Help needed with new Dog (rescue) and existing Dog interaction please

[Jaynerae]

We have a 10 month old Beagle, who is very sociable, loves other dogs and humans - never had an issue with her at all (except normal puppy chewing1).

We wanted to add a second dog to our family and get Beagle a friend. We picked up a 1 yr old Cavalier King Charles 2 days ago and he is adorable. He will be staying with us as we have all fell head over heals in love with him.

Beagle has been amazingly accepting, But, she wants to play with him and he is nervous of her, she is chasing him around trying to play bite his ears and he doesn't like it - he runs away so she chases him, he eventually starts growling at her. She backs off for a second then comes back trying to entce him to play.

This is only happening when in the house. When we are out Beagle is off lead so couldn't care less about him as she is too busy sniffing (he is on lead). In garden not an isue as he runs away. Confined space is the issue as he obviously feels threatened as he has less escape routes.

But I need them to be in house together so can't avoid this. How should I handle situation when she is trying to play bite his ears and he is growling at her and trying to escape - do I leave them to sort it out between them or intervene?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I would be inclined only to step in if there was a risk of one of them getting hurt. Sometimes dogs in these situations need time to settle down.

However it would be helpful to give your Beagle somewhere to escape to - perhaps behind a child safety gate or into his crate, in a place that is his alone. This is all just my opinion based on having had several dogs over the years, my own and various fosters.

Have you asked the rescue which gave you the Cavalier what their opinion is? If not I think that should be your first port of call as they know the Cav's personality and can advise far more accurately by taking that into account. It's hard to make suggestions without seeing the dogs behaviour for yourself.

Thank you for your response.

I have crates for both dogs and have put Beagle in hers for a nap - she settles down straight to sleep as that is her routine, Cavie is at my feet on a blanket!

Lady from rescue centre coming to visit in a couple of days so I will ask her opinion as well, but I kind of thought leaving them to work through it was correct way unless risk of harm.

I have always had dogs but this is my first rescue :). Others were 8 wk old pups being introduced to 12 month olds so didn't have any issues there! Nice to hear advice from someone who has had fosters though as I am sure this happens a lot!

But on the whole this is a minor issue, Cavies has settled beautifully and will definatley be staying forever!

I would be a little bit careful here and not necessarily leave the dogs to sort it out.

Your new dog sounds unsure and if the Beagle does not take any notice of the growling the only option left is to up the growling to biting and snarling.

If they are happy outside I would have as much interaction as possible outside. Keep them apart a bit indoors until the Beagle is tired and relaxed after exercise - then bring the two together. If the Beagle is still too excited I would gently remove them from the room. I would also try to sidetrack the Beagle with other things when the new dog is around. So clicking and treating is great here. Beagle sees new dog but gets food (always a winner for a beagle) I am sure after a few days it will calm down but the new dog does not want to have to show a lot of aggression to the Beagle to get peace and quiet.

Good luck