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Canine Behavior/New dog in the house

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Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 1/2/2008


Question
QUESTION: Hi, Do you have tips on introducing a new dog into the house? We have a MN beagle we got from a shelter 2 yrs ago, and 1 week ago introduced another dog into the house. The 2nd is a 10-lb F Maltese/Yorkie (I think) from a puppy mill that was shut down, approx 5 yrs old and apparently had many litters. We were unable to let them meet outside, its cold and the new little one has lost most of her coat (but growing back). Aside from being curious, our beagle is behaving himself. The new one is fine until he gets too close, then snaps and snarls at him. Any tips to get this going smoothly? Thanks,
Sharon

ANSWER: Hi, Sharon,

Thanks for the question.

It might be a bit rocky at first, particularly if the female has had a number of litters and little socialization with other dogs. The main thing I'd do is praise the female no matter what she does, even when she snaps and snarls at the beagle. She's in a scary new environment, with a curious dog she doesn't know, and she needs to feel safe to express her feelings. The safer she feels the sooner she'll be able to interact with him in a more positive social manner.

Also, buy her a coat and take them on long walks together, once a day, if you can. And hand feed her all her meals, using the pushing exercise described here:http: //tinyurl.com/3balu6

Finally, it's important that the new dog learns how to play with you. If she doesn't know how, or shows any reluctance, here's an article describing ways to jump start her interest in playing: http://www.tiny.cc/jumpstart The pushing exercise will also help her develop more of her playful nature.

I hope this helps,

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for the advice, I made her a coat from an old sweater sleeve. So I will not scold her for snapping at the beagle and definitely try the pushing exercises. If I might ask one more thing, she has severe separation anxiety. She circles, barks, has accidents, goes crazy if I leave the room, and it does not stop even after many hours, which I found out the first day we got her. I am trying to go in and out of the room for seconds at a time, now we are up to 1 minute or so before she gets upset. Any advice on helping her along? Thank you again for getting back to me so fast!
Sharon

Answer
Hi again.

It might not be separation anxiety/distress. She could just be feeling severely displaced in her new environment. In time these behaviors could very well turn into SA/D but I'm not sure she's bonded to you enough yet for that.

The absolute best thing to prevent SA/D is some kind of playful activity that she really loves. I already covered that in my previous post, so I'll let you get to that as part of this whole rehabilitation process. The hand-feeding exercise will sort of prime the pump for her need to play, which is an innate drive in all mammal species, particularly dogs.

Good luck,

LCK

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Lee Charles Kelley

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I've been training dogs in New York City for nearly 20 years. My training approach and philosophy are based on the way police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, and detection dogs are trained--through the prey drive, inherited from the wolf. It's true that there's been a shift away from using the "wolf model" in dog training recently, and to some extent, there's a good reason. That's because trainers have been using the wrong model, the one that says you have to be the "alpha" or the pack leader in order to control your dog's behavior. This simply isn't true. In wild wolves there is no dominance hierarchy, no "alpha" wolf, and no pack leader (not in the traditional sense). The pack instinct only exists to enable wolves to hunt large prey by working in harmony. (Wolves who live near garbage dumps, for example, and who don't hunt together, don't form packs.) So if wolves don't have an instinct to "follow the pack leader" or "obey the alpha wolf," how could dogs have inherited it from them?

Years ago, before I became a dog trainer, I noticed that the happiest, most obedient, and best-behaved dogs I met weren't the ones who'd been to a dog trainer or behaviorist; they were the dogs whose owners always had Frisbees and tennis balls on hand. And while it might seem that my approach would only be relevant to high-drive dogs who love fetch and tug-of-war, it isn't. Even something as seemingly unrelated as a housebreaking issue or greeting behavior are often the direct result of a dog's predatory energy not having an acceptable outlet.

All behavior is an expression of energy. So when a dog's energy isn't utilized in a way that feels satisfying to his or her instincts and emotions, that's when behavioral problems develop. Giving the dog an acceptable outlet for its energy will almost always bring the dog's behavior back into alignment with its instincts

Feel free to ask me questions about any training/behavioral issue.

LCK

Experience

20 years as a dog trainer. I'm also a bestselling author, writing a series of dog-related mystery novels for Avon.

Organizations
Dog Writers Association of America

Education/Credentials
Just a natural gift I have for understanding and training dogs

Past/Present Clients
Too numerous to mention.

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