New puppy/old dog

A typical conversation I have this time of year:
"We just got a new puppy! Our older dog Hates it! They fight all the time! I tell the old dog to quit taking the puppy's toys! I tell the older dog to quit picking on the baby! I try to tell baby everything is going to be fine! Pick him up, shove the old dog away! It's getting worse! How do I make the older dog stop?"

Sigh.

Let's all hold hands, sway to the music and sing together 'dogs are not people. They don't think like people. They don't act like people. We can dress them up and treat them like fur babies all we want and they will still be dogs.'

Strange but true.


I ask "is there blood? Does puppy end up going back for more?"

The answer to these questions are always "no" and "yes".

Then let them settle it themselves. Stay out of it. Don't coddle puppy. Don't demonize older dog. Walk away if possible. If walking away isn't possible, interfere as unbiasedly as you can.


In another post I will talk about alpha dog dynamics - but the short answer is 'don't make things worse by doing what you are doing!'