Hi everybody! Can anyone help me with the following problem? I have a 3 year old dog (girl). two weeks ago I bought a puppy and thought they would get along well. In fact, they were. The older dog used to play with the puppy, licked its ears. Everything was just great. But a week ago the older dog started her periods and meybe beacuse of this became aggressive...or maybe it is jealous..Yesterday it bit the puppy on its ear...Now they live in separate rooms. I have no idea what to do! I want them live in piece...
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Dog attacks a puppy
- Thread starter Schippy
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Hi Schippy, and welcome to DogForum 
If your existing dog is in season then I suspect you're going to be in for a really interesting few weeks. Some bitches turn into bitches from hell when they're around their season and it can take weeks before the effects pass, unfortunately. I've rehomed an awful lot of dogs because of hormonally based behavioural problems so my opinion is that while she is in season it would be extremely risky to allow the pup and your dog to be in the same room unattended.
Please do try to mix them together, walk them together and the like whenever possible, but it's likely that feeding will need to be separate, along with sleeping and any time your back is turned.
Once her season has finished you can start to work on the leftover behavioural issues (and fear from the pup) that this is all bringing about. It will take time, but your older dog won't be responsive in her normal way whilst she is in season, and that will be sorted in about 3 weeks.
It's also worth bearing in mind that you really need to get your dog spayed. If this has happened on this season then it is very likely to happen during every season and it's likely to get worse rather than better as the seasons go on, and the lasting damage to the relationship between the dogs will get worse every time the aggression rears its ugly head because your pup will have memories of the jealousy/aggression which affect how h/she reacts both in general and towards your older dog.
Bitches need to be spayed in the middle of the gap between seasons and they usually have seasons twice a year, so your dog will be ready to be spayed in about 11 or 12 weeks. I'd suggest that you write down when this season started and book in to see the vet for the pre-spay checks in about 9 weeks.
This really could be a deal breaker for the introduction of the puppy into your household if it is mishandled, so please take care to reduce the emotional damage to the puppy. If you're not planning on spaying the older dog then you definitely need a decent way to separate them properly for the time when she's in season and you need a behaviourist in order to reduce the potential damage and to make sure that the emotional needs of your pup can be protected in the long term.
If your existing dog is in season then I suspect you're going to be in for a really interesting few weeks. Some bitches turn into bitches from hell when they're around their season and it can take weeks before the effects pass, unfortunately. I've rehomed an awful lot of dogs because of hormonally based behavioural problems so my opinion is that while she is in season it would be extremely risky to allow the pup and your dog to be in the same room unattended.
Please do try to mix them together, walk them together and the like whenever possible, but it's likely that feeding will need to be separate, along with sleeping and any time your back is turned.
Once her season has finished you can start to work on the leftover behavioural issues (and fear from the pup) that this is all bringing about. It will take time, but your older dog won't be responsive in her normal way whilst she is in season, and that will be sorted in about 3 weeks.
It's also worth bearing in mind that you really need to get your dog spayed. If this has happened on this season then it is very likely to happen during every season and it's likely to get worse rather than better as the seasons go on, and the lasting damage to the relationship between the dogs will get worse every time the aggression rears its ugly head because your pup will have memories of the jealousy/aggression which affect how h/she reacts both in general and towards your older dog.
Bitches need to be spayed in the middle of the gap between seasons and they usually have seasons twice a year, so your dog will be ready to be spayed in about 11 or 12 weeks. I'd suggest that you write down when this season started and book in to see the vet for the pre-spay checks in about 9 weeks.
This really could be a deal breaker for the introduction of the puppy into your household if it is mishandled, so please take care to reduce the emotional damage to the puppy. If you're not planning on spaying the older dog then you definitely need a decent way to separate them properly for the time when she's in season and you need a behaviourist in order to reduce the potential damage and to make sure that the emotional needs of your pup can be protected in the long term.
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