terrecar Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 She is VERY jealous when I interact/play games with Obi. Displaces/shakes a toy/barks. I try to do it out of earshot, or put Mer in a downstay/give her a Kong to work on. When I tell her we are not going to play, she will play tug with Obi. [/Quote] Bold my emphasis. This is another reason to perhaps let up a bit on the focused training (other than good manners). I brought a new dog into the house the other day, and my goal was to reinforce (not force) appropriate play/interaction between the two dogs, partly by paying a bit more attention to the resident dog (Hannah) during the course of the day to alleviate jealousy and partly by keeping in the background to let the two dogs interact. I'm not saying you should let the resident dog call the shots, but there are things you can do to dissipate some of the jealousy and facilitate positive dog/dog interaction if they show some desire to interact appropriately. Hannah is also more people focused, but she can read me to the extent that she knows when it's futile to attempt engaging me. This allows her to turn her focus elsewhere. Mer basically ignores other dogs; her attention is only on people and toys. If other dogs solicit play, and there are no toys about, she will play very appropriately. She actually tried to get Obi to wrestle the day after she came home, but Obi was too nervous at that point, and Mer has not tried again. Okay, so perhaps Mer is not inclined to revisit the play wrestling, but I would make sure my presence in the equation is not preventing it. My new dog (well, it's sort of a dog; it's a larger than standard Chihuahua) was also too nervous to play with Hannah initally, and in fact "corrected" her when Hannah attempted to greet. Hannah showed some initial jealousy as well (though absolutely no aggression). I did not overly focus on the Chi or coddle her, particularly since one reason she was given up was because she "required too much attention". I didn't ignore her either, but I was a bit more focused on Hannah. Beginning yesterday morning, the Chi was initiating play and acting a bit more like a dog (she came with a freaking dress ffs), chasing and wrestling with Hannah. Hannah was raised with a very old mini Dachshund, so she is instinctively gentle while loving that this little canine dwarf will play. There is now no indication of jealousy, even if I pick up the Chi or she jumps on my lap. My point in this tangent is that allowing the dogs to interact without engaging them can go a long way toward facilitating a bond between them, as well as allowing the new pup to just be a dog. ETA: I think this post offers some very good insight into what might be going on. http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=33578&view=findpost&p=421301. The pup does need alone time with you as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 the Chi was initiating play and acting a bit more like a dog (she came with a freaking dress ffs), Sorry, couldn't help myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrecar Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Sorry, couldn't help myself. Oh it gets worse. Lettering on the dress says "Mommy's Little Girl". I'd chew shit up too if I had to suffer such indignities. P.S. Mickey mouse on the floor is kid's, not dog's, I swear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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