Introducing new members to the family

2 Jan | Posted by Holly Keeling | no comments | baby, dog, Dogs, new puppy, puppy, rescue dog, siblings

My three year old son dotes on his little brother, always wanting to hug and play with him. More recently though our nine month old baby is well and truly on the move. Now we face a conflict of interests as our baby tries to take any toy our toddler is playing with. We manage their play carefully and if our toddler is becoming upset at having toys taken off him we redirect our baby onto other toys. Taking toys off other children without asking is not something we want our toddler to think is right but, of course, our baby is too young to understand that.  We have also gone so far now as building a ‘fort’ out of toy boxes and furniture (we don’t have enough space for a pen) for our toddler so that he can play in peace. After all it must be so annoying having someone wreck your game every time you settle down to play.

Have a new puppy entering a household with a dog already present? You are likely to be facing similar issues. Whether it be pestering your resident dog for attention, taking their dogs beds, chews, food, toys etc. Make sure you provide your resident dog with a space of their own and frequently separate the two of them with a babygate/crate/pen/door to ensure that the first dog gets a break. Don’t allow the puppy to continually pester and jump on the older dog as they will be learning bad habits and may be told off for doing that to another dog in the park. Have your puppy on a house line to make it easier to move them away from the older dog. Even if your dog loves your new puppy and they play happily together all day long, it is still very important to give them time apart. Otherwise they can become so dependant on each other as a source of fun that you will struggle to get their attention on you.

Have a cat? From the word go, do not let your puppy chase or pester the cat. It’s not fair for the cat and your puppy will be learning bad habits. Chasing is highly addictive so your puppy is unlikely to ‘grow out of it’. Use babygates to separate areas and limit the space your puppy has to chase. Have your puppy on a house line whilst your cat is around and provide your cat with safe places high up out of your puppy’s reach (such as tall furniture, shelves and cat scratching posts) . This will help them to gain confidence in the same room as they will know that they have exit routes available.

In summary, provide existing members of the family with the space that they deserve and manage their play. Do not allow the new addition to pester.