Introducing older dog to puppy.....

[Blackhawk]

Bit of a long one but my family dog is no longer being cared for properly (not walked enough, left alone for too long, etc) so I've taken her on. So she'll be moving to mine and OHs house in two weeks.

By this point our new puppy will be here and established in the home.

My concerns are that my older Vizla will come in and want to 1. find her place in the home and 2. Show the little squirt that she's boss.

She is very sociable with other dogs but I feel this sort of upheaval isn’t the best.

My plan is to fuss over her first, feed her first, stroke her first, allow her to walk through doorways, etc before pup. Obviously without ignoring pup.

Is there anything else I can do though? She’s never even been in a kennel, let alone in another house. She’s very well behaved and well trained. I’ve been thinking about letting her sleep in our bedroom for a few nights and allowing her her own time with us but I don't want her getting snappy with the puppy.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I would be tempted to put the puppy in a crate, when they are together (unsupervised), that way the puppy is safe and also it can't harrass the older dog.

 

[Blackhawk]

Sorry should have mentioned that we'll be doing that too

Bought a crate the other day. Pup is VERY well socailised and comes from a breeder who has 9 dogs and bitches and one litter at a time plus cats, kids and horses.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Well think you've got it all covered. I'm sure they will get on famously.

 

[Tia]

If you intend your dog sleeping on your bed every night, then by all means allow her to do this.....but if you aren't, then don't start it.

I wouldn't worry about it to be honest - they'll both find their place in your home and I'm sure will settle in fine.

 

[Blackhawk]

Thanks guys. I'm hoping it goes as smoothly as possible. OH has been worrying me saying that he's been reading that we're doing the wrong thing, introducing an older to to an established home with a puppy. I don't really believe it though, as long as owners are sensible about it.

 

[sloulou]

Am sure it will be nice for your puppy to have an older dog to learn from

Should help with the house training

I was really worried about taking my puppy to stay with my parents as our family dog is a old-ish border collie who isn't friendly with other dogs generally... And I go there most weekends to see my horse.

Actually it was much better than I imagined and she has really tolerated him well (considering how much she usually hates a) labradors in general b) puppies in general

)

I'm sure it will be ok, they will sort things out amongst themselves.

 

[Breezesbenefactor]

Old pie has the right idea.......however, feed them separately to begin with understand the older dog as she is going to boss (for a while) start by lettig her sleep in your bedroom at night and let her be boss: pat her first etc. Puppy will follow, as she is old this will be a big deal for her, make her latter year comfortable and good on you for taking on such a commitment

 

[vizzielover]

Hi from another Viz owner. Having introduced adult dogs into my own household the first thing I would do would be to remove all toys, put dishes out of the way and remove the pups bed - just for introduction purposes. This means that ther is nothing to argue over. When bringing your older dog home, introduce them outside, bring them both in together, let them off lead and then the most important thing to do is ignore them both. Sounds harsh I know but it gives the older dog the opportunity to get to know the youngster, put him/her in his/her place and suss out the house. If you plan on letting the older one sleep in your room permanently then by all means do so straight away, if you are going to want them to be in the same room at night then leave them together, one in cage and one out. Personally I would have them sleep in the same room, whether that would be upstairs or down.

Also, another good tip is to keep a low profile for a few days, let them get to know each other without having visitors, albeit you already know the incomer so this might not be as important as bringing in a strange dog. I really hope it is easy for you all, I took on a 10 year old male Vizsla (years ago) and brought him in to a house full of dogs, male and female, I followed the above rules for a few days and the transistion for Rory was much easier than I had envisaged. Good luck and we would love to see some pictures of your two dogs together. I brought in a 6 yr old Vizsla girl last year, she settled too, she is, as I type this, laid on the sofa with my Dobe male and she sleeps on my bed with my 14 yr old Vizsla, Nova.