dogs and cats

Question
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
i have a dog and two cats and we have just adopted  a new puppy, but the puppy barks at the cats and this doesnt allow any one to sleep in the house and he accasionally nips at the other dog, how can i controll this?
Answer -
Hi, Courtney! First, do you have a crate for the puppy? If not, I suggest getting him one and beginning crate training immediately - that will not only help with the barking, but also with housebreaking. Before I can give you accurate advice for the question you've asked, though, I need to know some things about your puppy.


What breed is he, and how old?
What about your "old" dog - breed and age?
What are their sexes and are they neutered or intact?
Do the cats have free roam of the house or are they only allowed in certain areas?
When does the puppy nip at the other dog? Is it during play? Is it when he has a toy or food? What does the other dog do?

All of this is important, so please get back to me with the answers as soon as you can!

Thanks,
Kristen

the puppy is a lab retiver brittney spaniel mix, hes six months, the older dog is a 2 year old dauchsund, the dauchsund will nip when the pup is playing with me or any one else in the house. And the pup will nip back at her. And also the cats have free roam of the house but they pretty much sleep in my room, all day.
thank you for your help.

Answer
Courtney, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! You forgot to mention whether or not your dogs were neutered. IF not, I recommend having that done as soon as possible (especially the new puppy, before he matures). That will help some with their territorialness and it could also help calm him down a little.

What I would recommend, since he is obviously barking at the cats while you are trying to sleep, is to get him a crate and put him in it when you go to bed, either in your bedroom with the door closed so the cats cannot come in, or in another room that the cats will not have access to. Completely ignore him while he's in the crate, even if he barks and whines and pitches a fit. It will not take long for him to realize that this behavior gets him nowhere, and he will stop. The crate should be just large enough to allow him to stand up, turn around, and lie down in comfortably. You may want to get one that is 'lab sized' and get a partition to make it small enough for him now, so you don't have to buy another crate when he gets bigger.

For now, I wouldn't worry about the nipping between the two dogs. They will sort out who's boss of who between themselves. You just need to recognize and respect their decision. Watch them and see which one of them goes through doors or down hallways first. Which one gets to eat a treat or play with a toy while the other one watches? Which one gets up and moves out of the other's way when the other is walking by? The one that always goes last down hallways, stairs, or through doorways; the one that gets snapped at if he tries to steal a toy or bone from the other dog; and the one that gets up and out of the other dog's way is the subordinate dog. The other is the alpha, and you must respect that by always petting, talking to, feeding, treating the alpha dog first. You must allow the alpha dog to discipline the subordinate dog, and always side with the alpha dog on those decisions. Do not coddle or baby the subordinate when the alpha dog disciplines him. Eventually the nipping should cease between them.

If the puppy tries to chase or bark at the cats while he is outside the crate, you should tell him "[Name], NO" in a stern tone of voice and try to redirect his attention to a toy to play with instead. If just saying no doesn't distract him, then let him drag a short leash while he's loose in the house (under supervision, and always attached to a regular flat cloth or leather collar - not a harness, chain collar, or head collar), and when you tell him no, then 'pop' the leash to get his attention away from the cats. Praise him for looking away from them.

Good luck and let me know if there's anything else I can help you with!

Kristen