Why Can't We All Just Get Along!
It's been about four days since we brought Obi, our new puppy, home and the dynamic of the house has changed. We have two other dogs; Kinno who is going on ten years, and Phoebe who is about two. Phoebe is actually Erwin's sisters' dog, but we're watching her for her while his sister gets settled into college. Kinno and Phoebe get along fine, and they got along really well with our other puppy, Spike (he passed away earlier this year). But Obi seems to be another story.
Obi is really little, and the breeder told us that he was the runt of his litter. He seems like he is younger than he actually is. Right when we got into the house when we first brought him home, the other two dogs were waiting at the door to find out what we brought. It seemed alright at first. They did the normal "sniffing of the butts" to check each other out. Then, Kinno and Phoebe went about their own business and that was that. I thought "Great, that was easy."
Well, not exactly. Not even an hour into our return home, the puppy started screaming and crying! He was totally shaking from fear because our big dog, Kinno, was growling and standing over Obi as he laid on his back. I totally panicked while Erwin grabbed Kinno off of him. There was no biting, but the way that the puppy was shaking, you would swear that he just got his arm ripped off. It broke my heart to hear him crying and to feel him shaking, and it took him a while to calm down.
Kinno wasn't the only one scaring the crap out of the puppy. Phoebe, who I'm sure was just wanting to play, got him to start shrieking like crazy, too. And it's been like this for the past four days. I'm afraid to leave the three alone. I don't want to be angry with any of the dogs, but it really upsets me, then I feel even worse because I feel so guilty for feeling angry. I love them all like they were my kids, and it is really hard to deal with being so frustrated and angry with something you love so much.
I've read so many things about introducing a new puppy to the other family dogs, and there is this whole thing about letting them set the order of the pack. Kinno has to show Obi that he is the Alpha dog in the house, and if we take that away from him, he'll only resent us and the puppy. But everytime Kinno flexes his muscles to show Obi who is boss in the house, Obi becomes hysterical and I can't help but pull the two apart and chastising Kinno, thus interfering in their natural need to establish order.
When we first got Spike, Kinno didn't even want to be near him. I knew that he was a little jealous of the attention being taken away from him. Then, there was one weekend when we had to put the both of them in a kennel while we attended a wedding out of town. When we got back, the two of them were bonded like brothers. I'm sure that the experience they had of us being gone and being left amongst many other dogs made them naturally want to stick together. Kinno became the big brother and Spike was more than happy to follow his lead. I would totally try this again, but right now, I'm so afraid of what might happen to Obi if he is left alone with the other two.
This situation just breaks my heart. Now I know how parents feel when their kids fight with each other. How can you choose sides when you love them all so much? What do you do when you want to protect the young one, but you're afraid that the older one will resent you for it?
Obi is really little, and the breeder told us that he was the runt of his litter. He seems like he is younger than he actually is. Right when we got into the house when we first brought him home, the other two dogs were waiting at the door to find out what we brought. It seemed alright at first. They did the normal "sniffing of the butts" to check each other out. Then, Kinno and Phoebe went about their own business and that was that. I thought "Great, that was easy."
Well, not exactly. Not even an hour into our return home, the puppy started screaming and crying! He was totally shaking from fear because our big dog, Kinno, was growling and standing over Obi as he laid on his back. I totally panicked while Erwin grabbed Kinno off of him. There was no biting, but the way that the puppy was shaking, you would swear that he just got his arm ripped off. It broke my heart to hear him crying and to feel him shaking, and it took him a while to calm down.
Kinno wasn't the only one scaring the crap out of the puppy. Phoebe, who I'm sure was just wanting to play, got him to start shrieking like crazy, too. And it's been like this for the past four days. I'm afraid to leave the three alone. I don't want to be angry with any of the dogs, but it really upsets me, then I feel even worse because I feel so guilty for feeling angry. I love them all like they were my kids, and it is really hard to deal with being so frustrated and angry with something you love so much.
I've read so many things about introducing a new puppy to the other family dogs, and there is this whole thing about letting them set the order of the pack. Kinno has to show Obi that he is the Alpha dog in the house, and if we take that away from him, he'll only resent us and the puppy. But everytime Kinno flexes his muscles to show Obi who is boss in the house, Obi becomes hysterical and I can't help but pull the two apart and chastising Kinno, thus interfering in their natural need to establish order.
When we first got Spike, Kinno didn't even want to be near him. I knew that he was a little jealous of the attention being taken away from him. Then, there was one weekend when we had to put the both of them in a kennel while we attended a wedding out of town. When we got back, the two of them were bonded like brothers. I'm sure that the experience they had of us being gone and being left amongst many other dogs made them naturally want to stick together. Kinno became the big brother and Spike was more than happy to follow his lead. I would totally try this again, but right now, I'm so afraid of what might happen to Obi if he is left alone with the other two.
This situation just breaks my heart. Now I know how parents feel when their kids fight with each other. How can you choose sides when you love them all so much? What do you do when you want to protect the young one, but you're afraid that the older one will resent you for it?
posted by Jenn21 at 8:30 AM
1 Comments:
Happy Birthday Jenn!
When you have a second bub you will see "What do you do when you want to protect the young one, but you're afraid that the older one will resent you for it?" All more than three in families go through the same and it never changes even as they grow and the youngest might end up bigger than the eldest. One thing is for sure ... even though my eldest bashes my youngest MANY times a day, and we try to protect, the eldest won't resent us once he has two of his own :)
Your dogs are gorgeous!!
Post a Comment
<< Home