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February 26th
You’ve just found the perfect Goldendoodle pup, and want to bring it home right away. After all, dogs are some of the brightest spots in any of our lives. Why not bring even more happiness to your home with a second dog?
But what about the older dog you have at home? Adding a new pup to the home can be a difficult transition for your first dog. If you’re not careful, the two can fail to form a healthy relationship, and cause you quite a headache.
Dogs are highly social animals, and tend to form pack structures even when living in homes. When you bring a new dog into the house, you are disrupting an established order. Your older dog will react by trying to reestablish their dominance. This is often easy for older dogs to do because of how much larger they tend to be than puppies.
However, there are some easy steps you can take to keep both of your dogs happy.
Here, we’ll show you what you can do to speed up the bonding process between your Goldendoodle pup and older dog.
Before you begin the transition period, observe your older dog and consider their behavior. Are they normally calm and friendly? How do they respond when introduced to new dogs?
If your older dog has a calm demeanor and responds well when meeting other dogs, you’ll likely have an easier transition when bringing home a new Goldendoodle. If, however, your dog is more aggressive and isn’t as social with new dogs, you may have to consider extra steps to ensure that your new pup is safe.
When you’re first introducing the two dogs, it is important that you are always present. Don’t leave the dogs alone together as they first get to know each other. The first few times they interact, you may also want to have both dogs on a leash.
You’ve seen how your dog responds when you come home with the scent of another dog on you. Dogs react strongly to new smells.
A great way of smoothing your pup’s transition to your home is by bringing their scent home first. That is, let your old dog smell the pup before they meet in person. This can be done by giving them a blanket that the pup has been wrapped in.
This is a subtle but easy way of increasing the chances that your older dog gives your new Goldendoodle a warmer welcome.
It may be tempting to let the two dogs work things out themselves. But dogs are very possessive, especially when they haven’t had to share for years. Even for the calmest of dogs, sharing territory with a new puppy can be stressful. They feel like they’ve earned dominion over their space. The new puppy may make them act out and try to emphasize their control of the territory.
A good way of dealing with this problem is by keeping the pup separated for a portion of the day, usually in a crate. This serves two purposes: it crate trains your dog, and eases the pressure on your older dog.
Puppies are also very energetic, and can wear out older dogs. This can lead to the older dog responding aggressively, and could make them see the puppy as a nuisance rather than a friend. By keeping them apart and letting the puppy burn off some extra steam, you’ll make things better for both dogs.
Over time, you can let the dogs spend more time together. By gradually increasing the time the two dogs spend together, you’ll allow for a more natural bond to form.
There may be some cases where your dog just won’t tolerate a new puppy. You may consider bringing in a certified dog trainer to give you more structured ways of helping your two dogs get along. This also may be necessary if your older dog is significantly larger than your puppy, to the point where any aggression could be dangerous.
Still looking for a new Goldendoodle to bring home? Head over to our puppy finder page to find the perfect pup.
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