I have a little problem
 

I really need alot of advice on this .
I have a rescue JR terrier that has been my everything for 8 years. She is diabetic and blind. My son got me my first little yorkie this past Valentine day. He thought he was doing something good so I have never been able to say anything to him. But for the life of me I dont know where his head was! I dont think he knew a thing about yorkies when he did this --- he has learned a little since about small dogs as he got himself a little Shiatsu this past summer. Anyway here I have my precious little Sugar ,she has never had to share me in 8 yrs , and my precious little Spice ( she was almost 4 mo when I got her) who wants all my time.
My problem is this. Sugar will not play with Spice , I cant leave them in the same room for fear Sugar would hurt her. Sugar wouldnt do it on purpose but she is blind and gets startled.
I realized Spice may need a playmate when my son brought his little one last weekend and these 2 played hours and hours. They exhausted themselves. It was adorable to watch and I know I was smiling the entire time. Spice was happy.
I have Sugar and Spice always separated ( which is also a pain in the butt for me ) They each have their own space and toys etc separated by gates.
I am older and somewhat disabled and live on my SS check. My son does pay most all my vet bills but I still pay as much as possible. As we all hate to have our kids pay for us! LOL
I really cant afford a third furbaby nor could I really take care of a third one and give all the love etc I do these 2. I know my Spice would be so much happier having someone to play with.
I know this is long and I have repeated myself and rambled but I am so needing ideas and suggestions as I dont want either of my babes to lack for anything.
Sugar had gone thru a very bad spell and I think my son thought I was going to lose her is why he got me Spice so I cant really say anything to him as I dont want to hurt his feelings.
I will say Spice likes Sugar, she watches everything Sugar does and wont eat until Sugar has her dish and is eating. If Sugar so much as whines Spice is up to the gate to make sure she is ok.
We are so open to ideas and appreciate them all. I am so grateful I found this group as poor little Spice may have had problems if I hadnt of learned so much from you all! LOL

How far away is your son? I would suggest regular play dates with his puppy to keep spice happy. I would not get another fur baby, maybe after spice is gone consider getting another, but I wouldn't suggest it now. Dogs may like playmates, but they are not a requirement and another puppy might upset Sugar even more. Just love them both and hopefully you can continue to give Sugar all the love they need along with providing the puppy enough love.

I was lucky that my 9 year old Yorkie adjusted to the 2 puppies we brought home and is now very close with one of the puppy and likes the other. The 2nd puppy lives with us but belongs to my teenage daughter. She spent most of the summer house sitting with her puppy so it gave my older Yorkie and my Yorkie puppy a chance to bond, which was good. It can take several months for an older dog to adjust to a puppy. As the puppy ages and slows down a little the two dogs might get along better.

Good luck and I do suggest play dates with the 2 puppies as often as possible and you can snuggle and cuddle with Sugar to give her one on one time during them.

My son lives 300 miles away and tries to get home once a month . But sometimes it is a couple of months. Thank you for your advice♥
I may try putting Sugar and Spice together for a few minutes each day and see how that goes.

It sounds like short bits of time together is a good idea. Maybe at a time when Spice is on the tired side so she can be calmer. I know my little puppy can be wild at times. I hope it will go well for you and they will be great friends soon!

I have been in this position several times over many years....some times it works and sometimes they just never get along....sometimes the older Yorkie will learn to tolerate the youngster....and the youngster will learn to just be respectful to the elder, but dont harrass the matriarch! And on a rare instance, they will learn to be best friends....

I always kept my matriarch FIRST in our lives...she ate first, she went out for play time first, anything that was done with the dogs, she was always first in line. And my matriarch was the ONLY one that slept with me in my bed.....she never thought for one minute that she was in the least way, displaced for the benefit of the new comer, the "interloper".....

If you are not able to do this, to make it work for your matriarch, I personally would tell my son that the matriarch is not adjusting to the new pup and see if he will take this puppy until your elder crosses over The Bridge. I know ME, and if I had a situation where my little loving matriarch was feeling abandoned or that she was being "replaced" by some "young whipper-snapper", I would never forgive myself for making her feel displaced by the youngblood.

But that is me....I get all eaten up with guilt and "thoughts" and "feelings" that I project onto animals, who if the truth is known, have absolutely NO concept of the past or the future or the ability to reason and justify what their mistress may be thinking!!!!! My brother just smiles and shakes his head at me...."these dogs have you jumping thru hoops that only exist in YOUR mind,", he says.....

I do put my sweet older one first and she is the only one to sleep with me. I couldnt ever make her feel second, she is my love. I do love my little yorkie and have had her 8 mo and I could never part with her even if I have to put up with the gates several more years ( and I hope I will have that with my sweet little sick baby) My yorkie has a place in my heart and I really cant part with her. I have never had a furbaby like my yorkie , SPice, she is nothing but pure joy and love as is my little rescue Sugar.
Such a delimina ! LOL I will figure it out soon I hope. You would think after 8 mo I would have it worked out LOL thank you Yorkiemom 1 as everything you said is my feelings about my girls. I too sometimes think I believe they are human and have the same feelings!

I am thankful my two get along well.

If Sugar is blind and startles easily but has her hearing, it might be beneficial to put a collar with bells on it on little Spice.

THAT is a great idea!!!!!! Thank you!! Sometimes the easiest answer evades me! LOL

Wonderful suggestion!

It worked like a charm!!!!! They played for the first time for more than a second. They played several minutes and both seemed to really enjoy themselves!!!
Such a simple thing to do for such huge rewards! thank you so much!

But that is me....I get all eaten up with guilt and "thoughts" and "feelings" that I project onto animals, who if the truth is known, have absolutely NO concept of the past or the future or the ability to reason and justify what their mistress may be thinking!!!!! My brother just smiles and shakes his head at me...."these dogs have you jumping thru hoops that only exist in YOUR mind,", he says.....

Haha yes!!! I do the same thing!

What great advice about the collar. But just let me chime up and say some food for thought as more years go by. Your puppy will mature and become less wild energy but will still always have more than your senior. As the later years build up you might need to protect your senior from inappropriate play.


Let me explain by an example. My senior boy has bad arthritis and a bad back - our now young adolescent is trying to find her place in our pack order and will determinedly try to jump on Magics back. That can not be allowed! This is where you come in. You either re-direct in-appropriate play time - or have time outs - or if necessary exercise separately.

Thank you gemy! that is great advice as well. Something I will surely keep in mind.

I was so very happy to read that the advice for putting the collar on spice proved to help them to play together as long as you said they did. I know it is harder for a senior to put up with the antics of a youngster myself. My Joey wanted to play non stop with my senior Lacey and even pushed her into corners he was so anxious to play. I had to keep a very close eye on the play and stop it when I could see it was just too much for her. I do have a couple pictures of them in actual play so she did try/want to play some of the times. She was old and had an enlarged heart and I am so sorry I ever got a young pup while she was in the health state she was in. Her eyes were going too and life was not easy for her and I made a big mistake getting Joey then.
I am sorry that I digressed. I am just happy that things are working out for Sugar and Spice. I love their names. So very cute. Hope to see pictures of them playing would be nice. Best wishes to you and your kids.