Need advice

[Roy Wilkins]

F1standard female puppy and my 8 yr old male shin tzu. Shin tzu not social . Will I have problems getting them to get along.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I am by no stretch of the imagination a dog/puppy expert.  I'm barely above the "novice" level, but I'll take a stab at an answer here.  

I think a big part of the issue will be how "devoted" your Shih Tzu is to you.  Our first doodle, Sedona, was a real daddy's girl.  Although she was "social" when it came to playing with other dogs, as soon as my husband paid attention to another dog, Sedona registered her jealously big time.  Even though we got to the point where we wanted a second dog, we didn't want to risk dethroning Princess Sedona.  I'm pretty sure we could have made it work - with careful planning and expert help - but we weren't prepared to do the work necessary.

 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

One problem I envision right off the bat will be the energy and size of the puppy as opposed to your Shitzu. You need to make sure that you supervise their together time until the puppy learns to leave the smaller dog alone and that your Shitzu has safe places to get away from the puppy.  The puppy needs to learn to respect the smaller dog more so than if they were closer to the same size. I wouldn't worry about the Shitzu hurting the puppy when he tells her to leave him alone.  You might use an ex-pen to contain the puppy with the Shitzu running free.

When introducing the dogs, do it in the front yard if possible - that's a more neutral territory.  Don't hold either dog in your lap while the other is on the floor beside you - it lets the lap dog 'own' you over the other dog for the settling in process.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd also say, put your shih tzu first; he was there first and he has earned his "top dog" position in the household. Down the road, the dogs may decide to change positions in their little pack, but for now, the newcomer is on the bottom. That means, your shih tzu gets fed first, gets treats first, gets attention and affection first. As much as possible, his routine should not change.  And I second Nancy's advice about making sure he has a safe place to get away from a rambunctious puppy. Allow him to put her in her place if she's bugging him. 

[Dolly Dykhouse]

I can add to this as we have a 9 year old puggle named Jo and Henry is 19 weeks now.

The first month was difficult for sure. Henry is definitely an alpha male and loves to play; Jo wanted nothing to do with it as he is far less social (only dog for last 5 years) and likes peace and quiet and long naps. Henry is far from "quiet" he is very vocal in trying to get Jo's attention; constant barking in his ear saying play with me, play with me, WHY won't you PLAY with me!!!!" It was a full month before there was any joint playing and then it was sporadic going days between play and lots of frustration on both parts. Jo gets a ton of attention and gets even more now with treats along side Henry as well. As soon as Henry had all of his shots I started taking them to the park in back of us to play and that helped as Jo had a bigger area to run around in with Henry so that has become a part of our day each evening. Training Henry on his manners has helped as well especially with the barking in Jo's ear. Are they best buddies yet? No. Is it better after 10 weeks of living together? Yes. It is going to take time and constant supervision, training and maturity on Henry's part. 

A lot of it depends on the personality of your new one. Henry has a very strong and dominate personality and he tries to assert himself as the alpha male, not only with Jo but me as well. Training is key with strong willed doodles I am finding out. I'm sure part of it is also that Henry is going to top out at 65-70 lbs when full grown; at 19 weeks he already towers over Jo and is a good 6 lbs heavier. However; when Jo gets into play mode he can run Henry over and send him tumbling so there's that LOL! 

Jo has his own space (loves under our bed) and has the whole second floor of our house as his domain until bedtime as I keep Henry downstairs with me during the day. Jo can come and go but Henry is limited so I can keep an eye on him at all times and ease of potty training. 

I'm a novice at this at best and certainly no expert. I have learned so much from the DK members, so keep asking questions and read all you can in the Puppy Madness Group it is very enlightening! Good luck!

[Roy Wilkins]

Thanks so much y'all have been very helpful. Roy