"I'm getting a puppy for my dog to play with!" is a wonderful intention, however the reality of bringing a puppy home to a resident dog is not always so smooth! No matter how friendly your resident pup or pups might be, there is a high chance that they will not be ecstatic about having a little ball of energy with no social skills and needle sharp teeth jumping on them at all hours of the day.
If you expect that two pups will be be less work for you right off the bat, because they will entertain each other, you are about to be sorely disappointed! As someone who fosters puppies with the help of my four year old resident dog, I can confirm that initially, it can be quite a harrowing experience if you are not prepared to carefully manage their interactions for a while. I definitely made mistakes when I first started out, and learned from them, but at the expense of my sweet boy's peace and happiness.
My boy has nearly endless patience, and a lot of practice with strange dogs and puppies coming through the house, and yet he is usually still not keen on the experience initially. Puppies, especially in the beginning, can be quite the little disruptors of the adults' peace and routine. Often they are too small to safely play with too, which is something the older dog often feels instinctively, and stays away so they don't hurt them on accident.
Here are some things you can do to make the transition for you and your dog as smooth and peaceful as possible:
First Days
One of the worst things you can do when you bring a puppy home is to immediately just plop them in the house/apartment with your existing dog and let them explore freely.
Puppies are often overwhelmed and over-stimulated by such a big change in their life. Other than the fact that they are unfamiliar with the space and will not know where to potty yet, often resulting in accidents, and that they will want to explore with their teeth and chew anything and everything up, they will also usually be VERY excited about your resident pup.
There are few things as sweet and intense as the love and admiration a little puppy has for their older adopted sibling! But that also means they will want to follow them everywhere, jumping on and hanging off of them all the time! Would you want a strange teething toddler latching onto your neck and pulling at your ears 24/7, even while you try to nap? That's probably how your older dog feels.
My strategy for bringing a foster puppy home now is always to prepare a separated space for them ahead of time in my living room. This consists of a playpen attached to a crate, some nice toys, a pee pad placed closest to the door that leads outside, and a soft fluffy bed in the crate (that they usually pee on eventually, but hey.) I like to use a playpen attached to the crate, because the puppy or puppies will be in there for most of the first couple of days, especially if they are very young (6-8 weeks). A crate in itself is very constricting, so I only close them in there during night time, to encourage them to learn to cry out if they need to go potty, instead of just going anywhere in the pen.
The first days are usually very over-stimulating for a puppy, and they need time to decompress, nap most of the day, and just get used to the sights and sounds of their new environment. If you let them free-roam and jump on your dog immediately, they will often get so wound up that they will be very difficult to calm down...not to mention your dog will likely not appreciate it, and they will be off to a not-so-great start.
My routine is: when the puppies first get out of the car, they immediately get a potty break outside, to establish where their potty spot is right off the bat, and then they are put into this separate space. I go in, play with them, give them treats, while my resident dog only observes and sniffs from the outside of the playpen, and he never goes into their space. I leave the playpen, practice casually coming and going in there with them, and being in the same room as them without them able to reach me or my dog. This immediately establishes their routine expectations, and sets good ground work to practice preventing separation anxiety, without too much stress.
They will then get taken outside to potty as often as every 15 minutes, to set a good pattern of knowing where to go and prevent any accidents...this seems like a lot, but it really pays off in the long run!! And in the next couple of days, they get supervised time to explore the garden and run around in the sun, explore the house a little bit, but mostly they stay in their pen. Every interaction with the resident dog or dogs is carefully supervised.
Monitored Playtime
Puppy playtime with the resident dog is always limited and monitored closely at first. When first introduced out of the playpen, it's good to have one or both on a leash, so they can just sniff and you can feel out how they are going to react, and separate them quickly if you notice tension. Sometimes the puppy is nervous about the older pup at first, but if the older dog shows any amount of tolerance, often they will jump right on them and start nipping and pulling ears. If you let it get to that point, you better have a very friendly and play-ready older pup, or else it might get ugly!
Always allow the resident dog a way to separate themselves from the puppy. Make sure to advocate for their peace and happiness, and let them know you are there for them, in this time where they feel like their life and routine is turned upside down.
Allow play where both the puppy and the adult dog are relaxed and "floppy". At least "floppy" is how I always describe it...no tension, no raised fur, no tight body language, no long stiff pauses, just flopping around having fun. Here is a pretty good example of good, easy going play:
Corrections
What are corrections? They are signals your dogs give each other as a warning. They basically look like biting, but they are in fact just snapping at air and growling. Loud growl, a snap, or several snaps, just to let the puppy know that they need to back off.
