Not being himself

[courtney1121]

Previous Thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...g-similar.html

So I wrote a thread about 2-3 weeks ago about Geno acting weird. So I kind of blew it off after that cause he bounced back and most of the responses said he might just have a tummy ache.

Well now he's been doing this pretty consistently. My boyfriend blows it off like no big deal. Geno will hide under the couch to have some alone time but now instead of that, he goes into Mia's little domed bed and sleeps. My boyfriend thinks that instead of going under the couch for time alone, he goes in the bed. Personally, I would accept this if it wasn't for him looking all depressed. His head is down, he scurries when he walks. He'll go back and forth between the couch and the bed but mainly he'll stay in the bed. Of course, no poop or anything on his butt. I have felt him all over to see if there's anything hurting him but nope.

It just seems like his whole personality has changed since we brought home our new girl and I feel so bad. I just want him to act like himself and love his sister. Every now and then, my boyfriend and I will sleep in separate rooms - he has Mia and I'll have Geno - just so I can get some alone time with him. He seems like he's really upset with me or something.

We have an appointment at the vet scheduled for him on Oct 18 but I might see about taking him earlier.

[CouversMom]

I would take him in... Poor guy. Does he seem to like his sister?

[courtney1121]

Originally Posted by CouversMom

I would take him in... Poor guy. Does he seem to like his sister?

No not really. Like everyone told me - oh they'll be friends in no time, give it some time, they'll be fine, ect

He's not really mean with her. He does get a little aggressive when they are playing tug-a-war with a toy (his growling gets extreme). She snatched his treats a few times and he angrily snapped at her which I don't blame him. I don't really scold too much if he snaps at her cause I figure he's trying to correct her by doing this but if it looks like their playing gets too aggressive I will scold them or threaten them with the "Pet Corrector". This always gets Geno to stop what he's doing.

Any time he's laying down and she comes up to lay down next to him, he'll move. My mom noticed that any time I pick her up, Geno is watching my every move.

[kjc]

You need to ignore the puppy and start giving Geno most of your attention. He was your #1, don't take that away from him. Once he feels secure again with you, he'll be friendlier towards her. Do everything for him first... feeding, petting, etc. I constantly rotate between mine so they all feel like #1, but if someone is sad or depressed, they get all the extra attention I can find. A walk alone with me, a nap alone with me, treats and fed first... all the little things that tell them I love them and they are important to me.

When I added my Biewer, Infinity to my clan, Sapphire almost looked catatonic! When I saw that she would not make eye contact with me, and looked all droopy all the time, I scooped her up and gave her a ton of extra attention, until the sparkle came back in her eyes once again. Some pups it doesn't bother so much, others it's the end of their world!

Try laying down with him and her. He gets prime spot closest to your head. Let the pup watch you luving on him. Keep her from jumping on him.... you protect him. This will make him feel like a million $$$$$.

When you go to put the food bowls down, tell the pup to wait! Geno, the handsome boy, gets his first! Now it's puppy's turn. Make it a big deal that he is special to you.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by courtney1121

No not really. Like everyone told me - oh they'll be friends in no time, give it some time, they'll be fine, ect

He's not really mean with her. He does get a little aggressive when they are playing tug-a-war with a toy (his growling gets extreme). She snatched his treats a few times and he angrily snapped at her which I don't blame him. I don't really scold too much if he snaps at her cause I figure he's trying to correct her by doing this but if it looks like their playing gets too aggressive I will scold them or threaten them with the "Pet Corrector". This always gets Geno to stop what he's doing.

Any time he's laying down and she comes up to lay down next to him, he'll move. My mom noticed that any time I pick her up, Geno is watching my every move.

I would always 'correct' any snapping or serious growling. Just a quick 'Ah, Ah!, will do. You need to let them know that is not tolerated in your house. I wouldn't trust him to be 'correcting' her at this point, as he may be having jealousy issues towards her.

She grabs his treats, he snaps, you say 'Ah, Ah', then go move him away from her (a few inches is fine), then give him another treat. This teaches him to be nice to her, and that he does not need to be possessive of the treats, there is always more where they came from. Same thing with toys.

