My older guy was depressed when his buddies passed on, leaving him the 'only' dog in the house. When I adopted 3 young girls (not puppies, but puppy-like, lol) he acted very distant for a while, but he did eventually come around. I had the same thoughts you are having, about it all being the wrong thing to do, but then he would still have been depressed.
I did make sure to give him extra attention, alot of 'me' time, and I made sure the girls didn't bully him as they are prone to doing. Now he's top dog, and acting more like a puppy himself. He now barks at me if he wants something. He races them to the front door to go out. He races them to come back in. He tolerates their playfulness very well, as he knows Mommie will 'save' him if they get out of hand.
And little things (to me, but 'big' to him), I feed him first, for walks he gets his harness on first, he gets brushed and bathed first, and give him treats first. If he ever looks unsure of anything, I stop and pick him up and give him special time to reassure him.
Your puppy will see you doing this and will accept your attention for the older dog. When my girls get to playing, I hold Peek on my lap and throw toys for the girls to fetch to burn up some of their energy. I try to make sure he is a part of anything we do. I will tell the girls 'No, go play' with Peek on my lap, if they try to get up on my lap with him (this makes him feel very special).
He likes Sapphire the most, she is most like him in size and temperament so I will walk them together, as the other two girls can be a bit wild on walks, and I now walk them separately for training purposes.
And every night I tell him he is such a Good Boy. He really likes hearing those words.
I think once he realized he wasn't being replaced and that he is still #1 with me, he began to enjoy having the girls around. I purposely seek him out (he tends to sleep a bit more too) to give him attention in front of them, and they know too, that he has his own place with me and not to interfere. When he has had enough, I put him down, and each girl will come to me and wait to be picked up and cuddled and told how special they are to me.
It did take a few months, but I believe he is happy once again. It's just about finding a way to balance everything, and to make some rules. Now that he's feeling better, he doesn't require as much attention as he was getting in the beginning, but I still make him feel special whenever I see an opportunity to do so. |