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I need some advice on how to handle a problem with a biting dog. I had to put down my older dog last July, which left me with just one dog (Blizzard). Blizzard was acting depressed and sullen after the loss of my older dog, so I recently got her a puppy (Buddy). Almost immediately I noticed an improvement in Blizzard's demeanor.
I spent four days at home with Blizzard and Buddy to help get them acquainted with each other. Everything seemed to be going great. By day two Blizzard and Buddy were playing together. I was pleased to see Blizzard acting so gently, allowing Buddy to bite her and not reacting except in a playful manner.
This past Monday I left Blizzard and Buddy alone together for the first time and everything was fine when I returned home from work. However, when I returned home from work on Tuesday Buddy was a bloody mess. Blizzard had bitten him, more than once about the head, puncturing the skin.
I took Buddy to the vet today and he is currently on antibiotics and pain medication. No serious damage was done, no stitches required, but he suffered several punctures.
I will be separating Blizzard and Buddy when I go to work tomorrow. Blizzard will stay in the heated garage with access to the outside, and Buddy will stay in the house. This will prolong my ability to house-break Buddy, but I don't see any other alternative. I don't know how long I should keep them separated, or how I should treat Blizzard since she did this when I wasn't around. Blizzard knows that I'm angry with her, but I don't know if she understands why.
I can certainly understand Blizzard giving Buddy a corrective bite that causes him to yelp occasionally, but when she breaks the flesh she has crossed the line that I can not tolerate.
Any advice you can provide on how to deal with this situation will be greatly appreciated.
I think you are right in keeping them separated when you're not around, and just monitoring them when they're together. Even when I think of my kitten and dog, I take the same mentality. They are best friends, but I still would not leave them both out when I'm not home because the dog is so much bigger that she might play a little too rough, or the kitten might nip her just the wrong way. Four days as you say is not a very long time for them to form a real bond, so just give it time. When Blizzard realizes buddy is there for the long haul I think they'll become more brothers than 2 dogs in a house.
Keep them separated when you aren't around. It sounds like Buddy overstepped his place and pissed Blizzard off. They just need more time together and with you in charge and maintaining your alpha position. Blizzard needs to know that he is only the number two creature in the house. You are the one that has the final say to Buddy's membership in the household, not Blizzard. And you won't be hurting Blizzard's feelings by being the boss. Also, don't forget to keep Buddy in check from playing too rough with Blizzard.
I need some advice on how to handle a problem with a biting dog. I had to put down my older dog last July, which left me with just one dog (Blizzard). Blizzard was acting depressed and sullen after the loss of my older dog, so I recently got her a puppy (Buddy). Almost immediately I noticed an improvement in Blizzard's demeanor.
I spent four days at home with Blizzard and Buddy to help get them acquainted with each other. Everything seemed to be going great. By day two Blizzard and Buddy were playing together. I was pleased to see Blizzard acting so gently, allowing Buddy to bite her and not reacting except in a playful manner.
This past Monday I left Blizzard and Buddy alone together for the first time and everything was fine when I returned home from work. However, when I returned home from work on Tuesday Buddy was a bloody mess. Blizzard had bitten him, more than once about the head, puncturing the skin.
I took Buddy to the vet today and he is currently on antibiotics and pain medication. No serious damage was done, no stitches required, but he suffered several punctures.
I will be separating Blizzard and Buddy when I go to work tomorrow. Blizzard will stay in the heated garage with access to the outside, and Buddy will stay in the house. This will prolong my ability to house-break Buddy, but I don't see any other alternative. I don't know how long I should keep them separated, or how I should treat Blizzard since she did this when I wasn't around. Blizzard knows that I'm angry with her, but I don't know if she understands why.
I can certainly understand Blizzard giving Buddy a corrective bite that causes him to yelp occasionally, but when she breaks the flesh she has crossed the line that I can not tolerate.
