Raising 2 Cocker Spaniels

Question
QUESTION: Delores, I have a 8 month Red Male Cocker and just purchased a 3 month Buff Cocker Female.  I haven't picked her up yet; however my concern is my male, he is a love bunny fun spirited, hard headed but extremely intelligent, but he is aggressive.  How hard is it to have the 2 breeds in the home and be under control?

ANSWER: Hi Tamara,
Well..you just never know how it's going to go.

Introduce them on neutral ground...don't just bring in the new pup and plunk her down.  You go pick her up and when you get back, have a friend or husband or whoever have your male "on a walk" and just let them "meet" and have a little stroll together before invading "his turf".

I had a 6 year old male who sounds just like yours and when I brought home the new puppy what I was expecting didn't happen at all and he became her slave :)

And I don't know what you mean by "he's aggressive".
Under what circumstances?  Aggressive how?  What do you do when he acts out like that?  Is he aggressive to other dogs?

Control is gained by training.  If you weren't all that serious about it before, it's time to do so now or you're going to have a 3 ring circus going on.
Delores

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: This was awesome feedback!  Perfect idea, I will definitely use the meeting on neutral grounds when bringing her home.  

To answer your question: Bishop is aggressive when he meets any dog but especially females, he gets extremely excited.  I immediately check the behavior by calling his name, NO or slight tug of the leash; however it still exists.  Do you think I should immediately get a trainer for both of them? (The ages are 8 months & 3 months)

ANSWER: Extremely excited and aggression are not the same thing.
Does he growl?  Snarl?  Show teeth?  Bark?

See how the introduction goes.  Put the people "in the middle" with a dog on the outer sides and "keep moving".
Pay no attention for about 5 minutes..then stop and let them "sniff".  At the first sign of "unfriendliness" just keep walking in the same formation.  No chatting, reprimands, scolding...just keep moving.  In another five minutes, stop again.  Of course, you need to have total leash control of your older guy but don't correct him.

He'll "know" she's a puppy and most dogs are pretty cool with puppies.

A trainer is always a good idea.

After the half-hour walk/introduction, bring them onto your property..into the house and pop new puppy in crate.
Check his reactions..but ignore them for a little bit.

Do not leave them alone together until you see definite signs of acceptance.  You may have to do the "pack walk" for a few days.

Do let me know how this goes. :)
Delores

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Delores.  You were absolutely right in the meet/greet they are taking to each other very well.  However, you won't believe the nightmare I am living through right now.  I purchased this puppy with the intent of having a healthy dog, I bought her from a small town petstore in Dalton GA off the puppyfind website where I found my 1st Poochie; well needless to say when I went to pick her up she had this awful crooping cough and a fever and I was told "She had tonsilitis from crying too much", ludicrous right...Well at this point I love animals and I figure Kennel Cough but the idea you didnt tell me this before I made a 4 hour drive to pick her up bothered me but my deposit was non-refundable.  Okay, I pick up her up on a day that I lost a close family member and indicated that to the owner, who by the way I called and told that I wouldn't be able to honor the 48 hour agreement ahead of time because I had a funeral to attend.  Well, by the time I get back in town on Wednesday, she is almost over the fake tonsilitis/Kennel Cough but by 9am I look at the puppy and I noticed that she has a red bag on her right eye. I took her to the VET and she has "Cherry Eye", Kennel Cough and an severe Ear Infection (ear Mites) in both ears infested with yeast...Now what a coincidence right, I'm talking to her about it before all of the diagnoses and she agreed to pay all of the bills, well now I call her and tell her the actual diagnosis listed above and how I have been misled and made the comment "and it looks like she's getting it in the other eye", she says "that's not true because we already had that one repaired."  Whattttt?  So you failed to tell me when I was en route that she was sick, knowing the distance I would have to drive and you failed to let me know this dog had a history of Cherry Eye, knowing that at some point in her life I wanted to breed her with my Champion Bred Cocker?  She tells me now she won't refund my money and she didn't mislead me she can only exchange the dog for another one, I get upset I dont want another puppy mill dog from your rotten litter!  What should I do, so far I have spent $800 on a dog, $250 at the VET and the eye will be $300; not to mention my time.  I am thinking about sueing them but didnt know how to go about it, please help!!!!

Answer
Okay...lesson learned?  No one should EVER buy a dog from a pet store.  Next time you'll deal with a reputable breeder.



Now let's move on.  ear mites are a simple fix.  kennel cough is a simple fix.  The Cherry Eye "might" need surgery or not.

Let's think about this poor pup and getting her well
and forget about suing.  It'll cost you a lot of money and even if you win, the "reward" isn't worth it monetarily.
You "might" get your $800 back but it'll cost more than that in legal fees and will take two years.

I'm glad the two are getting on.  And Tamara, any cocker (no matter what the source) can get any of these problems.
You just had the bad luck to have them all dumped on you at once.

Look at it this way...despite the money...you rescued this puppy from what are obviously despicable people and conditions.  Now...make her well and enjoy your new girl !
Like everything else in life, you learned this lesson the hard way :)   Time to just move on.
Delores