Hello, this is my first post here and I hope that this in the right place.
Anyway, I'm really here more for my mother than myself. She needs help with a problem that's come up recently. We've had our Jack Russell Terrier male for ten years now and he's been nothing but a good dog all these years, but recently behavior problems have begun after we got a new male puppy (who is about five months old now ) .
Recently, the older dog has begun riding the younger dog and at first I thought it was just dominance behavior but we don't think so anymore and could really use some training suggestions. The reason that I don't think it's dominance anymore is because the ten year old dog acts like the puppy is in heat, all the time. He'll wake up at 5:30 in the morning and start crying and running up and down the stairs because he wants the puppy to get up and come play. He's also following the dog around a lot and sniffing the floor where the pup has been. He was also "riding" the puppy this morning so hard that he was making the puppy cry and he wouldn't stop.
We really need suggestions here because I do NOT think this is dominance behavior anymore and he's hurting the puppy now and getting more rough. We've tried using a spray bottle to disrupt him when he's doing it, have tried pulling him off, and other things and we get snarled at and bitten. None of the methods we're taking are having any affect on the behavior and the older dog just won't quit. He is not neutered, so would that be the next step? My mother and I have thought about it before but are concerned about a dog that age being put under for a surgery because we are afraid of the risk of him not waking up again. We're really just at the end of our ropes and could use some help and advice to resolve this problem.
Recently, the older dog has begun riding the younger dog and at first I thought it was just dominance behavior but we don't think so anymore and could really use some training suggestions. The reason that I don't think it's dominance anymore is because the ten year old dog acts like the puppy is in heat, all the time. He'll wake up at 5:30 in the morning and start crying and running up and down the stairs because he wants the puppy to get up and come play. He's also following the dog around a lot and sniffing the floor where the pup has been. He was also "riding" the puppy this morning so hard that he was making the puppy cry and he wouldn't stop.
We really need suggestions here because I do NOT think this is dominance behavior anymore and he's hurting the puppy now and getting more rough. We've tried using a spray bottle to disrupt him when he's doing it, have tried pulling him off, and other things and we get snarled at and bitten. None of the methods we're taking are having any affect on the behavior and the older dog just won't quit. He is not neutered, so would that be the next step? My mother and I have thought about it before but are concerned about a dog that age being put under for a surgery because we are afraid of the risk of him not waking up again. We're really just at the end of our ropes and could use some help and advice to resolve this problem.