[acritzer]

As promised, here are a few pics. And of course, now that Bailey is in the house we have a few questions.

1) Crate stuff. So far she's ventured in, but not stayed in the crate. We tried closing the door once and all she did was cry (we left her there for about 10 min). What are our options for the first couple nights? Put her in and put up with it until she settles down?
We did add blankets, toys, and a few bites of food.

2) When might our 6 yr old Golden understand that Bailey is part of our home now? Not just a visitor? Basically, how long will it take for her to be nice and share us with the pup and/or put up with the pup nipping and such?
It's not that she's mean towards her, she just puts a lot of distance between herself and the pup.

3) Feeding? We've read that we shouldn't leave the food out for more that 15 min. What are we to assume when little of the food ends up eaten? Should we offer her food again after a "break"?

Thanks for all the support I know is out there. As a long time dog owner, but first time pup owner a lot of this is unkown to me.

 

[jealous1]

She's a little cutie! No advice as I usually get them a lot older but bumping this up for the experts.

 

[acritzer]

I'm going to add on to my own question. This might be a bit alarmist, but I'm getting more concerned about our 6 yr old. Granted it's only the first day...but she's not digging the pup too much. She growls and/or barks when the pup comes up to investigate. Of course the pup has nipped her a few times.

But, Maggie has never really been upset with other dogs before, or babies. Somehow, we just thought she would be more accepting. Should we worry? Should we do something to try and help facilitate the relationship?

 

[slkuta]

Congratulations on your new puppy Bailey! She is adorable.
Here are my suggestions to your questions:
1) She will probably cry in her crate the first few nights. Just leave her and hopefully she will settle down. See if she will quite crying. You may have to go and re-assure her, but leave her in the crate. If you think she has to go potty, bring her out and when finished put her back in the crate.

2) Your other dog should eventually get used to her. Be sure to still give Maggie a lot of attention. At six she is used to her schedule and not having a puppy nip at her. You may want to keep them seperated for a while if possible and give Maggie a break from Bailey too.

3) Usually they will eat all of the food if they are hungry. Mine eat in less than 5 minutes so I have not had a problem that they don't eat. Pick it up after 15 minutes and offer it again at the next feeding time.

I hope these help you. Best of luck!

 

[acritzer]

Thanks for the advice. I guess we'll just have to brace ourselves for the puppy cry (breaks your heart). We were really hoping at 6, Maggie wouldn't be too old and grumpy to get along with another dog. Hopefully it's just the newness of it, and the fact that puppy behavior can be tough to handle, for everyone really.

 

[westy258]

Your pics are precious, thanks for sharing!

 

[BeauShel]

I would put a sheet over the sides of the crate to make it more like a den for him. If he cries do not let him out because if you do, he will learn that trick faster than anything you will teach him. He will get used to it.

Let Bailey and Maggie work it out but just make sure that when Maggie growls to make Bailey leave her alone. Give lots of special time to Maggie so she will not be jealous.

I put the food in a crate and make the crate a more fun place. If he doesnt eat in 15 minutes then pick it up. dont leave it down because he will learn that eating is anytime instead of a set time.

 

[acritzer]

Do you mean you actually feed the dog in the crate, rather than just a few bites?

Believe me, we're very sensitive to Maggie's feelings right now. We never would have made the decision to get a pup if we thought Maggie wouldn't end up being better for it. The question is now, how long with the acclimation take?

 

[ardita]

Oh, so darn cute ...I am a new dog owner so can't help you a lot but feeding in the crate helped a lot with my pup, and at night we just ignored the crying and he got used to it. Enjoy your sweet little fury ball!

 

[jenlaur]

Riley is almost 17 weeks old. She cried in the crate the first few nights. We fed her in there until about a week ago. We give her frozen cream cheese filled kongs every time we put her in (which is once during the day and at night). Now, when she's ready for bed, she goes to the fridge, asks for her kong and goes to her crate. They really do end up liking it. And we have hers covered. You may have to put up with some crying for a while until she adapts. Believe me, golden retriever puppies are the cutest things on the earth. But the next few weeks will be trying. There will be lots of biting (they are total sharks) and jumping, and I notice you have a small child. The best thing you can do is give her some time in the crate when she is out of control and you (Maggie, the baby and everyone else) need a break.

As for the older dog....Maggie was there first, it is her house. She will show the puppy how to behave. She may put her in her place a few times, just like the mama of a litter. That's what our 13 year old has done with the puppy. She will only take so much nipping and jumping. She will growl or snap at Riley and Riley backs off. She's has never actually bitten her. I would be careful not to leave them unsupervised together.

And Bailey is very cute. She reminds me very much of Riley when she was that age...total fluff ball! Have fun and enjoy her!

 

[Ambesi]

She is such a little cutie! Congratulations!

Everyone already gave the feedback I knew so I don't have anything to add. Enjoy the puppy stage. They grow so fast!

 

[Bailey & Charlies Mom]

I'm going to add on to my own question. This might be a bit alarmist, but I'm getting more concerned about our 6 yr old. Granted it's only the first day...but she's not digging the pup too much. She growls and/or barks when the pup comes up to investigate. Of course the pup has nipped her a few times.

But, Maggie has never really been upset with other dogs before, or babies. Somehow, we just thought she would be more accepting. Should we worry? Should we do something to try and help facilitate the relationship?

Bailey had the very same reaction you Maggie did. Bailey had always loved other dogs and puppies so I thought she would love a little puppy of her own, boy was I wrong. Bailey looked at her and then me with a face that said "What have I done to deserve this" she would not let the puppy anywhere near her and took all the toys from Charlie, put them in a pile and laid on them so Charlie couldn't get them. I was heart broken and riddled with guilt about it. Bailey was my baby and so upset about the little brat but after a few of weeks the tables turned and then I had a new problem. Charlie was beating up Bailey all the time!God bless Bailey she took all the abuse without so much as a growl. Charlie is almost a year now, the rough play has stopped and they are good buddies. Bailey regularly comes to Charlie's defence if another dog starts getting a little too rough with her.

So hang in there I'm sure they will become great pals

 

[Nicole74]

Bailey is adorable! I love her name too!

 

[acritzer]

Bailey had the very same reaction you Maggie did. Bailey had always loved other dogs and puppies so I thought she would love a little puppy of her own, boy was I wrong. Bailey looked at her and then me with a face that said "What have I done to deserve this" she would not let the puppy anywhere near her and took all the toys from Charlie, put them in a pile and laid on them so Charlie couldn't get them. I was heart broken and riddled with guilt about it. Bailey was my baby and so upset about the little brat but after a few of weeks the tables turned and then I had a new problem. Charlie was beating up Bailey all the time!God bless Bailey she took all the abuse without so much as a growl. Charlie is almost a year now, the rough play has stopped and they are good buddies. Bailey regularly comes to Charlie's defence if another dog starts getting a little too rough with her.

So hang in there I'm sure they will become great pals

It's good to hear that it finally worked out. For the life of me, I can't imagine Maggie not coming around somewhere down the road. Her personality is just too laid back and accepting. I'm hoping that we just underestimate the change that's involved for her and are expecting too much too soon.


Very small update too...Day two now, and the crate in our kitchen seems to be working a bit. Bailey cried for about 7 min, but then gave up and took a nap. Just had to stick her in there while I laid the kids down.

 

[Debles]

Maggie will get used to her. Just do like everyone said. Don't let the puppy get too wild around her and Maggie will set the tone. Our 13 year old Sophie got used to Selka and just gave a little growl to let Selka know if he was getting to rough.
Then Selka was four when we got Gunner as a pup. They got along wonderfully from day one as you can see from my avatar. : )