Or train them for treats. Make them sit. When they sit, give a treat. We have a contest, who does the trick first gets the first treat. It's always fun, teaches them to get along, and to wait to be given the treat, and they learn tricks from each other. I'll take a handful of Cheerios, and go down the line till they're gone. Mine each wait their turns, with no growling, snapping, or stealing. Well sometimes Sapphire steals, but while she's chewing I'll give one to the victim of the theft. And it makes me 'the Boss'.

Hope some of this works for you...

[CouversMom]

Originally Posted by kjc

You need to ignore the puppy and start giving Geno most of your attention. He was your #1, don't take that away from him. Once he feels secure again with you, he'll be friendlier towards her. Do everything for him first... feeding, petting, etc. I constantly rotate between mine so they all feel like #1, but if someone is sad or depressed, they get all the extra attention I can find. A walk alone with me, a nap alone with me, treats and fed first... all the little things that tell them I love them and they are important to me.

I still do this with my two. Couver is always fed first, treated first, acknowledged first when we get home, loved on first etc. He is my #1 and Khloe understands that. It has kept him from feeling jealous of her and he accepted her pretty quickly. However, she now prefers my husband because of this, but that's okay with me... Both of them are happy and have their 'person'.

[courtney1121]

Originally Posted by kjc

You need to ignore the puppy and start giving Geno most of your attention. He was your #1, don't take that away from him. Once he feels secure again with you, he'll be friendlier towards her. Do everything for him first... feeding, petting, etc. I constantly rotate between mine so they all feel like #1, but if someone is sad or depressed, they get all the extra attention I can find. A walk alone with me, a nap alone with me, treats and fed first... all the little things that tell them I love them and they are important to me.

When I added my Biewer, Infinity to my clan, Sapphire almost looked catatonic! When I saw that she would not make eye contact with me, and looked all droopy all the time, I scooped her up and gave her a ton of extra attention, until the sparkle came back in her eyes once again. Some pups it doesn't bother so much, others it's the end of their world!

Try laying down with him and her. He gets prime spot closest to your head. Let the pup watch you luving on him. Keep her from jumping on him.... you protect him. This will make him feel like a million $$$$$.

When you go to put the food bowls down, tell the pup to wait! Geno, the handsome boy, gets his first! Now it's puppy's turn. Make it a big deal that he is special to you.

Thank you for your advice! I'm glad that you have had a similar experience when adding another one. I usually do most of these things. The only time I don't give him a treat first is if she goes potty on her pad. I still give Geno a treat as well just cause I don't want him thinking she is the only one to get a treat but I do want her to know that what she just did was awesome and to keep doing it. I also will give them some people food like cream cheese or a piece of bread and Geno always gets the bigger piece or bigger lick which only makes sense since he's bigger anyways.

Geno is very used to getting tiny pieces of my food but once the girl came, I stopped doing it as often cause it really is a bad habit. I feel bad for Geno cause he's expecting to get a little piece every time and I sometimes will try to sneak him a piece but our girl is chubby and loves food so she doesn't usually miss a beat when there's food around. I also make sure to love on him first when I get home and then i'll love on her after.

Last night, Geno, for once, lifted his leg right next to the pad and some got on it so I gave him a treat first and her a treat as well. I did sneak Geno an extra piece that I don't think she noticed.

Our breeder kept telling us to make sure Geno has mommy and him time (she knows Geno and I are a lot closer than my boyfriend and him). Recently, he will go lay down with my boyfriend for a little now and I'm not going to lie, I get jealous. It's so hard though giving him his time cause if he's with me, our girl will start yipping. Last night, my boyfriend had to tell her to be quiet a lot cause she knew Geno was upstairs with me. I'm really trying to push a strong bond with the girl and my boyfriend so when it comes to Geno and me time, she'll be fine cause she's with daddy.

[courtney1121]

Also, my boyfriend and I don't live together but I've pretty much have temporarily moved in once we took the girl home. Do you think it'd help to take Geno to my place every now and then so he has me all to himself?

My boyfriend didn't really want to do this at first because he wanted them to get used to one another but now he's a little more okay with it since they've been together for over a month.

