Existing dog jealous of new puppy

[Querty123456]

I recently lost my eldest dog and have got an adolescent puppy (25 weeks) to keep my remaining dog happy. However, it is not going smoothly so far - resource guarding and growling/ snapping from existing dog towards new puppy. New puppy is an angel, not bothering her and essentially doing her own thing. Any tips?

Separate them using stair gates, feed them separately, make sure the pup doesnt get to take chews and toys just because its 'cute' Your older dog is feeling threatened, so let your older be comfortable in their own space. We have 4 dogs, they're not always best buddies! Change the expectation that your older dog is supposed to enjoy having a much younger dog around all the time.

It took months before my puppy and older dog could be together. Never again. I did everything by the book too. Older dog still, nearly four years on, rarely looks as happy as he was before 'puppy ' arrived.

I agree with @Lightuptheroom about changing your expectation. The older dog may never like having the new dog in the house regardless of its age and whether it got on with the previous dog.

It’s taken 6 months for our 2 eldest dogs to accept our rescue who was 3 months when we got her. I do think you just need to let them work out their place in the pack and be patient. Lots of social walks and sniffs together. We did find that on a group walk with other dogs our 2 eldest dogs would really look after the puppy. It was only at home there was issues.

You need to keep them separate and make your original dog doesn’t have their routine changed too much. But as PP says, it can take months for resident dogs to accept newcomers and even then, it doesn’t always work out.

What is your resident dog like with puppies on walks?