Any advice you can provide on how to deal with this situation will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
I'm sure it's just going to take some time for them to get completely adjusted to each other. I'm sure sometime Blizzard just doesn't want to deal with rough, never ending, puppy play from Buddy, you know? When we first brought Destiny home, it took Brooklyn a couple days to get use to her, but it took a few weeks for him to really accept her. Then the same thing happened when we brought Jayda home. Destiny was pretty good about it, it only took her a few days to really accept Jayda, but it took Brooklyn even longer to except Jayda then it did with Destiny. Now they are all great together, but we still wouldn't ever leave them unattended together, just to be safe. Dogs that have been the best of friends for years can get in a fight one day, seemingly out of nowhere, and their relationship might not ever be the same. You just really never know with dogs. They are still animals. I personally would never leave our dogs untanned together. I mean, being in the next room is one thing, but if we aren't home, there's no way we will leave our dogs all out together. Even though they all get along wonderfully, you never know what could happen and I would much rather be safe than sorry!
I would suggest that you keep them separated when you aren't home. I would also suggest getting crates for them, or at least for Buddy. That would help so much with housebreaking him and you won't have to worry about anything happening when you aren't there to stop it. Plus the crate is like a den for dogs, they are den animals and they like to have that safe little place of their own. I can't really think of much else you can do besides crating them or at least keeping them in separate parts of the house like you said. I wish I could be of more help! Again though, I'm sure everything will be fine, it's probably just going to take a little while for Blizzard to fully except Buddy. Good luck with everything! Oh, and Blizzard and Buddy are both gorgeous!
When we first got Hef, after a couple of days, Hef and Portia got into a fight and Portia had a bloody nose...Before that everything was fine like in Blizzard's and Buddy's case. When I saw them I started yelling at them, they were both grounded. It never happened again. They stay together when we are not around, and they don't have any problems. Give them some time to get used to each other. That is what worked in our case. Hope this helps...
I think you are right in keeping them separated when you're not around, and just monitoring them when they're together.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miu
Keep them separated when you aren't around. ... Also, don't forget to keep Buddy in check from playing too rough with Blizzard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PitBullMommie1206
Dogs that have been the best of friends for years can get in a fight one day, seemingly out of nowhere, and their relationship might not ever be the same. You just really never know with dogs. They are still animals. I personally would never leave our dogs untanned together.
I would suggest that you keep them separated when you aren't home. I would also suggest getting crates for them, or at least for Buddy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lastra
Give them some time to get used to each other. That is what worked in our case. Hope this helps...
The consensus is unanimous:Keep Blizzard and Buddy separate and/or crated when I am not around to supervise their behavior until they get used to each other, and even then don't trust them.
I truly appreciate the sound advice! Based upon your suggestions I will keep Blizzard and Buddy separate when I'm not at home. At least until Buddy reaches the same size and mass as Blizzard in about 3 or 4 months. At that point I will use a nylon muzzle on Blizzard when I leave, but otherwise allow them to stay together. After all, that was the whole reason I got Buddy in the first place, to keep Blizzard company when I was away. I do intercede on Blizzard's behalf when Buddy gets too rambunctious by distracting Buddy with toys or playing with him myself. When Buddy is between 4 and 6 months old I will have him neutered and that should mellow him some. By the time Buddy gets to be 4 or 5 years old, Blizzard will be 8 or 9 years old. At that time both may be mellow enough so I won't have to worry about Blizzard bitting, or maybe not. By that time Buddy will be well over 100 pounds and more than capable of defending himself against Blizzard's attack. Either way, they both know that I'm the Alpha Leader of this pack.
I appreciate reading about your experiences, it has helped me decide the best course of action. I'm sure Blizzard and Buddly will become good friends eventually, but it will take time. Thank you all for you sharing your experiences.
Puppies can be a pest for an older dog. l noticed last night with my tenant's puppy chasing my 4 year old lab mix around the year. After a few laps (my lab is faster but the puppy has staying power), my lab was more than ready to go inside and get away from the new pup.
one thing with getting buddy a crate though. still when you're not home, even if buddy is in the crate, I would suggest keeping them in separate rooms. The reason I say this is because if the smaller dog is in the crate and the bigger dog is allowed to be outside the crate, this creates some sort of hierarchy in their brains. Also this will get their hearts going in anticipation for when buddy gets out and it might not be good anticipation during this transition period. In the long run I have a feeling they're going to be just fine Buddy is so cute and cuddly.
one thing with getting buddy a crate though. still when you're not home, even if buddy is in the crate, I would suggest keeping them in separate rooms. The reason I say this is because if the smaller dog is in the crate and the bigger dog is allowed to be outside the crate, this creates some sort of hierarchy in their brains. Also this will get their hearts going in anticipation for when buddy gets out and it might not be good anticipation during this transition period. In the long run I have a feeling they're going to be just fine Buddy is so cute and cuddly.
