Hello! I'd like to thank in advance to everyone who responds!
We're a two-dog household. It feels like we always have been one, and currently, our puppies are a 4yr old Akita and a 10 month old German Shepherd mix. Before we had the german shepherd puppy, we had a wonderful chocolate lab who passed away a year ago.
We were a bit worried about how the Akita would take to the puppy. She's a very friendly dog who was never aggressive with the people -- and we worked a lot to get her socialized with other puppies as well, but she still needs to be watched. However, she accepted the puppy after just a day, and they're the best of friends now.
Here's the situation: We're having problems with the puppy!
About a week ago, the two dogs were in the back yard. I heard them barking very loudly, and I come out to see this little black lab puppy along the road. The puppy seems healthy but is very skinny -- literally skin and bones. He had no tag on and isn't neutered. My brother came out and took the puppy into our garage. We gave it food and water, and we've been trying to find the owner. My mom was home, and she instantly fell in love with the puppy. He reminds her of our chocolate lab -- mom had him since puppyhood and was in love with him.
My mom and my brother both immediately wanted to keep the puppy if nobody claimed him. We have a pretty big back yard and walk our dogs three times a day -- and someone is always home, so taking care of the puppy isn't a problem. He's a very sweet puppy, extremely friendly, and once he had food and water, very playful.
Our two dogs live in our house, and go out to the back yard as needed. We didn't get them together the first day. We thought we'd have trouble with the Akita -- but she was very calm. The new puppy was pretty afraid of her. We'd take them out to the back yard -- in separate corners -- and slowly let them get closer. After a few days they sniff each other and the puppy no longer growls at her.
I know that the sticky says that we should've introduced the more submissive dog first, but our problem was that from day one our german shepherd mix puppy will not come close. The moment he sees the lab, he starts barking. He uses what my sister calls his 'manly' voice, also -- full out barks, not little yips like he does if he's unhappy with us. He also walks backward, and pulls on his leash to get away. Now, if he sees the puppy, he starts barking and will not go out. This usually upsets the Akita, also. (We separate them beforehand. We didn't want the new puppy to be faced with two strange dogs going at him.)
Any suggestions? We're pretty surprised -- the puppy's never been aggressive to other dogs. In dog park, at the vet's office, and even outside walking, he's fine with other dogs. With this puppy, he starts going into fullblown meltdown at the sight of him. Today he started backing up, and when I shut the door, he turned to me and started barking at me.
We're a two-dog household. It feels like we always have been one, and currently, our puppies are a 4yr old Akita and a 10 month old German Shepherd mix. Before we had the german shepherd puppy, we had a wonderful chocolate lab who passed away a year ago.
We were a bit worried about how the Akita would take to the puppy. She's a very friendly dog who was never aggressive with the people -- and we worked a lot to get her socialized with other puppies as well, but she still needs to be watched. However, she accepted the puppy after just a day, and they're the best of friends now.
Here's the situation: We're having problems with the puppy!
About a week ago, the two dogs were in the back yard. I heard them barking very loudly, and I come out to see this little black lab puppy along the road. The puppy seems healthy but is very skinny -- literally skin and bones. He had no tag on and isn't neutered. My brother came out and took the puppy into our garage. We gave it food and water, and we've been trying to find the owner. My mom was home, and she instantly fell in love with the puppy. He reminds her of our chocolate lab -- mom had him since puppyhood and was in love with him.
My mom and my brother both immediately wanted to keep the puppy if nobody claimed him. We have a pretty big back yard and walk our dogs three times a day -- and someone is always home, so taking care of the puppy isn't a problem. He's a very sweet puppy, extremely friendly, and once he had food and water, very playful.
Our two dogs live in our house, and go out to the back yard as needed. We didn't get them together the first day. We thought we'd have trouble with the Akita -- but she was very calm. The new puppy was pretty afraid of her. We'd take them out to the back yard -- in separate corners -- and slowly let them get closer. After a few days they sniff each other and the puppy no longer growls at her.
I know that the sticky says that we should've introduced the more submissive dog first, but our problem was that from day one our german shepherd mix puppy will not come close. The moment he sees the lab, he starts barking. He uses what my sister calls his 'manly' voice, also -- full out barks, not little yips like he does if he's unhappy with us. He also walks backward, and pulls on his leash to get away. Now, if he sees the puppy, he starts barking and will not go out. This usually upsets the Akita, also. (We separate them beforehand. We didn't want the new puppy to be faced with two strange dogs going at him.)
Any suggestions? We're pretty surprised -- the puppy's never been aggressive to other dogs. In dog park, at the vet's office, and even outside walking, he's fine with other dogs. With this puppy, he starts going into fullblown meltdown at the sight of him. Today he started backing up, and when I shut the door, he turned to me and started barking at me.