New Puppy

cruais

Hi,

We are getting a new shih tzu puppy in two weeks time, which we are very excited about.

We already have a 5 year old female shih tzu who is a real dote.

I am just looking for peoples advice or experience of introducing a new member to our little animal family. Will our current dog act as a mother to the pup do you think?

Hooked

They say the best way is to introduce on neutral ground, perhaps even between a gate/fence or other barrier. And if that works out well, then into your home.

Everything we did with our intro (3.5 year old and puppy) was done a little at a time.

Pups are full on. Your 5 year old 'may' need time to adjust. Don't just expect them to get on. Remember, Little by little.

Our 2 had a 'walking on egg shells' first few months. Almost year in... Inseparable. Totally.

Is it another bītch, or a dog? They say the best mix is just that, mixed sexes. One of each. But... We had no choice as our breeder took the only female. Two boys were a risk, but all's worked out fine.

We use crates. They were great to split the boys at the start - and give Hugo his space and a break, from his mad half brother.

Best of luck!!!

cruais

Thanks a million hooked.

The pup is a male so with have one of each. Not for breeding purposes or anything. Will be getting him neutured. Just love shih tzus.... gas little characters

VonVix

How is your current shihtzu around other dogs?

I tend to notice dogs treat new puppies either by turning into a puppy themselves or being a grumpy little thing with the pup. The latter isn't always bad, particularly if the puppy is mental and wants to play and bite him all the time, but still, make sure lots of positive experiences happen to your first dog when the puppy is around. You wouldn't want him to realise he gets shunned and told off all the time whenever the puppy is present!

cruais

Shes great around other dogs. Loves playing etc.

We also have a cat who adopted us as a kitten last year and the two are inseparable best pals, so hoping the new addition will have the same result

Iang87

Just want to give this a bump. We're getting a 2 month old male pug on saturday and already have a 2 year old female. Just looking for any advice about when they meet etc

Iang87

Quick question. So we got the new pup and our own 2 year old pug is not fond of her at all which is very unlike her as she always gets on with other dogs even in our own house. Anyone got any advice to make this easier on the older dog

DBB

What's your set-up like? Is puppy out and about with your older dog? How does puppy interact with the older dog? What is older dog doing to show you she doesn't like pup?
What age is pup?
Edited to add: I see pup is 2 months.... You refer to pup both as a male, and as "her"... What sex is pup?

tk123

My dog was the same when the pup arrived. He had no time for her and gave out every time she went near him for the first few weeks. I made sure he had a space he could get away from her and when I was training her I'd have him sit or lie beside us and treated him for being near her. She learned soon enough that she wasn't to jump all over him and they're buddies now. He did us a huge favor disciplining her though - we had no problems with her play biting us and she was always very polite around other dogs rather than rushing up to them like most puppies do and getting themselves in bother!

Iang87

DBB wrote: »

What's your set-up like? Is puppy out and about with your older dog? How does puppy interact with the older dog? What is older dog doing to show you she doesn't like pup?
What age is pup?
Edited to add: I see pup is 2 months.... You refer to pup both as a male, and as "her"... What sex is pup?

Sorry about the sex confusion. Initially we were told it was male but upon arrival we learned quickly it was a female but stook her anyway as we have no breeding intentions anyway.

• Both dogs are in the house
• they've been together a lot since we got the new one apart from sleeping together and an hour or two where we put the younger one in her crate so the 2 year old could have space.
• the pup is quite excited by the older dog and jumps up on her a lot
• the older one is not a stranger to being around other dogs and usually follows them everywhere and tries to play but she wants no part of the pup and barks at her a lot when the other pup tries to play

ShaShaBear

Iang87 wrote: »

Sorry about the sex confusion. Initially we were told it was male but upon arrival we learned quickly it was a female but stook her anyway as we have no breeding intentions anyway.

• Both dogs are in the house
• they've been together a lot since we got the new one apart from sleeping together and an hour or two where we put the younger one in her crate so the 2 year old could have space.
• the pup is quite excited by the older dog and jumps up on her a lot
• the older one is not a stranger to being around other dogs and usually follows them everywhere and tries to play but she wants no part of the pup and barks at her a lot when the other pup tries to play

Firstly, I sincerely hope you didn't pay for that pup or source it off a "breeder" if they can't even get the sex right. And I think it would be safe to assume you didn't see the pup in its home environment if you didn't notice it was missing a penis before you got it home.
Chances are your older dog is peeved at the incessant jumping and the puppy being a general nuisance. It's also important to remember that, like people, dogs that "like other dogs" don't have to like all other dogs. Some dogs just won't agree with each other. It's important (vitally) to make an introduction like that slowly, gradually and with caution, care and patience. As your older dog might get fed up with this new one and it could come to blows and the puppy could be seriously hurt.

DBB

Iang87 wrote: »

Sorry about the sex confusion. Initially we were told it was male but upon arrival we learned quickly it was a female but stook her anyway as we have no breeding intentions anyway.

• Both dogs are in the house
• they've been together a lot since we got the new one apart from sleeping together and an hour or two where we put the younger one in her crate so the 2 year old could have space.
• the pup is quite excited by the older dog and jumps up on her a lot
• the older one is not a stranger to being around other dogs and usually follows them everywhere and tries to play but she wants no part of the pup and barks at her a lot when the other pup tries to play

Yikes! How was that mistake made about the sex?:eek:
I hope you don't run into trouble when she reaches adulthood, as two females together can be problematical... though you're more likel yot get away with it with the more laid-back breeds like Pugs.
Pups can be a right pain in the butt and are a very different prospect to your adult than other adult dogs are. Pups haven't learned how to recognise when an adult is telling them to feck off, and of your adult isn;t inclined to be overt in telling pup to feck off, then pup isn't going to learn any time soon. The result will be that your adult will get completely peed off, and may explode at the pup out of pent-up frustration.
Putting the pup away for an hour or two is not enough I'm afraid! As well as giving the adult regular breaks from pup, if you find that she's not inclined to tell the pup to feck off when she's being annoying, then it's up to you to intervene on her behalf.
Some dogs are great at laying down the law without doing any damage, but others are really inhibited about actually telling an annoying pup in no uncertain terms to feck off. Their apparent patience should not be misconstrued, because inside they're dying a little... If the pup is annoying her, and she's not reciprocating the pup's playfulness, you need to gently intervene and take the pup away from her to do something else.
It's very early days, don't expect too much just yet. Don't lock them in separate rooms or anything, just use that crate and yourselves as distractions and to give your adult regular breaks, and start as tk did above, including your adult dog into training sessions so that she gets nice treats just for hanging out with pup.