Need advice on first days with new puppy and my Olive

[Laura Zaimi]

I'm bringing home our new puppy in early June. She is coming to live with my 6 year old female mini goldendoodle,"Olive". They are the same breed and both females.  I hope Olive will be accepting of our new pup. Does anyone have any advice on the introduction process? Olive is not a crate dog and has free reign in our home. Olive is extremely attached to me and listens very well to commands from my husband, 16 year old son and of course, me.

How can I make this a good experience for my sweet Olive and our family?

Thanks, 

Laura

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

When we brought Charlotte home, she was eight weeks old and Wally was six years old. We had them meet on neutral territory -- a quiet, safe grassy area where neither of them had ever been before. Wally was relatively accepting of Charlotte, provided that she did not get too close, and when she did, he used his voice to let her know to keep her distance. We didn't push him to interact with her, figuring that they would get comfortable with one another in their own time. We also made sure to spend ample time with Wally alone, to not alter his routine, and to not fuss too much over Charlotte in his presence. It took a couple of weeks for him to get used to her being in his space, but pretty quickly they became buddies. I've heard that it can be trickier with two female dogs, and I'm sure that others with that gender scenario will offer their suggestions, too. 

[Laura Zaimi]

Thank you. Good advice. I will search out a park area for introduction. Thanks for pointing out the importance of routine. I think I will have my son be on puppy patrol, while I pay most of my attention to Olive. I love your dog names !!

[Cathy and Daisy and Harper]

I am living this now except my older dog is 12 and used to being the queen and she too has full reign. The new puppy is a female goldendoodle and currently 12 weeks old. Not going to sugar coat it, this month has been hard. It is starting to get a little better but not good yet. Some things that have helped is keeping puppy on a leash. When she starts to play with older dog and older dog does not want to we simply step on the leash so she cannot go after older dog. We are crating the puppy so that the older dog gets a break. We also let our older dog get on the couch and new puppy is being taught to stay down. We also make sure to feed them apart because a trainer told us that females are hard wired to protect their resources. We are trying our best to give our older dog lots of extra hugs and kisses. We also give her lots of extra good treats while she is standing near the puppy so that she realizes good things come with the puppy. I read somewhere that walking together helps bond a relationship but we must wait for that until puppy has all her shots. We did the neutral territory introduction and I honestly don't know if that helped. Your situation may be easier because your dog is only 6. I wish you the best!

[Laura Zaimi]

I suspect the first couple of months will be fun and exhausting. I like the leash idea. I have ordered the crate. Of course your older dog is a couch privileged dog!! Olive sleeps on our bed. The puppy will be sleeping in the crate. Twin 21 year old sons back from college for summer, trip to beach house week after new puppy arrives.... I'm thinking weight loss and sleep loss for mom. ( can't wait). Thanks for reminding me of puppy shots needing to be complete before group dog walks. I appreciate your kind reply.

[Cathy and Daisy and Harper]

Yep! I lost a few pounds this month which is not a bad thing! It sounds like you have great helpers!

[Dolly Dykhouse]

We have a 9 year old puggle, Jo and Henry, our now 15 week old standard ALD has been home with us for 6 weeks. As Cathy says, not going to sugar coat it the last 6 weeks have been a difficult and exhausting time. The first month was the hardest by far, Jo spent those first 4-5 weeks looking at us with the "why are you doing this to me?" eyes. Henry is a bundle of energy and wants to play so badly he gets right up in Jo's ear and barks like mad out of frustration and trying to get his attention. The first time they actually played together was just under 2 weeks ago, lasted 15 minutes and then didn't happen again for another week. But it gave me hope! It has gotten a bit better since Henry completed his puppy shots and we could take them over to the park in back of us and let them (well mostly Henry) run and chase. It also helps that there are other dogs/people for Henry to socialize with and help expend some of that boundless puppy energy.

We crated Henry up until this past weekend and now that he is able to hold his bladder from 9-4 he has our room to sleep in his bed or in the bathroom on the cool tile. I feed them at the same time, but Jo is very food possessive and a gulper so he will finish his and go for Henry's if I am not standing in between them or can remove Jo from the kitchen until Henry is finished. Henry eats double the amount of Jo and is the worlds slooowwwest eater (which is a good thing) so this is a time consuming part of the day with 3 meals for Henry. Jo has learned that Henry's training times mean treats for him too and I have used a Kong Wobbler as a bonding time for them to interact. Taking them out for walks together is also good thing (but man that first month of being housebound before the end of puppy shots? Ugh!) although Henry likes to take J's leash in his mouth and walk Jo LOL. When Henry gets too mouthy in both barking and nipping at Jo to play I separate them and let Jo upstairs and keep Henry on the first floor for Jo's and our sanity because let's face it, that piercing puppy barking can get on your last nerve.

Henry starts his professional training in a couple of weeks so I am hopeful that maturity and better manners will help their relationship. We are driving 5K miles to and from our cottage in Northern Michigan in 6 weeks so heaven help us I am hopeful that they are good friends by then or Henry is at least quieter LOL. Enjoy your new baby!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Get a slow bowl for Jo. It might even the time out a bit.   This one is from Outward Hound.

[Dolly Dykhouse]

Thanks Nancy! Jo has been on a slow bowl for 7 years now LOL...doesn't hamper him much, I swear that he has a suction hose for a mouth! 

Henry on the other hand is the slowest of eaters, actually chews his food before taking the next bite. I think that this might be in part to his breeder feeding each puppy individually at feeding time instead of the buffet bowl for the entire litter at once approach. He is extremely gentle when taking treats out of my hand which is a constant surprise as he is a total landshark the rest of the time! Makes me almost want to tape treats to the backs of my hands!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

When we got Charlie -an adult rescue, he ate so slowly.  Once he settled in with us, he sped up his eating and now HE has a slo-bowl too.