Old dogs meeting pups, not going well.

[NaturalBlondeYeahRight]

Luckily this isn't in our house. My mum has just got a rescue pup (approx 5 months). All going well except when we brought around our 6 yr old dog to meet. My dog is not happy (understatement) about this bouncy/crazy thing.

I understand from books/google that it's normal for older dogs to not like puppies but the reaction IMO seems really bad. Obviously (I think) if they were living together this may be resolved quicker but we see them about twice a week and things only improve on a long walk when my dog can easily outrun the other.

How do we resolve this? Do we need to or will they sort it? We spend a lot of time together and want them to get along. Any advice welcome.

[Catsmamma]

the older dog will tell off the pup...usually.

Depending how bright the pup is the telling off may not be repeated or may be many times!

My big boys certainly put up with a certain level of nonsense before making themselves scarce, Kelly is the enforcer though and he'll tell them off with growl/snap, Zac just avoids.

Don't let the pup harass the older one unnecessarily, but they should sort it out between them.

[cashewfrenzy]

Things will usually improve but you need to make sure your old dog is not forced into a situation where the puppy overwhelms her. You cannot force friendships between dogs any more than you can between humans but you can certainly take control in order to reduce the likelihood of one dog developing a real loathing of another.

Lots of the usual counter conditioning you would do in any situation your dog finds uncomfortable - treating her lots around the puppy, rewarding her for calm behaviour etc. If your mum isn't willing or able to set things up so that the puppy can be kept separate from your dog or taken elsewhere when your dog is getting fed up then you may need to stop taking your dog around for a while. This is all short term remember - they don't stay puppies forever.

If they get on well on walks then why not meet outside the home for a while so that your dog has good experiences with the puppy? If she is forced into lots of negative experiences with this irritating youngster she is more likely to dislike her in the future. Do the opposite and a friendship may even blossom. :)

[NaturalBlondeYeahRight]

Goodness, I do hope they could be friends. My dog is snapping (no contact) and growling but the pup does not take no for an answer! We do keep things short and remove one from situation after a while. I'm worried that my dog is being horrible to a developing youngster while my mum is worried that the pup is stressing my dog. It's probably a combination of the two.
I've never been in this situation before (and it has certainly put me off getting another) we don't need them to be friends, toleration would be ok. Pup starts classes next week but I'm wondering if a one-to-one class for the pair of them might help?

[cashewfrenzy]

I wouldn't push them to be together. Your dog is not being horrible, she's teaching the puppy social skills

Puppies are a pain in the arse. Really, allow them time and space, it will be ok. :)