attention seeking

Question
Hi Kathryn,  I have 2 female poodles, 6 and 4 yrs each, the younger recently joined us-less than a month now...now the older poodle seeks attention more and when taking walks she gets very agressive in her search for little critters and pulls away from the leash frequently...the younger just wants constant attention, so much that if I take the older out for a walk, the younger will chew on the door frame...I didn't want to crate the younger since she's never been crated.  They are tolerable of each other ,but don't care to play together--well the younger wants to play with the other, but the older ignores her.  Also, both bark agressively at other dogs whether out walking or seeing them in passing.  What do you recommend to calm both of them so that they are not being agressive, not chewing door frame when left alone, and will play with each other? I was hoping they would be good companions.  Thanks.
Marie

Answer
Hi Marie,

Well, first of all, your two females are just 'getting to know' each other. There is a period where they will work out who is the 'alpha' dog and what their place is in the household.

For awhile, you will just need to exercise great patience with your pets.  There may be the necessity to call in a dog behaviorist or trainer to work with them a bit if that is in your budget.  The behaviorist can help to work with the negative behaviors (especially) in the young dog.  One thing that worked when a new arrival in my household couldn't get over the nervous energy was Prozac. I'm not kidding.  The vet had me take a few grains of it from the capsule and put it in some cheese.  I did it every day for about 2 months, and it did seem to help my dog relax a bit.  

The best thing you can do is try and give them each love and support and let time work its magic.  

By the way, crating your new arrival for a short while with a toy isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Sometimes they feel safer in a "den/cave-like" setting.

Good luck and may God grant you patience.

Kathryn