Buddy appreciates the compliment. Buddy has a few bald spots now after his visit to the vet. He remind me of those medieval monks. The poor guy is still in pain, but at least the swelling has gone down. I'm still giving him antibiotics and pain medication twice a day and he is beginning to return back to his normal precocious self again.
Your advice makes sense. I don't crate Buddy when I'm working, since I will be gone for 10 hours or more. That is just too long for him to be couped up. He eats in his crate, primarily to keep Blizzard from scarfing down his puppy chow.
I got 4" of snow last night, so it will be interesting to see how Buddy reacts to his first snowfall when I take him and Blizzard on their daily "patrol of the property".
The consensus is unanimous:Keep Blizzard and Buddy separate and/or crated when I am not around to supervise their behavior until they get used to each other, and even then don't trust them.
I truly appreciate the sound advice! Based upon your suggestions I will keep Blizzard and Buddy separate when I'm not at home. At least until Buddy reaches the same size and mass as Blizzard in about 3 or 4 months. At that point I will use a nylon muzzle on Blizzard when I leave, but otherwise allow them to stay together. After all, that was the whole reason I got Buddy in the first place, to keep Blizzard company when I was away. I do intercede on Blizzard's behalf when Buddy gets too rambunctious by distracting Buddy with toys or playing with him myself. When Buddy is between 4 and 6 months old I will have him neutered and that should mellow him some. By the time Buddy gets to be 4 or 5 years old, Blizzard will be 8 or 9 years old. At that time both may be mellow enough so I won't have to worry about Blizzard bitting, or maybe not. By that time Buddy will be well over 100 pounds and more than capable of defending himself against Blizzard's attack. Either way, they both know that I'm the Alpha Leader of this pack.
I appreciate reading about your experiences, it has helped me decide the best course of action. I'm sure Blizzard and Buddly will become good friends eventually, but it will take time. Thank you all for you sharing your experiences.
Muzzling Blizzard while you are not there it not a good idea. He will not be able to fend off Buddy (once Buddy matures) and it may put undesired dominant control in Buddy's paws. They will always be sorting out who the alpha is depending on each situation and muzzling forces the muzzled dog to submit.
I would only muzzle to protect people if my dog was uncontrollable. In the dog world they will sort it out unless you have a seriously dominant basket case, don't muzzle.
I've seen Blizzard, he is beautiful but I had not seen Buddy until now, what a big one he will be.
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Blizzard had bitten him, more than once about the head, puncturing the skin. 
I'm sure sometime Blizzard just doesn't want to deal with rough, never ending, puppy play from Buddy, you know? 
When we first brought Destiny home, it took Brooklyn a couple days to get use to her, but it took a few weeks for him to really accept her. Then the same thing happened when we brought Jayda home. Destiny was pretty good about it, it only took her a few days to really accept Jayda, but it took Brooklyn even longer to except Jayda then it did with Destiny. Now they are all great together, but we still wouldn't ever leave them unattended together, just to be safe. Dogs that have been the best of friends for years can get in a fight one day, seemingly out of nowhere, and their relationship might not ever be the same. You just really never know with dogs. They are still animals. I personally would never leave our dogs untanned together. I mean, being in the next room is one thing, but if we aren't home, there's no way we will leave our dogs all out together. Even though they all get along wonderfully, you never know what could happen and I would much rather be safe than sorry! 
It is Unanimous!
Based upon your suggestions I will keep Blizzard and Buddy separate when I'm not at home. At least until Buddy reaches the same size and mass as Blizzard in about 3 or 4 months. At that point I will use a nylon muzzle on Blizzard when I leave, but otherwise allow them to stay together. After all, that was the whole reason I got Buddy in the first place, to keep Blizzard company when I was away. I do intercede on Blizzard's behalf when Buddy gets too rambunctious by distracting Buddy with toys or playing with him myself. When Buddy is between 4 and 6 months old I will have him neutered and that should mellow him some. By the time Buddy gets to be 4 or 5 years old, Blizzard will be 8 or 9 years old. At that time both may be mellow enough so I won't have to worry about Blizzard bitting, or maybe not. By that time Buddy will be well over 100 pounds and more than capable of defending himself against Blizzard's attack. Either way, they both know that I'm the Alpha Leader of this pack. 