[kjc]

IDK... as for the bonding thing, mine just gravitate to whoever they prefer. Peek likes us both, maybe me a bit more, Tink is Daddy's Girl, but she still comes to me at times for hugs and play. Finny likes us both, she'll run to me like a little tattletail, but has QT with Daddy too. Sapphire is my Girl, she is a bit Man phobic but is learning to get along with DH. I have had jealousy pangs hit, but then I think it's really great that they have a bond with DH and I feel it's way more important to encourage that, so if ever I'm away, they won't be so traumatized.

Tink has to have DH hold her when he comes home from work, and will give him kisses, but then stares me down like, na na na na na na! I just laugh and give her a quick pat on the head. Then when she's done, she brings me a toy. Sapphire likes when DH is in bed, she walks right up to his head and watches him... too cute.

I would try having Geno on your lap, petting him, but have a hand down for the puppy to play with, or bring her up too. Maybe together time for the 3 of you, with you putting Geno 1st will help... bc he'll know she's seeing it too.

IDK, these dogs are so quirky (Yorkies in general), you never know what they're thinking... I'd try a bunch of different things till you find out what makes him happy again. Maybe the table treats just for him, lol, would help. Just be sneaky on that one, lol. Or just give her Cheerios so you don't ruin her girly figure!

[CouversMom]

I sometimes take Couver on mommy and me trips. I will take just him in the car to run some errands or go somewhere quick. He loves getting to go and I leave Khloe at home with my husband so she's not alone. I would definitely suggest giving Geno some solid mommy time and see if that makes him feel more confident.

[BiewerYorkie]

I have SIX little guys between the age of 10 years and 8 months. Some like others more than others (does that make sense?)...LOL. I have two that don't like ANYONE and I have to watch them closely or they will go after the others. One is 10 years and one is 7. They are both "alpha's" which is the main problem. Someone is ALWAYS getting scolded here.

Keep showing the older dog TONS of attention. I KNOW you want to cuddle the new baby but plenty of time for that in the future. Multiple dog households, whether it be 2 dogs or 6 like me, often have problems. But if you really love EVERYBODY, you can work it out with some time and a lot of attention.

Good luck,
Louise

[kjc]

Originally Posted by courtney1121

Also, my boyfriend and I don't live together but I've pretty much have temporarily moved in once we took the girl home. Do you think it'd help to take Geno to my place every now and then so he has me all to himself?

My boyfriend didn't really want to do this at first because he wanted them to get used to one another but now he's a little more okay with it since they've been together for over a month.

Oh I didn't realize this! So Geno also got a new home the same time he got a new sister? Maybe why he's so out-of-sorts! I think I'd try it, and see how he acts. Maybe there's something at your place he's missing?

[courtney1121]

Originally Posted by kjc

Oh I didn't realize this! So Geno also got a new home the same time he got a new sister? Maybe why he's so out-of-sorts! I think I'd try it, and see how he acts. Maybe there's something at your place he's missing?

Well Geno is used to my boyfriend's house. This is where he was for the first 4-5 months we had him then my boyfriend went to India for 3 weeks so Geno started to stay at my place around mid January and the 2 of us just basically stayed there for the rest of the winter, spring, and summer. When I'd stay with my boyfriend every other weekend, Geno would come with of course so he knows my boyfriend's place well. My boyfriend is going on vaca from Weds-Sun so I'll have both of them at my place so will definitely see how he is doing at my place as well. Maybe he is missing my apartment.

[ilovejoel]

Awww how sad, I definetly think you should have one on one time with Geno, do something special with him
This is reminding me I have to work on Rosco and Joel with this problem. Joel is mean and annoying to Rosco and Joel thinks Rosco cant do anything without his okay, like if Rosco is moving torwards a toy or something Joel will jump up and get in the middle, it's really annoying. I think the reason I don't notice much is because Rosco doesnt seem to care and is way too easy going but I still don't want Joel to think he can treat him bad.

[courtney1121]

Well I took all your advice and Geno has been coming out of his shell but he also hasn't been feeling well lately. He keeps sneezing and making an almost snorting sound - i guess like reverse sneezing. He has been cuddling up with me all day today and i've been doting over him a lot. Also I've been keeping the girl out of reach since she just wants to play and doesn't understand he's not feeling well.

He's been eating, drinking, pottying regularly so I decided not to rush him to the vet today but will be calling the vet to get him in first thing tomorrow morning. I can't take him cause I'll be at work so my boyfriend has to. Praying they'll get him in first thing!