Our older dog is upset with the New Puppy

Question
We've been toiling with the idea for months to get a new dog as company for our old dog (Rocky).  Rocky is a 5 year old SBT cross and we adopted him from a rescue centre in the UK 4 years ago.  He is very loving and a real family dog.  We walk lots and go away for weekends (with Rocky) so decided to look around for a new dog for company for him on the walks and weekends away!  

We walked many dogs from Rescue Centres, old and young and decided that as he is easily threatened to go for a younger dog so's not to scare him too much!

We brought home last Friday a 10 week old GS bitch from a rescue home (Lily).  At first Rocky would just growl and be vocal to warn her off which is fair enough as she can be a pest.  On the Saturday, Rocky stopped eating and as the days progress he is becoming more and more aggressive.  The growling has progressed to snarling, snapping (not actual biting yet) and generally being a grump.  He will not sit with the family anymore and prefers to be alone in his bed in the kitchen.  He never holds his tail up anymore and his ears are always pinned to his head.

My concern and question is, how long do we give this?  We have a 6 year old daughter and I am terrified that if Rocky decides to snap, that she is caught in the middle.  I feel so sorry for Rocky but don't want to give up on the pup too easily although she is still on a trial period with us.  Someone mentioned that some dogs are just meant to be the only dog??

I fear that if this goes on too long, Rocky will turn from a loving dog who spends his life with our 6 year old, to a grumpy snarling dog who is devestated that the owners he adores have brought home a dog he hates!

We always fuss both but as the pup is always in trouble, we tend to be constantly giving her attention to train her.  Rocky has lost out on privileges such as having the run of the house as we've had to put stair gates up to prevent the pup from messing all over the house!

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Louise

Answer
Hi, Louise,

Thanks for the question.

I strongly disagree with the idea that some dogs are "meant" to be an only dog. Dogs are "meant" to get along with one another. However, Rocky does seem to have issues with other dogs. So while he may get used to the puppy in time, his general grumpiness around other dogs is something that probably needs to worked on. I know the puppy is very young, but sometimes if you can take two dogs on long walks together the grumpy one will start to be less so; walking side-by-side creates feelings of camaraderie. I can't say for sure if that'll be enough to help Rocky be more accepting of the new pup, though.

I'd give it a couple of weeks, and if Rocky still hasn't warmed up to the puppy, you'll either have to give her back, or contact me again for advice on how to smooth some of Rocky's rough edges.

Best of luck!

LCK