Hi there,
I'm getting a new chihuahua in about two weeks. The primary reason is because we wanted Scooter to have some company. Scooter is a 6 month old female. The new puppy is a male and he will be 9 weeks old. Do you guys have any tips (from experience please!) on how to introduce a new puppy into the household without having the older dog feeling threatened?
I've heard from some people that it's important to separate the puppy from the older dog for a while, let the older dog know that the puppy is only relegated to some parts of the house. That way the older dog will feel like it still has run of the house.
What I don't want to happen (which is actually exactly what happened to my mom's 2 chis), is for the two dogs to hate each other, and never grow close in any way. My mom's male and female chihuahuas barely tolerate each other, and sit on opposite couches all the time. The younger male chi always likes to steal the older female chi's food/toys/attention.
I've got concerns on how to go about doing the integration, and also about whether the new puppy will eventually dominate Scooter because the new puppy is male. I would like them both to be submissive if it is possible. (Scooter is already very submissive and we would like that not to change!)
Here's some pictures of Scooter and the new pup that we are going to name Fidel.
Thanks for your help!
I'm getting a new chihuahua in about two weeks. The primary reason is because we wanted Scooter to have some company. Scooter is a 6 month old female. The new puppy is a male and he will be 9 weeks old. Do you guys have any tips (from experience please!) on how to introduce a new puppy into the household without having the older dog feeling threatened?
I've heard from some people that it's important to separate the puppy from the older dog for a while, let the older dog know that the puppy is only relegated to some parts of the house. That way the older dog will feel like it still has run of the house.
What I don't want to happen (which is actually exactly what happened to my mom's 2 chis), is for the two dogs to hate each other, and never grow close in any way. My mom's male and female chihuahuas barely tolerate each other, and sit on opposite couches all the time. The younger male chi always likes to steal the older female chi's food/toys/attention.
I've got concerns on how to go about doing the integration, and also about whether the new puppy will eventually dominate Scooter because the new puppy is male. I would like them both to be submissive if it is possible. (Scooter is already very submissive and we would like that not to change!)
Here's some pictures of Scooter and the new pup that we are going to name Fidel.
Thanks for your help!