If your dog is good at correcting, they can look absolutely terrifying, while also not cause any harm at all. They can be quite intimidating, after all, that's the point! One time when he was really fed up with getting his ears pulled while trying to nap, my boy literally had the entire head of a 6 week old puppy in his mouth, and yet made no contact with it at all, and backed away immediately. I have enough experience to know to trust him, but you should always be very careful, and know your dog and their intention, to prevent any injury!
Sometimes you might feel the urge to scold them for these frightening corrections, or get really scared and punish them (never punish a dog! They will not understand the reason, only that they can't trust you!). Really, they should be allowed to set boundaries, and that's the best way they know how. If you scold them for it, the message they get is that their boundaries and peace are not important to you, and you will not help protect them or let them protect themselves, which can be really damaging for the trust you have built up...especially at a time when they are likely already jealous and get less attention due to the puppy.
Corrections can be really beneficial! They are a natural way for your dog to teach the puppy boundaries, and it's something the puppy should understand, since it's "their language", not some unfamiliar human expectation.
Once the correction happened, the puppy should back off. If they keep pushing, the older dog might actually feel like they have to bite to be left alone. So if you see a couple corrections and the puppy is not backing off, immediately and calmly remove the puppy and separate for a while!
Always be on the lookout when corrections happen!
First of all, make absolutely sure that it's just a correction, and they don't actually harm the puppy! Sometimes the puppy yelps because they get startled, but check that they didn't actually make harmful contact. If they do really bite with intent to harm, separate immediately and proceed with extreme caution and vigilance, and give them more time, and take it in much slower steps, on a leash, and if the tension still doesn't lessen, seek the help of a behavioral expert.
Resource Guarding
Puppies want it all! They will literally drop their favorite treat if they see the older dog eating the same thing, and will try to take it instead...and then drop that if the older dog goes to eat what they used to have, and try to take it back, and on and on, in a merry-go-round of thievery. But if you don't prevent this, the older dog might get really annoyed, and develop a habit of resource guarding (growling, snapping and getting protective of their treasured thing, with severe cases sometimes leading to serious injury).
It's crucial to feed the dog and puppy separately, give treats separately, and don't let them compete over resources in any way.
Hearing growls over food, treats, toys, or nap-spots should be your alarm bell. Growling is a warning. If not managed, biting is coming. Lure the puppy away immediately, if you hear a growl! If either develop a habit of resource guarding, it can mean a lifetime of managing sudden potential fights breaking out.
Either dog might get protective of their favorite toy or spot on the couch, their treasured dog bed, or even their favorite care giver, you! Puppies tend to get into everything, and always want to be near either you, or their older sibling. If you see them crawling into the dog bed with your dog, or try to get near them on the couch, and your dog is growling as a warning, or giving corrective snaps and the puppy doesn't back off, remove the puppy immediately and calmly and gently place them in their separate space with a treat or chew!
The key is to make sure all the dogs/puppies involved feel secure in their food source, their comfortable and safe spaces, and your attention, and not have to feel like they are competing over any it. If good habits are established and there is no scarcity for anyone, later on they will likely be happy to share!
Benefits!
So, the initial adjustment time for bringing a puppy home to your resident dog or dogs can be quite turbulent, and it may take days, weeks, and in some cases even months of carefully managed and monitored interactions for the puppy to mature enough to be a real friend to your dog...what are the benefits?
The greatest bonus I noticed from my own experience is that the older pup can give the puppy a lot of confidence, sense of calm, and the ability to settle, that otherwise you would have to teach over a long time yourself. The puppy will look to the older dog and try to copy everything they do! That means that if you have a calm, confident, and well balanced older dog, the puppy will start to copy them being calm, sitting down and watching things quietly. They will realize that they don't have to react to every noise or be afraid of unknown things, because their big sibling is not concerned. This is huge! What I spent many months teaching my boy, he can teach to puppies in a matter of days.
An other benefit is teaching bite inhibition. Puppies love to nip, and they don't always have a gauge for how hard is too hard! They are not as good at reading signals from humans, but they can pick up signals from an older dog much more quickly! Playing with my dog, puppies often realize much more quickly that they can't nip that hard, or else the play ends immediately. This is the same strategy I use when playing with puppies, but for some reason they pick it up so much quicker from an other dog!
Most importantly, even if it takes a while, the companionship that can bloom over time, if properly introduced and managed, is something that will melt your heart and provide a friendship like no other. They will be partners in crime, playmates, and protect and support each other their whole lives long.
Don't rush this magic! Take the time to get them off to the right start, so they can be best friends forever!
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