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KathyK09 · 02-25-2008, 12:14 PM

Hi! We have a 7 yr old Bichon, Angel, and now have our new puppy Mariah (who is now 14 wks old). We also have two adult cats.

When we first brought Mariah home we kept her contained in our master bathroom and bedroom for several wks. We wanted all the animals to slowly get adjusted to each other. We started bringing Angel into the room. We would always put her on our bed where Mariah could not reach her. Occasionally she would choose to jump down. The puppy would instantly run to her and try to play. Angel would just run from the puppy. When Angel got tired of running from her she would stop and bark/growl enough to make the puppy stop jumping on her. Occasionally she would let the puppy close enough so they would sniff each other. Then the puppy would want to play again and start chasing Angel again. Sometimes the puppy would approach Angel and then lay down on her back or crouch down and crawl to her. It seemed as though the puppy was being submissive to Angel.

For a little while Angel refused to come into the bedroom…not even for treats and even stopped sleeping in bed with my daughter. She definitely was “upset” about the new puppy.

It has been almost six weeks and we are now slowly allowing Mariah to have more of a run of the house (while being supervised – when unsupervised she is in her x-pen in our master bathroom). For the most part Angel completely avoids the puppy. It seems as though Angel just doesn’t want to have anything to do with the puppy. The puppy wants so desperately to “play” and Angel just doesn’t want to. I think if Mariah would just stop chasing Angel – then Angel would be ok with her but
puppy is relentless in chasing Angel. We’ve tried waiting till Mariah is “worn out” from playing to have Angel come near her but Mariah perks right back up the second she sees Angel! Mariah will chase her until Angel finally gets to a spot (like our bed or one of the chairs) that Mariah cannot get to. I’m concerned because eventually Mariah will be able to get up on the chairs and the bed and Angel will have no “safe haven” away from the puppy.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help them get to be “friends”?

02-25-2008, 12:14 PM	#1
KathyK09 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Northeast WI Posts: 97	Helping Old Dog Adjust To New Puppy! Hi! We have a 7 yr old Bichon, Angel, and now have our new puppy Mariah (who is now 14 wks old). We also have two adult cats. When we first brought Mariah home we kept her contained in our master bathroom and bedroom for several wks. We wanted all the animals to slowly get adjusted to each other. We started bringing Angel into the room. We would always put her on our bed where Mariah could not reach her. Occasionally she would choose to jump down. The puppy would instantly run to her and try to play. Angel would just run from the puppy. When Angel got tired of running from her she would stop and bark/growl enough to make the puppy stop jumping on her. Occasionally she would let the puppy close enough so they would sniff each other. Then the puppy would want to play again and start chasing Angel again. Sometimes the puppy would approach Angel and then lay down on her back or crouch down and crawl to her. It seemed as though the puppy was being submissive to Angel. For a little while Angel refused to come into the bedroom…not even for treats and even stopped sleeping in bed with my daughter. She definitely was “upset” about the new puppy. It has been almost six weeks and we are now slowly allowing Mariah to have more of a run of the house (while being supervised – when unsupervised she is in her x-pen in our master bathroom). For the most part Angel completely avoids the puppy. It seems as though Angel just doesn’t want to have anything to do with the puppy. The puppy wants so desperately to “play” and Angel just doesn’t want to. I think if Mariah would just stop chasing Angel – then Angel would be ok with her but puppy is relentless in chasing Angel. We’ve tried waiting till Mariah is “worn out” from playing to have Angel come near her but Mariah perks right back up the second she sees Angel! Mariah will chase her until Angel finally gets to a spot (like our bed or one of the chairs) that Mariah cannot get to. I’m concerned because eventually Mariah will be able to get up on the chairs and the bed and Angel will have no “safe haven” away from the puppy. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help them get to be “friends”?