Puppy love?

[NewYoiker]

Ok so I need a bit of advice! We have a 6 month old puppy (Holly) who is beautiful. However our dog walker suggested she is too closely bonded to our other dog? He tolerates her in the house but outside they are inseparable, he protects her and she won’t leave his side off the lead. If she is off the lead and he is also you can guarantee 100% that she is next to him. Is this a bad thing? I thought it was one sided but apparently at day care when she was being accosted by a collie he got in between them and barked in its face.

Which frankly is astounding as at home he gets really pissy with her. But he is getting better!

Is this not good? Bear in mind they are both rescue dogs, the 10 year old was left in a garden for 6 years entirely alone apart from to be fed so when we rescued him (family rescue- hadn't realised family member very extended was treating him
So badly) he had never seen another dog apart from a chihuahua he was rescued with (mum took on this dog) so he was really reactive with other dogs and not a massive fan of the chihuahua he was rescued with! And the 6month old had a broken jaw when she was given to us by the rescue centre but they hadn't realised so we've just sorted that. :( both had shitty starts essentially

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

How does each cope if walked separately?

My concern would be that when the 10yo departs this world (or has to stay at the vets), the pup might not know how to cope outside. Some separate walks (perhaps once a week) might help to ensure that both can cope separately.

[OverFedStanley]

Nope not good.

Walk the dogs separately

[Floralnomad]

It’s not whether they are too bonded when together it’s about how they cope when apart . Take the youngster out on her own a bit if you can and see how she gets on . We had 2 horses who were very bonded when together but on the occasions they had to be apart they were absolutely fine . My dsis had littermates that were inseparable but one of them passed away in March and the other is coping very well .

[Ylvamoon]

As others have already said, you need to take them out separately. Not just for walks but also on car journeys ... what if one needs to travel to the vet?
You also have to think about training like recall or walking on a lead or sit & stay. It's so much easier with just one dog. Your puppy needs to learn to listen to people, not just to follow the older dog.