[Thracian]

After being a one-dog family for a while, I got a puppy a little more than a week ago. (You can read more about that here.) The short version is that Cupid was curious and had his tail up when we met Clayton, which he hadn't done for any of the other dogs we saw. So I brought him home.

Clayton adores Cupid, and during the day Cupid . . . accepts, I guess is the word . . . Clay. Cupid seems to most enjoy their walks together. They both get lots of attention and love, but they typically play separately--Cupid is a fetchaholic, and Clay's interest there is like any other puppy. He's interested for a little while, then moves on to something else.

The problem is bedtime. They are both sleeping in my bed now (Cupid has been for months). Usually one on one side of me and one on the other--they are small dogs, so there is plenty of room. But now Cupid sleeps practically on top of the pillow. It seems clear he's trying to get as far away from Clay as he can. And the past couple of nights, after we've gotten out of bed for potty breaks, he goes to the couch to sleep.

I wouldn't object to this if he wanted to sleep on the couch, but I get the feeling that he's trying to add distance. And this makes me sad. Cupid is my skittish boy, so I figured it would take time. It's just hard for me to think that he's not comfortable in his own bed.

Basics: Cupid is 2 and neutered. Clay is 12 weeks old and won't be neutered until at least 6 months.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RonE]

As long as there is no open hostility, it seems possible, maybe even likely, that they will develop into pals.

Though they are both the same gender, the difference in their ages is in your favor. Often (though not always) differences in gender, age, and/or size increase the chances of two dogs "getting along."

When Molly came to live with us (and Esther was included in the pre-adoption interview) she was mostly overjoyed at having a new little sister but there were times when she looked at me (as Molly was pulling on her hound-dog ears or being otherwise annoying) as if to say, "Oh, what have you done?"

 

[Laurelin]

I would move the pup to sleep somewhere other than the bed. It's a lot of adjusting for Cupid and it'd probably help him some to have his own space that Clay wasn't. Does Clay have a pen or crate? Make sure they get enough separate time and Cupid has a safe place to go if he wants away from the puppy.

When we introduced Summer, she HATED the other dogs. Not just running and hiding, but snapping at them as well. It took weeks to get her comfortable enough with them. Now they're best buddies. I know if I add another dog though, she will take her time to get to like it.

 

[deege39]

I second Laurelin's post.

It can take weeks for a dog to open up to the idea of another dog in house and in the family. But I wouldn't make things worse for Cupid, I would make the new pup, Clay sleep on a dog bed in your room... Cupid has been the light of your life and he knows this, now all of a sudden just a newbie gets to come in and receive the same privileges as him? Nuh-uh! lol!

Like RonE said, give them some time, and as long as there's no open hostility I'd say they'll open to each other soon enough.

 

[Thracian]

Thanks for the responses. I was initially looking for a girl, but once I found Clayton, I knew he was the one. I'm willing to do whatever I need to do to make it work.

As for open hostility . . . Cupid will growl when Clay gets too close to him while he's working on his Kong or on one or two other occasions. Or one night when Clay jumped on his back while he was trying to sleep. But I don't blame him for that.

Cupid does have a crate, but he doesn't use it much. It's in the car now, so I'll bring it inside and see how he likes it. I didn't know much about crate training when I first got it, so I'll give it another try.

I have ordered a crate for Clayton, but it's not scheduled to arrive for another week or so. But I will follow your advice and have Clay sleep in a bed by my bed. I love the pup very much, but I don't want to set Cupid back in any way.

 

[ladyshadowhollyjc]

That's pretty much exactly how things went with J.C. and Holly when we first brought J.C. home. I tried having them both sleep in my bed, but Holly didn't want to have any part of that. So I put him in a crate and Holly was much happier having that nasty little puppy out of her bed. Now, they're best friends. They both sleep together on the bed, and cuddle.

 

[Thracian]

Ladyshadowhollyjc, thank you for sharing your experience. I really needed to hear that. I'm hoping Cupid and Clayton get to the best friends point as well. Two nights ago, Cupid was lying down next to me on the couch, and Clayton came and cuddled next to him. They stayed that way for about five seconds, LOL!, but it gave me hope for the future.

 

[Mudra]

Introducing a new puppy to older dog is tricky. It takes a little bit of a time for them to adjust to the new situation. Before we got Xena it was one of the few reasons why we couldn't decide when to add a third dog. I was worried that the boys and the new pup wont adjust to each other well. When Xena came home, the boys were of course excited to meet her, but its only because they thought she was just coming for a visit, LOL! We always have families and friends dogs over. But when her stay was longer than the usual, the boys realized she was here to stay.

Cain doesn't mind laying beside Xena, but then he is like that with any other dogs. It was Abel who took a while to adjust with his new sister. He enjoys playing with her but he refused to be seated or to lay down beside her. It took awhile before he got comfortable and we didn't really push him, we let him open to Xena himself.

I hope your two get along! Its an awesome feeling when you dont have to worry about your dogs fighting with each other.

 

[CerbiesMom]

My second dog immediately gained our first dogs' approval. They loved each other from the moment they met. It surprised me, actually. THen, we added Max, and CErb didn't take as well to having another boydog in the house. They took longer to warm up to one another. We kept Max sleeping in a crate in our bedroom for a few months so Cerb could still have his couch to himself at night. Now, they both sleep up there, and most of the time they're touching each other. I woke up this morning, and Cerberus was using Max as a pillow. It was too cute. Just give it time. I think I just had the freak incident of Cerbie falling in love with Brigit. I'm sure I'll never have it that easy again.

 

[Thracian]

Thanks for the advice and success stories. Things are a bit better now with sleeping arrangements. The dog bed in my room didn't work out--the puppy kept getting off it. So I pulled out Cupid's crate, set it on my bed, and was starting to section it off so it would be small enough for the puppy. Before I could, Cupid jumped up, hopped in the crate, and laid down.

So now he sleeps in the crate on my bed and comes out partway through the night when he feels comfortable. Clayton sleeps on the other side of the bed, usually by my hip. Once his crate arrives (this week, I hope), I'll work on his crate training as well. I think it's working out nicely even if it isn't what I'd planned.

The newest issue is that Cupid doesn't want to go outside to potty. I got off to a bad start by sending the boys out together, and Clayton would often just follow Cupid around. Not too conducive to comfortable elimination. Now I'm sending them out separately, but Cupid still prefers to wait until we are on a walk. I'll keep working on that. And suggestions, of course, are appreciated.