[SSpiro]

We just rescued a new puppy. 3 month old male hound mix (will post pics later). He's fantastic.. Yesterday was day 1. He has a ways to go as far as potty training and crate training, but he'll get there. He seems extremely intelligent. He loves to howl and cry when he goes in the crate.. but once he realizes no one is running to him (takes about 2 minutes), he lies down and goes to sleep.

Introducing him to the other two dogs in the house was a chore, but following the ill-written suggestions in the sticky helped a bit although they were confusing.

The female (Vizsla/Lab Mix, Zoe) took to him right away. She has some strong motherly instincts which I love about her. She's fantastic with young dogs and children. She's a great dog.

The male (Boxer/Lab mix, Zeus) is stubborn. He accepts him, but does his best to show dominance any time he can. Anywhere he walks, Zeus walks RIGHT next to him (practically knocking the puppy over). Anytime the puppy starts to run, Zeus chases him and sometimes barks. Zeus used to be well socialized, but the dog park near us went to crap and its more a prostitution and crackhead hang out.

I guess my first question - is this sign of dominance a negative thing? Or is he just showing his place in the order of the pack? Should Zeus be waiting for me to show this leadership? Am I thinking too much into it? The puppy acknowledges and typically will roll over and show submission. What, if anything, should I be doing here? I haven't really noticed any aggression. The fear is in the back of my mind, though.

Second question is in regards to feeding time. I follow Cesar's technique in that the pack should eat together. Therefore, I have Zoe and the puppy next to each other, and Zeus on the adjacent wall (only because thats the only remaining space - the three are still side by side). They did FANTASTIC. No aggression, and all three tails wagging the entire time. The problem here - once the puppy finished, he thought it would be fun to travel to the other dogs to investigate their bowl and help finish. Although we didn't have incident, I could imagine what could happen?

What is the best way to train the puppy that this is not acceptable - that each dog has their bowl; and once the bowl is clean dinner is over?

Sorry for the long thread.

[brunettedogmommy]

I know you worry but my suggestion is that you let him find out his place in the pack. It may take a couple bark/snap warnings from your male before the puppy 'gets it' but its unlikely that he actually wants to HURT the puppy. He may just be really curious about the new addition and a little nervous that his "place" is being challanged. I would suggest only getting involved if you really think your male is going to be truly mean or aggressive. With your female having such strong mothering instincts, she may well protect the puppy from the male's exuberence if it gets excessive.

Good luck!

[SSpiro]

Thanks! I appreciate the reassurance!

[BoxMeIn21]

It's hard to tell without witnessing, but from what you describe I think what Zues is doing is pretty normal - older dogs will tend to give younger dogs some h*ll before totally accepting them. As long as things remain as you say, and don't escalate, everyone should settle into place soon.

As far as feeding times (and this applies in my house - others may have another suggestion) I wouldn't let the puppy wander over until the other is finished cleaning up their bowl. It's easy enough to instill in a puppy - with Rowdy as a pup, if he went for Manny's bowl before he was finished, I would simply body block his path (you might have do this a couple of times) and use the word "wait". Once Manny was finished, I would release him with an "ok".

[Curbside Prophet]

Originally Posted by SSpiro

Anytime the puppy starts to run, Zeus chases him and sometimes barks...

I guess my first question - is this sign of dominance a negative thing? Or is he just showing his place in the order of the pack? Should Zeus be waiting for me to show this leadership? Am I thinking too much into it? The puppy acknowledges and typically will roll over and show submission. What, if anything, should I be doing here?

My dog chases after tennis balls, and will sometimes bark at them when they stop rolling...is this a sign of dominance? No. Is your dog being "dominant"? What is dominance? The word dominance in respect to dog behavior was meant to be used as a descriptor only. It was not meant to define a training protocol. And that's a good thing because dominance theory is very weak as a descriptor. So yes, you're thinking too much into it. Your dog is simply reacting to the novelty of the pup's movement. Yes, you should monitor your dog's interaction with your pup at all times because you don't want your elder dog to drift into predation. That means keep the interactions short, ask for a lot of operant behaviors from the elder dogs (rewarding sits, downs), and give your elders dogs plenty of individual attention. Practice NILIF with all dogs.

What is the best way to train the puppy that this is not acceptable - that each dog has their bowl; and once the bowl is clean dinner is over?

I would feed the pup separately to give everyone a chance to adjust to the new dog. I would feed the pup separately until he's been with you for at least 6 months. I would feed the pup separately because I would be hand feeding the pup, and using his food as training aids. I would feed the dog separately to teach the pup that all resources come through you. If you do this, no one will have to guard their food, because all food comes through you. This is what being the "pack" leader means.

[SSpiro]

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

My dog chases after tennis balls, and will sometimes bark at them when they stop rolling...is this a sign of dominance? No. Is your dog being "dominant"? What is dominance? The word dominance in respect to dog behavior was meant to be used as a descriptor only. It was not meant to define a training protocol. And that's a good thing because dominance theory is very weak as a descriptor. So yes, you're thinking too much into it. Your dog is simply reacting to the novelty of the pup's movement. Yes, you should monitor your dog's interaction with your pup at all times because you don't want your elder dog to drift into predation. That means keep the interactions short, ask for a lot of operant behaviors from the elder dogs (rewarding sits, downs), and give your elders dogs plenty of individual attention. Practice NILIF with all dogs.

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

I would feed the pup separately to give everyone a chance to adjust to the new dog. I would feed the pup separately until he's been with you for at least 6 months. I would feed the pup separately because I would be hand feeding the pup, and using his food as training aids. I would feed the dog separately to teach the pup that all resources come through you. If you do this, no one will have to guard their food, because all food comes through you. This is what being the "pack" leader means.

You make some outstanding points.. Thanks for the fantastic reply. This enlightens me greatly!

Just printed out a bunch of info on NILIF and will study tonight. Also will rearrange the feeding setup.

[BoxMeIn21]

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

I would feed the pup separately to give everyone a chance to adjust to the new dog. I would feed the pup separately until he's been with you for at least 6 months. I would feed the pup separately because I would be hand feeding the pup, and using his food as training aids. I would feed the dog separately to teach the pup that all resources come through you. If you do this, no one will have to guard their food, because all food comes through you. This is what being the "pack" leader means.

Awesome Curb - didn't even think about this one.

[SSpiro]

Originally Posted by BoxMeIn21

Awesome Curb - didn't even think about this one.

Agreed. Thanks Curb.