Question about a new Puppy
Comments (0)This is a recent question from a reader of my site:
Question:We have an 11 year old Bichon who has been queen of our house. We recently added a puppy to our household and the Bichon is refusing to eat or have anything to do with the puppy or us. She even growled at the puppy and has NEVER growled at anything, including babies who pulled her hair. What do you make of this situation? My husband is so upset he wants to give the puppy back.
Answer:Your Bichon is obviously stressed out by the new addition to the family. Stress does different things to different dogs. In your case it has caused your dog to stop eating.
First of all, don’t worry about your dog going off her food unless it continues for a long time. Dogs have a strong survival instinct and I have never heard of a dog starving himself.
Second, don’t coddle her. The natural reaction of many people would be to coddle a dog like this. The problem is that you would be coddling her frame of mind. Right now her frame of mind is that of stressed out and nervous. If you coddle her you would be sending her the message that acting like this is okay.
Third, try some obedience with both dogs. Obedience is very calming and soothing for dogs and reinforces the bond with the owner.
Fourth, giver her time. If she is very stressed it may take her a while to get used to the new pup in the house. Don’t give away the new puppy, you made a commitment. Train both dogs so that you can restore happiness for everyone.
