Older Dogs Jealous of New Puppies

By Ian Pennington

Jealousy is a characteristic normally one associates with human beings. But ask experienced observers of animals about this. They will all agree that animals are not inferior by any means to human beings when it comes to certain basic instincts such as jealousy. Even people who have pet dogs can vouch for this fact. When a person brings a new puppy to a house where already a dog exists, the older dog will definitely feel jealous of the new puppy. This jealous attitude of the older dogs is not a healthy phenomenon; at least for the health of the puppy. So, the owner must take extra precautions when bringing a new puppy to the house.

If you tend to think that you have already mastered the art of bringing up the dogs after successfully training one dog, you are mistaken. You are in for new practical lessons and tutorials when you bring a new puppy to your house. Dogs are highly territorial animals. Breaking in to another dog's territory is equivalent to attacking another country in the actions of human beings. Normally, the dogs mark their respective territories with urine. The smell of the urine is the invisible borderline. Since you have trained the old dog to properly use potty for relieving itself, its first line of border protection cannot be activated. So, do not be surprised if the older dog uncharacteristically starts urinating at the wrong places when a new puppy is brought to home. He is just marking his territories. Also, he may demand more attention from you. That is all because of the fact that the older dog is jealous of the attention the new puppy is getting.

There are certain things the owners can do to keep things under control. When a person brings a new puppy to the house, he or she has to show more than the normal attention to the old dog. Do not make the two dogs share same crates, toys, and food bowls. One must define a hierarchy of sorts, like the owner first, then the old dog, and then the new puppy. This order should be maintained in all aspects, be it care giving, food giving, or playing.

Another problem is that the new puppy may not understand the signals of dominance sent by the older dog. So, never leave the puppy with older dog, till both animals become comfortable with each other. A good practice is to play with both animals at the same time.

It is often recommended that when you bring the new puppy, you have to chain both the animals so that you can control things better. It is also important to take the new puppy to a veterinary doctor. Diseases can be transmitted to the other dog quite easily.

Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about older dogs jealousy, please visit New Puppy Care for current articles and discussions.