Quote:
Originally Posted by ItsButters  Hi,
Our yorkie Butters is 5 months old (not neutered yet but I'll get to that later). Yesterday we rescued a 9 week Peekapoo from a shelter. She's very sweet and affectionate and I believe she has been socialized better since she was always around other puppies. Butters, however, is not having it. First he kept sniffing her out of curiosity, then he would pounce on her, growl, run across the room right into her, basically just calling out that he wanted to assert himself. He's never been attached to my father for instance, but when my dad picked up the new puppy, Butters started jumping on him too for the first time, like he wanted all the attention. I've resorted to keeping them separated-- Butters slept on the bed for the first time last night while I kept the new puppy in a laundry basket right next to me so that she wouldn't cry. I think today I'll have to go out and buy a crate for her. Now I'm also considering neutering Butters sooner than I thought because I've just never seen this side of aggression from him before. What should I do to assure him that he's still the alpha dog? I've read that I should feed him first before I feed the new puppy, take him on walks so that he tires himself out faster and has less energy/aggression back home, also take them on walks together to bond, etc. I'm also worried about when I'm gone-- should I keep them separated while I'm at work too? |
Sounds like you are doing everything right, feeding first is a good idea, and I also think you should have him sit before you place the food bowl down. While you are trying to reinforce the idea that he is the alpha among the dogs, you want him to understand that humans are the bosses of him. Some of what you call aggression is normal puppy behavior. At 5 months old, he's really not the "big" brother, so much as another puppy, and this is the way puppies play, and communicate. I think the less human interference the better, when dogs are trying to work out their relationship. He's not doing anything that is endangering the other dog. Remember pack order between them may change, since they are both so young, she may grow into the leader of the pack, because it does come more natural to some dogs, and this is something they need to work out, but I would still feed him first. Neutering him is a good idea, I don't know how young you can do it because I think it's important to pull the remaining baby teeth at the same time, so that they don't have the double row of teeth, which can lead to problems.