My dog is about 8 - 10, don't know for sure. Got him from a rescue. We had 2 and they were buddies, but lost one a few months back.

The one we have left is pretty chill, has been around other dogs most of his life and doesn't seem to have an issue. But, he is older now.

There is a 6 month old puppy we want to get, but we don't want our current dogs last years to be miserable with a puppy in his face. They met today very briefly, and they seemed OK until the puppy got in his face, but he just growled a bit and the puppy ran off. This happened a few times. He would growl for a second and then the puppy would take off. Other than that they didn't seem to care, the old dog let the puppy sniff his butt, run around him, he just didn't like him in his face. This seems like normal dog boundary setting to me, nothing to be worried about.

I am worried though if they meet here in my house, my dog will be more defensive and pissed off because this is "his" domain. I really don't want my dog to be upset or miserable in his last years.

Anyone brought puppies and older dogs together before? I'm not worried about training the pup, or any of that type of issue, I know how to do that. Just worried about my current dog, he's my 80 pound baby and I want him to be happy.

My experience is that your older dog will "adopt" the puppy and love him like a father, not to mention teaching him manners and to respect his elders.

^^^
Agree.

Your old man meeting "away" and then how he reacts "on his turf" will be different.

And rescue dogs having been around other dogs are often more "accommodating" a new critter to the pack.

He will likely come around pretty quick once he sees the new guy is "family".

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
My experience is that your older dog will "adopt" the puppy and love him like a father, not to mention teaching him manners and to respect his elders.

I don't know about that, but I recently (in the last 6 months) brought a one year old adoption into my house with my 14+ year old hound, and my old guy has pretty much accepted and learned to ignore him. They're just too far apart in age for them to interact that much, but as far as I'm concerned, simple acceptance is enough. And yes, my old dog will occasionally growl at the young dog to tell him to knock it off, and he usually gets the message.

I'd suggest the puppy and your old dog spend some time together outside your home before the two of them enter the home.

Adult dogs seem to be able to tell a puppy and they will usually cut the puppy a *lot* more slack than they will another dog. They’ll still let the puppy know who is boss, but they usually settle in fine.

A technique that a breeder/trainer who provides protection dogs shared is to take them on a walk. This was for introducing the dog to out then you kids, but we have used it to introduce dogs with great success also. Both dogs are on a leash and each is handled by a different person. Sure, you can sniff each other, but we’re walking. It seems to help the dogs understand that everybody is part of the pack and you are the alpha.

I agree with the others. I've been down this road before and your older dog will accept the puppy just fine once he realizes that the little guy is not just passing thru. The suggestion to take them both for a few walks is a good idea. Give it a little time. Another suggestion I would make is too feed them at different times and apart at first.

We've been in this situation a couple of times and my take is that the dogs will figure it out on their own without human interaction.

Jim

quote:

There is a 6 month old puppy we want to get, but we don't want our current dogs last years to be miserable with a puppy in his face.

I'm going to say don't do it. We brought home a puppy when my older dog was 11. Friends kept telling us the older dog will show the young dog the way. The older dog hated him. I truly feel like I ruined my boy's golden years by bringing in a new dog. I'll never do it again.

I seriously regret doing it, and even after my older boy passed I still dwell on it.

We brought a new puppy home for our two bichons. The male (almost 11) took to him right off, they were playing together until a couple of weeks ago, then Rolly stopped playing. We found out on Wednesday that he had inoperable cancer. We put him down today. But I have to say, the last three months, he had more pleasure in his life than the past 5 years. Our little female (almost 12) hasn't played with him too much, although she would join in sometimes when Rolly was playing with him. I'm hoping that they will get along better now since her lifelong playmate is no longer around.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
Adult dogs seem to be able to tell a puppy and they will usually cut the puppy a *lot* more slack than they will another dog. They’ll still let the puppy know who is boss, but they usually settle in fine.

This, I find dog behaviors fascinating and done a good bit of research to help better train the dogs I've had.

Without knowing if your dog thinks he's the alpha or not, I'd still wager a puppy would be accepted. Puppies won't be showing any signs of posturing or positioning. There won't be that initial confrontation, whether violent or not to determine where someone ranks.

If you're clearly the alpha, I would let your dog see the puppy, but introduce the puppy through you. You handle the puppy and then leave it somewhere else and let your dog smell your hands before ever letting it approach the puppy. In a pack the alpha will always make first contact with an outsider. This let's your dog know you've already accepted the puppy. At his age I'm sure he'll get it.

As someone else mentioned, he'll still let the puppy know where he ranks, but it won't be aggressive, just some nips and barks likely.

I disturbed my elder dog golden years with a puppy. I would never do this again. It broke his heart, but it was a big heart and he forgave me. Anthropomorphic, I know. But, we were a special team. The issue we faced is the puppy was unaware of how her alpha body language and actions disrupted his understanding of the pack. In addition, you can’t help but pay more attention to a puppy. And, that hurts.

Our 10 year old dog was only 4 when we brought our puppy home. One thing that has worked out well is not expecting the older dog to teach the younger dog manners and boundaries. Sometimes in multi dog households the youngest has poor social skills outside the home, because the older dog/s tolerate less than desirable behavior. I'd interupt play if it got to be too much, well truthfully, before it got to be too much. A little treat, they'd come and enjoy and then go back to hanging out together.

I didn't allow play in the house for the first 1.5 yrs or so (if they wanted to play, I'd let them outside, or distract them with something else). I realize most people, including my husband, thought that was extreme. But they learned how to simply live peacefully together- an important skill. True, when I wasn't home, I can't say my husband didn't allow play.

But, they still enjoy their play time. Now that I know they understand eachother's play style and tolerance level, I let them play in the house. Truth be told, I love them playing- in the house, outside the house. But we don't have (knock on wood) little scuffle's that my niece has with hers that have ended up in the vet emergency room .