Older dog not too happy with new puppy

Hello Again! My 3yr old pit/greyhound mix Bella is having potty troubles AND now we have recently taken in a new puppy. Zoey is 10 weeks old and loves Bella to death! Bella just tolerates her around us- she really jealous of her we think. We have been giving Bella lots of attention too, but she almost will not let us pet the puppy without trying to push her way in. Is there anyway to help them be better friends? Could the puppy be "adding " to Bella's stubborness on where to "go"? Thank you!

 

That DEFINITELY could be causing some of the problems, especially since you just moved to a new house as well! It can be very upsetting to a dog to have to deal with all those changes.

You do need to make sure you spend time with both dogs, both alone and together. Find a way to play with them together, but then do separate things. It's very important to continue any routines or traditions you had with the older dog - like an afternoon walk or game of fetch or whatever. Then have someone else occupy that dog (or give her a Kong to chew on) and go somewhere out of sight with the puppy to play or start training her.

I wouldn't push them to be friends. They will work things out for themselves. My dog used to push her way between people if they were hugging and when we got a second dog she'd cram herself between you and the other dog. She still does it a little bit, but not too much. It just went away by itself once she realized we still loved her and weren't going to ignore her.

When you buy crates, make sure they are big enough for the dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down with NO extra room at all. You can buy one sized for the puppy's adult size, but then you need to block part of it off with a partition that comes with some crates, or you can use a big cardboard box or something like that to block off part of the crate.

Bella may need some time to get used to the crate. Make it a happy, positive spot. Most dogs get used to them and the crate becomes their safe place where they go to rest or get away from something they don't like. Start out slow. Leave the door open and toss treats in and let the dog come and go as she pleases. Start feeding her in the crate. Work up to feeding her in the crate and closing the door. From there, work on closing the door and hanging out in the same room, then leave the room for a minute, then gradually increase the time. Do NOT let the dog out if she cries. She must be quiet for at least a couple seconds before you let her out, and you gradually increase the amount of time she has to be quiet.

Something you might want to look into is clicker training. The book "Click for Joy" is a good one. So is "The Power of Positive Dog Training." Any of Ian Dunbar's puppy books would be good to read as well.

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