Our second Pug arrived home on Sunday and we are all besotted, except for our existing Pug who is still unsure. He is almost a year old, neutered, well socialised and gets on with dogs of all ages and sizes, including doggy visitors to our house. Our new addition, Margot, is 9 weeks old today and poor Henry is a little confused of what to make of her.
I read up on the theory behind introducing the two and have been very careful to supervise them closely and pay Henry lots of attention, treats and praise when he is around her. Several of my books told me to expect some noisy posturing and possibly Henry pinning Margot and not to interfere unless things got too rough.
They are fine together on my lap (they are curled up right now asleep together) or playing on the sofa but as soon as they are on the floor and Margot starts moving quickly Henry chases her and pins her down and she squawks and resists. Henry can be very gentle with her, he patiently sat and yawned whilst she chewed his tail and his collar earlier, but as soon as she is moving he is back to pinning her down. Henry is clicker trained so I've been using the clicker and treats with 'leave it' and 'watch me' commands to keep his attention focused on me and not Margot, which does work. They are always separated when I can't supervise them, Margot has a crate and pen which she plays in when I am out of the room.
My question is should I be interfering like this or should I just let them figure it out? Henry has never displayed any aggression before and plays with the younger puppies at our training classes just fine so I'd like to think he wouldn't hurt her, but she is just so teeny. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Replies
JanandSass (about 1 year ago)
He is a puppy still, actually so he will till be pretty hyper for a while. Make sure he does not feel jealous and keep up the supervision for sure. He will get the idea after a while. Even though he is neutered, even a wee small female puppy can get their dander up a bit too. (HA) Sooner or later, your new little girl is going to get bigger and she will defend herself more vigorously. Keep an eye open on them until youre sure they are more evenly matched when it comes to roughhousing. Make sure nails are filed short too. Try to introduce other games like chase a ball and tug of war to help them learn to interact. But continue to supervise. Keep up the clicker training too.
JanandSass (about 1 year ago)
Watch for her to come in heat. I have a neutered male dog, who, when my pug went into her second heat managed to, ahem, score.
cdcra (about 1 year ago)
assuming puppy is smaller. i think that big pug is thinking he has a new toy. to let them play is good as long as puppy is also playing and not scared. our pups did this and it seems to help them socialize but you need to watch them to make sure they don't get carried away and cause injury. it helps when pup gets bigger and henry won't feel threatened by her as a stranger,so they should get along a lot better than introducing a pug of the same size
The_Puglet (about 1 year ago)
Thanks everyone, it has been a tiring day so far but things are definitely improving. I'm keeping them constantly supervised or separated when I'm out of the room and have been encouraging Henry to let Margot play around him and rewarding him when he ignores her. He is also getting lots of love and fuss so he doesn't feel left out.
Margot is sticking up for herself plenty and I will give her nails a trim tonight to make sure she isn't hurting him.
fiko15 (about 1 year ago)
i Have a 2 1/2 old pug and we recently got our second puggie which is 4months old, at first he wasnt so pleased with her at home but seriously it just takes time, they will learn to love each other and share everything lol even the snores
KatB (about 1 year ago)
This is all normal behavor. He is showing her he is the domanant. As long as he is not biting her and drawing blood or being to ruff, you have to let this happen. It's how they settle things. Don't coddle her either when she gets scared. She will figure this out. Do take them for walks together, and play with them together. Tossing toys. Giving time to your older pug will help him out too. If things in play seem to get alittle on your nerves or seems to ruff. Yell, KNOCK IT OFF! And use a water squirt bottle on stream. But try to just keep doin what you have and supervise. Also watch for your puppy getting tired. She still needs time out for plenty of nap time.
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