Is this normal ?

[Babyroobs]

Ok so we have a ten week old puppy and an older ( 6 year old) dog. We have had the puppy 2.5 weeks. They are constantly growling at each other and puppy is jumping at our older dog's face. They are extremely possessive over toys, each wanting what the other has. My older dog is jealous whenever I give the puppy any attention. We are trying to give them time away from each other. I really can't work out whether they are play growling or hate each other , sometimes our older daog barres her teeth, she has never hurt or bitten the puppy.
Will things get better ? I'm not sure how much longer I can bear to watch elder dog being so stressed. Any tips welcome.

Yep, it's normal. Puppies are really annoying little sods and unsurprisingly many adult dogs don't enjoy being around them.

For now I'd keep them separated when the puppy is being obnoxious (which at that age will be most of the time when they're not sleeping!!) and then increase the amount of time they spend together as the puppy starts calming down a bit.

Your older dog is showing remarkable restraint! Although what surprises me is that you say the pup is growling/baring teeth to the older one? That is unusual, in my experience a young pup (especially of that age) will submit to an older dog who is trying to do a bit of disciplining!

Are they both the same sex/breed? I would take away all toys, remove the pup when it's being a nuisance and pissing off the older one but keep an eye on their interactions because the pup really should defer to the older one.

When the pup is older the pecking order may well change but right now, no.

Sorry I misread your post. The older dog is baring its teeth not the pup?

In that case it all sounds normal but give the older one space as she might snap if she's had enough!

Yes things will get better. Resident dogs need to lay down some ground rules with new arrivals. My 3 all rub along fine together though we've had some unrest when a new arrival has turned up!

The older dog will tell the puppy off, as such.
The puppy is learning all the time, best to leave them to it unless an attack starts which it shouldn't.

Thanks for the responses and reassurance that things will get better ! Just to clarify the older dog is barring her teeth at the puppy, she is being remarkably restrained but he is very persistent and annoying, stealing her toys from under her nose and jumping on her back and face. At other times when they are both exhausted they will snuggle up on the sofa so it's not all bad !

Back up your older dog in her attempts to discipline your pita puppy, and remove toys. Give the senior dog peace by frequently removing the puppy from her zone, as well as walking her alone.

We have a 7yr old dog and a 12 week old puppy, two days after we got the pup she did something obnoxious, not sure what but she was bouncing around like a tiny tigger at the time, so probably got in his face, and the older dog really snapped at her. We were convinced that we were going to have to make some major changes, maybe rehome the puppy, panic panic etc. Spoke to the vet who gave similar advice to the above, step in if the puppy acts up, give the older dog the option to get away from the puppy too, give them both lots of love, but set sensible rules for behaviour from both of them, but also that they will need to sort their relationship out for themselves really. We've followed his advice and things have been gradually getting a lot better, and they're now pretty much civil to each other most of the time, it just takes time for them to settle into living together.

Thanks Katmarie - I have had some moments also of thinking I would need to re-home the puppy when things have got particularly bad. When puppy has been particularly manic and elder dog is getting seriously stressed we have put puppy in his crate for a short while ( he doesn't generally go in there), but I'm conscious that I don't want to make that a punishment. Elder dog is being walked alone and continues to sleep on or bed ( she is a bit spoilt !!)at night and can escape upstairs if she wants to. How long has it taken for yours to become friends ??

We've had ours together for about 5-6 weeks now, and they are getting better. They're by no means best buds, but on the whole they're finding a relationship which works for them. The older dog still snarls at the puppy sometimes if she's too boisterous, and we've had to separate them a couple of times when play has become too rough. But things have settled down a lot since the first week, and they'll sit side by side to train and on the same couch with us now, without any argument.