Sunday, October 28, 2012

Learning to Get Along





Jake is having a little harder time than Isabella at adjusting to Champ. They've gotten along fine outside for the most part, but things have been a bit...dicier...inside, when food, treats, and human attention are around. Jake and Champ are separated during mealtime to cut down on any confrontations, and I've started rotating the two between playtime with Isabella outside. I know I can't do that forever-- or at least, I certainly don't want to-- but I'm not sure if it's just a matter of adjusting or something more that I need to do. Jake has not been fixed yet, but we plan to take care of that soon. Training of some sort may be required, too. I know Jake wants to establish his "rank" or place in the pack or whatever, but I just don't want it to be at Champ's expense.

Any helpful suggestions are welcome. I am a bit sensitive about this topic, however-- I believe in having happy, healthy, and well-behaved pups that get along with each other and others' dogs, and the fact that these two aren't getting along smoothly really bothers me-- so any derogatory or negative comments will be deleted.

3 comments:

  1. Oh dear that first pic is priceless. Three pups are certainly a lot of action- when NanĂ¼k moved in we had quite a bit of jockeying for place. It took a while but things have steeled down. Hope things work out mates,

    RA

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  2. Adjusting to a new puppy can be hard! Getting Jake neutered will probably help a lot.

    Whenever you see Jake getting along with Champ, praise him, lots. Make sure they all get plenty of exercise together and plenty of supervised playtime together. Try and keep to your normal routine as much as possible, so that the only new thing Jake is adjusting to is Champ.

    Also, this may help, but I'm not sure, I'm just thinking out loud here, so feel free to just ignore it. ;) Maybe try and set aside a little time to spend some one-on-one time with Jake every now and again. Work on his training, play his favorite game, take him for a walk, groom him, pet him, whatever. Other than that, make sure Champ is with you whenever possible. I think this helped Lassie and Ella adjust to Petal when I first brought her home. Petal was with me whenever possible, mostly for the sake of potty training and avoiding unwanted destruction to the house, but I think it helped Lassie and Ella to see that Petal was my dog too and she was here to stay.

    I'm sure it is just a matter of adjusting, and with time and patience, I'm sure Jake will adjust to having Champ around. I'm sure they'll be good buddies in no time. :) Good luck!

    Also, cute cute pictures of your dogs! They are all too cute.

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  3. I've never had a dog, so I think I can't help you. :/

    ReplyDelete

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