Let’s talk about when you have another dog and are waiting for the arrival in your home of a new puppy you are excited about. Have you given any thought to ‘Where should a new puppy sleep when you have another dog’?
You will no doubt be thinking ‘I hope my present dog welcomes the arrival of this new ball of fun’. Of course, this can be an unwelcome addition to your home according to your dog that has had your undivided attention for some time. Your dog’s nose may well be out of joint, as the saying goes, and you will need to think this through as to how you are going to prepare your present dog and how you are going to cope when your new puppy is shown that he or she is not welcome.
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Your present dog may well be astonished that this new bundle is not just staying in your home as an overnight visit, this new bundle that you are showing so much attention is in fact not just having a sleepover but is staying long term.
Oh my goodness! How are you going to help both this new puppy and your present dog adjust to each other?
Here is what I do. I first introduce my new puppy to my older dog by way of a leash attached to the new puppy so that the puppy does not lunge unexpectedly at my older dog. If this proceeds with no hitches, I talk to both my dog and the new puppy telling them how good they are, and if possible will feed both of them yummy treats at the one time, together, provided I am in line with what foods the puppy’s breeder has been allowing my new puppy to eat. If there are any issues, I stop this interaction very calmly and take the puppy back to where I have prepared a bed and some toys to play with, usually a pen within my home.
So, this partly answers ‘where should a new puppy sleep when you have another dog’, because during the day to give my older dog a break from the puppy, as well as being aware that my new puppy also needs lots of rest, I have a pen prepared for my new puppy within my home, being aware that I need to frequently take my new puppy outside to have a toilet break every hour or less so that there are no accidents in this prepared pen.
The night sleeping arrangements are similar but with a different twist as I have a crate prepared beside my bed so that I know my puppy is aware that company is near and also so that when my puppy disturbs, I can quickly slip on his or her lead and take them outside to have a toilet break. Once this has been attended to, I immediately bring my puppy back inside and put my puppy back inside the crate to resume sleeping.
I remain calm at all times as I need my dogs to understand that as their leader I am calm, therefore I expect them to be calm also.
If we are consistent in showing calmness, our dogs will willingly enjoy this calm demeanour we are offering.
I can hear you say, ‘Yes, but puppies can be over-excited and annoy my older dog’ … what do I do here? If my new puppy is driving my older dog to the point of exasperation, I immediately remove my puppy from being in the face of my older dog during the day, because if you leave this situation unattended, serious issues could develop and one of your dogs could be hurt, either emotionally or physically and this is not the outcome we are aiming for.
This is why it is such a good preventative idea to have a pen ready for your puppy to chill out and have a rest.
What are we suggesting? We are suggesting that you have a special place for your puppy to rest during the day as well as a separate place to rest during the night until such times that both of these dogs are ready to sleep in the same area, which could be some months further down the track. This makes it easy to answer the question “Where should a new puppy sleep when you have another dog’.
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Until next time…
With Love, Success and Inspiration
Robin Oliver
www.robinoliveronline.com/blog