Possessive pup?

[stressedoutfred]

Hi all,

We have a 7 month mini schnauzer/mini poodle cross. She is the loveliest little dog and is particularly attached to me - as I’m home every day so I do the bulk of her care. She tends to follow me everywhere and sits next to me etc. She particularly loves to lick me and my clothes.

My parents own her brother, he arrived at our house yesterday and is staying with us for 4 weeks as they’re away.

Everything is ok , however our pup is not taking kindly if her brother tries to take her position next to me on the sofa, or jumps up to be petted etc. She really grumps at him about it

Our thoughts were to insure she always gets first dibs of my attention but I’m now wondering if that’s not going to help the situation!

I don’t know if she’s jealous, possessive of me or what? They generally get on very well, very excited to see each other, play together. Personality wise I’d say she’s a little more chilled than him- he barks a lot at noises- but other than that neither one seems more dominant.

An extra bit of info is that our pup is currently in season- her brother is castrated. He has been humping her a lot- but this is quite normal for both of them anyway, they usually take it in turns to jump all over each other

Any tips would be great thanks!

[Accountant222]

I have miniature schnauzers, the first one I got is very possessive of me but she's not right intelligent compared to the other two, when I come in from work she gets a bit frantic trying be the first to fuss me. They get on well together on the whole, the younger one is devoted to my partner, she will come to me if he's not around but if he is, she is with him. I don't know if they see the humans as parental thinking they will be kept safe. The middle one is more fond of me, than him but she's hugely independent. Can you post a photo I'd love to see the cuteness of cross breeding?

These little woofters have improved our lives no end, we love them dearly and it is reciprocated, it's just a pity they don't live as long as us.

[stressedoutfred]

Here she is!

[Floralnomad]

Stop the humping , if I were your dog I’d be pissed off , she probably feels a bit off anyway being in season and then you bring in some other dog that keeps pestering her .

[Bubble2bubble]

Humping is bad manners in dog language and not a behaviour you want either to learn. It's also a sign that they are overexcited and need to be separated to calm down.

[stressedoutfred]

Thanks everyone, we’re working on the humping and things have been abit more settled this afternoon

[Wolfiefan]

You need to separate them more. Having litter mates together for such a long period of time is a bad idea.

[stressedoutfred]

Ooh really, even at this age? We have got a back up plan of a local dog sitter but my parents are hoping we’ll keep them together

We’re going to give it until Monday but if it’s still hard work ( the fact i had a minor leg op last Monday isn’t helping either!) then we’ll think about using the dog sitter

[Wolfiefan]

At any age. Google litter mate syndrome. It's a bad idea to have two dogs so close together in age together. She's in her first season. The last thing she wants is to be pestered by her own brother.

[Bubble2bubble]

No reason why you can't keep them together for a few weeks but keep a close eye on them. One can start bullying the other at this age and that can cause longterm problems.

( I have 11 yr old littermates btw, and wish I had had more knowledge 11 years ago)

[Wolfiefan]

She's in season and clearly not happy at having him there. That's reason enough

[Accountant222]

Stressedoutfred thanks for the photo she's beautiful, dog envy here xx

[Ireallylovetea2]

I have 4 litter mates, 3 boys and a girl, plus their mum. The boys are castrated, and mum is spayed, but the girl isn't yet as we wanted her to have a few seasons first so she gets protection in both ways (from different cancers).

She was a late starter but she'll be spayed when she's been out of her present season for 8-12weeks (She has 1 every 6 months; so every January and July roughly).

We've no intention of letting her get pregnant, which is why the boys were castrated at around 9 months old. She wore a "dog nappy" to protect her when she had her 1st season as the boys hadn't been done that long before.

She still gets a bit grumpy with the boys when she's in her season, which is understandable. She just warns them off, which usually works. If not a quick snap in their direction followed by chasing them away works.

If the male pup has only recently been castrated, please just be aware that it can take up to 6 months before he's "safe" to be around a female in heat.
We allow them to play and sort out minor squabbles between themselves, but I'm the boss, and I always step in if they go too far (ie, more than just a snap and a growl), although this very rarely happens.

They actually all get on very well. They'll spend most of their day all sleeping together on my lap, each one has their favourite spot.

The only issue we really have is that if one barks they all join in, even if they've no idea what they're meant to be barking at.

Ive always found the females are the boss, so she's probably just letting him know that she's in charge. Keep an eye on them, but give them time to settle. I'd give her attention first so she doesn't feel pushed out, especially if he's pretty laid back, but I wouldn't tolerate bad behaviour.

[Ireallylovetea2]

If she growled or snapped, she'd get a firm "no!" and would be put down on the floor and ignored. Every single time, until she got the message.

[Wolfiefan]

Never tell a dog off for growling! It's their last warning before they bite. If you take away the warning then they can just bite.

[KarmaStar]

Hi OP
Ooh lucky you having a puppy!🐕😊 am so jealous😊
Just a thought,don't let your pup get too attached to you as this could result in separation anxiety which can be difficult to retrain from.
If I can help at all feel free to pm me.