New puppy cav, older cav not happy

Hi all.

I have a question for anyone that can help. We have a 2 1/2 year old neutered cav (Cosmo). We just brought home an 8 week cav (Buster?) and Cosmo does not seem too happy. Since we brought in the puppy, Cosmo has been drooling a lot and doesn't want any parts of the puppy. I called the vet about the drooling and they said it's usually a sign of stress or anxiety.

What I'm wondering is will Cosmo eventually get over this and accept the puppy? I sure hope so as it sure will be difficult if he doesn't.

We are giving Cosmo extra attention and trying to make him feel as loved as possible.

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

Hi there. There is a lot of post on this already so if you do a search you should be able to find lots of helpful advice. I only have the one cav so I can't advise from experience. I do remember reading that you should try to give them their own space for eating etc so that food doesn't become a flash point between them. Other than that just make sure that your older cav has a space, like a crate or something, that he can go to to get away from the puppy if he wants, supervise all interactions between the two just in case they fight, and try to give a little me-time to Cosmo, so he doesn't feel left out.

Hi

I have three girls and they are 6 months differnece in age ,they are now
2 1/2, 2 and 1 1/2 and shortly after introducing each additional new member they were soon accepted as part of the group and now are just 3 happy squabbling sisters .So please do not be too concerned both will soon adjust and get on great.

This is pretty normal. Most dogs do not initially care to share their home with another (basic jealousy -- but longer term they really enjoy the companionship in 99% of cases) and also, some dogs simply do not care at all for puppies just like some adults don't care to have small kids running around -- such dogs tend to accept the pup as it gets older and less annoying (as puppies can be extremely annoying to a lot of adult dogs -- I have two adults who have absolutely not interest or liking for puppies). If you use the search function you'll find lots of previous threads on introducing a second dog. Also in the Library section there's a whole thread full of links on adding a second dog. I'd also recommend getting Dr Ian Dunbars' Before and After getting your Puppy -- a basic dog ownership manual full of information on raising a puppy, adding a dog, basic training, etc should be on every dog owner;'s shelf as it will quickly give reassuring answers to questions like this.

Thanks for you help. It is appreciated.

Karlin said:

some dogs simply do not care at all for puppies -- such dogs tend to accept the pup as it gets older and less annoying (as puppies can be extremely annoying to a lot of adult dogs --

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I, like Karlin, have two dogs who are very slow to warm up to puppies, but that is the only way I can bring another dog into my home because my malamute mix will not tolerate another adult. She wants to kill them, male or female. She will accept a pup, but growl it away if it approaches her for quite a while. She very slowly warms up to them, and they have to always understand she is "boss dog". Then she actually gets protective of them when other dogs try to get near them (like my neighbors dogs through the fence) My vizsla, Odin, is terrified of puppies. he will only sneak up on them and sniff if they are lying on their backs, or they are facing the other way. If they move towards him, he growls and runs! Once they get bigger and more predictable, he is fine. I was worried when we brought the collie into our home, but they are best buds now, and the first time Lad snuck up on him, he got his ear pierced by Odin! It worried me to death.
So now I know the key is always introduce slowly and keep triggers like food treats and toys out of the occasion or I know I am going to have a problem. I am still carefully integrating Bandit, and we brought him home the end of July. He's 14 weeks now.

Here are a couple photos of how I handle treat-time, and give Odin some quiet space.

Brotymo, what nice pictures, all of your dogs are so beautiful!

Thank you! They aren't really that flattering shots of the dogs, but it shows my gate system and how I keep everyone seperate when having treats, etc. I have some better ones in the albums on my profile page.

I hope things are going better for you and your dogs.

I would probably get an x-pen for the puppy and set it up in a central room where everyone congregates (in my case it would be our kitchen). I'd supervise the puppy with the other dogs, but also put the puppy in the x-pen, so the other dogs can get used to the pup in a safe environment.

Even when we first got Chocolate as an adult, we crated her in the kitchen for a short while, with the two other adults loose, when we couldn't supervise. But I did take a week vacation to help them get used to each other and to evaluate how they were doing.

my cocker loves other dogs except nemo who is a naughty little puppy.it took about 3month for my cocker boy to accept the fact that little nemo is here to stay. Most likely, your adult cavalier will learn to accept the puppies with time. They still argue but they also play together very well now. Just like real human siblings!

In addition to the gate which seperates my kitchen from my living room, I have an xpen which I use when I leave Bandit alone at home, or if he is the one who needs confining (getting aggravating to the bigger doggies) and the other dogs are getting the run of things.

Thanks again for the responses.

We do have a pen for the puppy and have pretty much done what most of you have mentioned.

It's been a week now and Cosmo just seems REALLY depressed. I hope that he gets over it soon. Just worried about the guy.

I hope Cosmo feels better about the puppy soon. Kaya seemed depressed with Bandit, and still sometimes doesn't like it when he is getting attention. It has helped that I praise her every time she does anything positive interacting with Bandit, if it is even just sniffing him with a neutral attitude instead of moving away in a huff. I have been working to make her realize that good things happen to her when he is around her.

as long as you give him some extra TLC. He will get over it soon enough

When Alfie arrived at 8 weeks old Harvey hated him. He would hide up on the sofa for houirs where alfie could not reach him. I thought I had made a big mistake as Harvey seemed so upset. Please dont worry it did take a couple of months but they are now inseperable.

That's such a lovely picture Yvonne.:lotsaluv:

Well we bought Archie home and Alfs was not pleased,had a couple of set toos,mainly over toys,which i took away.But now they are best buds,Archie has respect for him now,it took about 4 weeks.Feeding time we split up as the pup will take his food,he also trys to take food out of his mouth,so we keep them apart.Bed time they are still apart,just till the pup stops playing at nite,Alfs loves his sleeps.He is Mr Grumps at nite.

Yvonne117 said:

When Alfie arrived at 8 weeks old Harvey hated him. He would hide up on the sofa for houirs where alfie could not reach him. I thought I had made a big mistake as Harvey seemed so upset. Please dont worry it did take a couple of months but they are now inseperable.

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Wow, this is like deja vu. Cosmo sits on the sofa all day where the puppy can't get to him. Cosmo and Buster are the same colors as your 2 as well. I hope my end result is just as good.

On a positive note, even though Cosmo still won't go near Buster, he at least has gone into the same room as him. I guess that's progress.

CosmoKC said:

On a positive note, even though Cosmo still won't go near Buster, he at least has gone into the same room as him. I guess that's progress.

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Oh yes! this is a good progress! We also have this stage. :rah: