introducing new pup to older Cairn

[Guest]

We are 'thinking' of adding a new Cairn puppy (male) to our family. We already have an 11 year old female Cairn that we adore!

Took her to see him and she BLANTANTLY ignored him. Stuck her nose high in the air. Think she had a meassage for us alreay!

Any hints, comments, suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

[Guest]

.....10 views and no replies?

Did I do somethin' wrong here?

[bradl]

Not at all. The forums are still fairly 'low traffic' so you may need to wait a few days or more (especially in summer) for any response.

I'm no expert, but I've seen a few oldsters disdain puppies of a certain age. I wouldn't draw any conclusions from a short visit. It would not be surprising for an 'only' dog to get its nose out of joint when an interloper joins the pack. Unless they actually hate each other, they usually sort things out. We've seen our oldest girl play with a puppy, but only when she thought no one was looking

[Guest]

Thanks, Brad.

Big concern of ours is, of course, her level of tolerance. Puppies can be quite persistant.

Our oldest son got a new puppy last year and she was quite crabby after about a half hour. Started getting snappy with him. While I am sure the puppy would eventually learn her 'signals and warnings' I just not sure it is fair to her since she is older and been our 'only baby' for such a long time.

What's your opinion on male vs female pups with existing female already in household?

Thanks

Cathy

[Guest]

[bradl]

Most folks would go with a male. Either can work of course, but having one each will qualify you to answer the eternal question: "Which is better, boy or girl?" (Answer: both!)

Let your girl tell the puppy in her own way that she's not to be bugged. Most puppies seem to 'get' it fairly quickly. Give the old girl lots of special attention and a break from the puppy if it's being too annoying even after a correction from Auntie.

(I'm not sure if that second image might be stretching the message area. You might want to try shrinking it down a touch as an experiment.)

[Guest]

Well, we now are the proud owners of a new baby boy Cairn. He is now almost 17 weeks old!

I am sure you know why it took soooo long for me to post again! He is keepin' me hoppin'!

Cathy