NEW DOG.

Question
We have had our dog for a little over a year now, and we just recently got a new 7 month old puppy. The are both cocker spaniels, and they are both fixed. Our oldest one is female and the puppy is a male... Well he tries to play and she gets EXTREMELY jealous when we give him attention and she gets  very aggressive. They fight over toys and attention constantly but he never stands up to her and she never hurts him so we don't know whether we should let them work it out, or try to punish them for the behavior. please help!

Answer
Hi Brooke,

In dog society, the dominate dog takes what he or she wants, with no apologies. Your new puppy is just acting like the submissive dog in the "pack" by giving up whatever he has, and your other dog wants, without a fight. More often than not, a male dog will be submit to a female dog.
It's only when your very human feelings of right and wrong enter the scenario that problems arise. You should respect the social order that your dogs feel comfortable with, but prevent your puppy from being physically hurt.

It's normal that the introduction of a new dog will cause jealousy with the first dog. You should give your original dog time alone with just you ever day, doing things you know she dog enjoys. That can be going for a ride in the car, a run in the park, or just a walk, but it should only be you and her.
You should also reprimand your original dog when you see her bullying the puppy. She needs to know that you, as the "pack" leader is the one who enforces the rules, sets limits, and must be obeyed.

When you pet your dogs, pet them at the same time so the older one doesn't feel like you favor one over the other. Until the dust settles, the the new puppy is being accepted (which may take a month or longer)  when playing with both dogs at the same time give out plenty of treats, praise and love, so your older dog can see that good times go hand in hand with the new puppy.

Your new puppy will probably always be submissive to your original dog, but that's so much better than having two dogs which fight for dominance!

Best of luck,

Patti