I think I need help......

636 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by ColoradoSooner, May 6, 2009

Angie's Bella

Discussion Starter · May 6, 2009

My Bella is having a tough time adjusting to the new puppy. Well, not really the puppy, really me having anything to do with the puppy. She LOVES the new puppy and get along wonderful with her but has started having some issues that are just way out of character for her.

Last night and this morning she got into the garbage (which I totally ignored trying not to give any attention to the situation because I think it is attention related) and then she squatted and peed on the floor right in front of me

. She NEVER has accidents, NEVER! (I did get on to her for that and put her outside, while she was in the act) She has also started having a little food aggression, not bad, but growling, she has started chewing things up (something else that she has NEVER done) and just being bad.

I knew she was a little too attached to me and some of this may be related to me leaving her at home more (she use to come to work with me every day). She has just become so hard to deal with at work. She has started barking at everything that moves. I just don't know what to do to help her. Please, anyone have any suggestions?

Oh, and I don't know if this has anything to do with anything else, but I did get her spayed about a month ago. Maybe she has some hormone problems? I don't know, I just know that I love her to death and I can't stand to see her having issues or not being completely happy.

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LeRoymydog

· #2 · May 6, 2009

She sounds like how a child acts when you bring a new baby home. Give her time. It doesn't sound like anything medical, just an attention getter. I would start over again and treat her like a puppy. Did you crate train her?

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Angie's Bella

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 6, 2009

LeRoymydog said:
She sounds like how a child acts when you bring a new baby home. Give her time. It doesn't sound like anything medical, just an attention getter. I would start over again and treat her like a puppy. Did you crate train her?

Bella was crate trained, she hasn't had to stay in her crate in a long time, but she will. Do you think I should revert back to that?

The new puppy WILL NOT stay in a crate. I have been working on crate training her for the entire month that we have had her, but it just isn't happening. It is so bad that I even had her checked by the vet to see if something was wrong with her. Nope, nothings wrong she is just a little crazy. Actually what my vet said was that Macy has a bad case seperation anxiety. The lady I got her from works from home and so Macy has never been left alone. The vet also said that she already (at 12 weeks) is displaying a very dominate personality. Bella is very passive, do you think that may be part of the problem?

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deege39

· #4 · May 6, 2009

I had a dog named Korah, who was a rescued stray after she was found the morning after a tornado. She was the love of my life when I was 11.

However, at that time I wasn't old enough to realize animals have feelings too... My mother isn't as animal savvy as I am now, so she didn't realize or even really care.

It started by me buying a bunny rabbit at a flea-market... (The bunny lasted two days.) I was 11yrs old, so I can't be held responsible... Anyway, Korah was devastated... She no longer wanted nothing to do with me. She stopped sleeping with me, she started sleeping with my mother... She stopped allowing me to get close with her. She'd jump down from the recliner we shared together every time I sat down... It broke my heart, because even after I gave away the bunny she still held resentment.

So she turned to my mother for support... Then almost a year later my mother bought an Akita... The new Akita puppy was twice her small (Beagle) size. Poor Korah lost it, she had no one to feel close to and made herself the outsider. She started growling at all of us, tried fighting the new puppy for food, and snapped at my mother for trying to shoo her off the water-bed (which she knew full well that she wasn't allowed on.)

We later had to take her to the Animal Shelter... My mother didn't have the patience or the knowledge to correct her behavior and felt frustrated in turn not showing Korah the love she needed...

I believe that dogs can act out, showing their aggression and frustration through the means of getting your attention.

Starting over with her might be a good idea...

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LeRoymydog

· #5 · May 6, 2009

Yes, I would crate her when not being watched. Even if it's an attention getter now, it's a habit hard to break later. Eating out of the garbage, counter surfing all have immediate gratification. It's hard to break.

Give her personal time with just her several times a day. Just take her for walks or car ride time. She needs it and deserves it, but this is just my opinion.

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ColoradoSooner

· #6 · May 6, 2009

Ha! I know exactly what you're going through. We have a "newbie" in our house too and Ranger...the resident dog...started all this behavior that he hadn't done in years.

I think it was a combination of trying to get attention and of testing to see if the rules still applied with the new gal around.

What we did was put him on NILIF for awhile. We had actually gotten lax about obedience, etc., because we just didn't have any reason to be strict with him. He's a really good dog and knows the ropes, so to speak. This let him know that..yes, all the rules are still the same.

And we made sure that he knew he was still important to us by spending extra time with him apart from Mayzie. He also gets treats, pets, etc., first before Mayzie does. (well, most of the time.

)

All this seemed to reassure him and he's back to his normal self. And it really didn't take long at all.

Good luck!

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