remove the pup, distract it or let the lab be able to leave the room for a bit of peace.
Don't be overly protective of the pup and stand over all interactions, as that will ramp up tension, dogs can and do sort out pecking orders between themselves, but you can use your voice or your body to calm things if one dog takes things too far.

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

Wow - quick reply and great advice, thank you. We are getting another bitch (because I prefer working bitches) and I have a choice of 2 - one is a real 'in your face' precocious pup and the other is far quieter, but I am sure that will change.

I am going back to see them today for a better look. They've been bred by a friend from a lovely gentle and calm bitch hence getting one from this litter.

We have the puppy crate and can clearly define who has which space. The lab is a very playful old girl and loves playing games with the children so I am hoping that a puppy will not be too much for her. She is a very experienced mum (she was used to churn out labs and then labradoodles) so I guess she will either take the pup on as a surrogate mum or pack her bags!!!

 

[jennywren07]

we have a 4year old rescue lab X who finds other dogs very overwhelming (i think from being in kennels as she can't bare the noise of barking dogs)

We got a staff pup when she was 3, slightly unplanned OH had gone to a job and the woman had a litter of 10 who she weaned at 5 weeks by removing the bitch and sticking down a bowl of dog meat. he felt so sorry for the runt she came home with him!!

Our lab was initially terrified of the pub and spent most of the time on the sofa jumping when the pup moved. We let her hide out on the sofa and didn't birng the pup up and made sure not to give the pup extra attention nor ignore the lab. this went on for 2 or so weeks untill one day the pup got herself under the sofa and started crying. The lab "rescued" her and they've been best buddies since.

I think you'll be fine just dont force them on each over and make sure the pup doesn't harrass the older dog too much