hello again

Hello! Many years ago I was active to this forum. I thought I would reintroduce myself and my pups. I'm Lynn from Maine. Back then I had Molly, Max and Nora. Molly (blen) is now 9. Nora (blen) is 12/13. And my beloved Max only lived to 8 due to MVD. It has been a heartbreaking 13 months without our wonderful boy. We were very fortunate to find a reputable breeder and we now have a 11 week old TRI BOY named Murphy. He is doing great, but I have a question about integrating Murphy with the old girls. Murphy chases and attempts to tackle / puppy play with the girls. They usually want nothing to do with him, and jump on the furniture to get away from him so I've been segregating him and only letting him near the girls when I'm right there. Molly often seems to snap at him when he is trying to get to her ( he is on the floor, and she is on the couch) and I'm wondering do I allow her to snap and show him who is boss OR do I keep them separated till he is older? Murphy is quite the energetic boy and LOVES to bite / chew everything. I want nothing more than to have 3 happy dogs that love each other.

Hi Lynn! Nice to hear from you . I'm so sorry to hear you have lost Max; especially at such a young age.

On your puppy questions, I'd kind of be inclined to do a mixed approach. I have found many adult dogs are not fans of puppies (while others adore them!). I'd do as you are -- manage the interactions to a good degree at first. There's bound to be some normal grumpiness about the permanent arrival of a new dog, too. I'd do walks with them all together and other activities where they mix on neutral ground where there might be less horseplay from the newbie. You may well find your others gradually begin to get quite playful. But they have a right to not have to be confronted constantly with a rambunctious youngster.

It's actually good, too to let puppies learn to read adult signs that they have had enough. Adults will discipline youngsters and teach them to inhibit their bite, and to be generally more respectful. Puppies learn this much faster and more efficiently from adult dogs than from humans, but it also benefits humans. So I'd let them have some free interactions too. Especially as the pup approaches 6 months, which is when adults start to expect the pup to behave like a better mannered adolescent and play respectfully. Adults will also help with the housetraining as puppies learn to follow them outside.

It's a bit of a balancing act as he settles in to the new household. Do post some pictures!

Meant to add -- snapping is useful; the way an adult says 'enough!'. But you do want to be there to supervise at this phase -- you don't want Murphy to be frightened by adult dogs, but you want to let him have some natural interactions with them where he's not always being separated out.

Thank you Karlin! Your advice was exactly what I needed. I was wondering if Murphy (puppy) needed to be scolded by his older sister. He has been home now for about 3 weeks. The girls have their normal run of the house, and back yard. In both places Murphy has his own segregated area. I only let him into the girl's area when I am right there. I have been wondering how to manage their reactions to each other. Molly seems interested in the puppy as she spends hours outside his playpen sleeping and watching him. I will try to allow Molly to handle it the next time Murphy is annoying her...but be there to step in, if need be.

We fought as hard as we could with our Maxwell and his MVD. THe poor boy had COMS and MVD. Anyway, he lived another 9 months after going through CHF. Working with the cardiologist carefully...he had round the clock meds, and round the clock love. By the end of each day he would groan at me because I was kissing his head and cheek entirely too much throughout the day! We had to give him his wings when his heart enlarged so much it was cutting of the use of his hind legs. It has been 13 months of missing him. And now our old Nora has a murmur. :-(

Anyway...thank you again. This is new territory having a puppy and older girls.... I will post pics soon!









Hello! Many years ago I was active to this forum. I thought I would reintroduce myself and my pups. I'm Lynn from Maine. Back then I had Molly, Max and Nora. Molly (blen) is now 9. Nora (blen) is 12/13. And my beloved Max only lived to 8 due to MVD. It has been a heartbreaking 13 months without our wonderful boy. We were very fortunate to find a reputable breeder and we now have a 11 week old TRI BOY named Murphy. He is doing great, but I have a question about integrating Murphy with the old girls. Murphy chases and attempts to tackle / puppy play with the girls. They usually want nothing to do with him, and jump on the furniture to get away from him so I've been segregating him and only letting him near the girls when I'm right there. Molly often seems to snap at him when he is trying to get to her ( he is on the floor, and she is on the couch) and I'm wondering do I allow her to snap and show him who is boss OR do I keep them separated till he is older? Murphy is quite the energetic boy and LOVES to bite / chew everything. I want nothing more than to have 3 happy dogs that love each other.