Ask Alecia: My New Dog is Jealous of My Older Dog!
January 4, 2012 by Paris Permenter and John Bigley
Filed under Ask the Dog Trainer, Tips, Training
Our new dog is jealous of our old dog. We just adopted a 2-year-old husky and she is extremely jealous when we give love and attention to our 6-year-old Golden Retriever/Samoyed. Lola, the husky, has snapped twice at Molly, our older dog, when we’ve been petting her, and constantly tries to butt in between us and howls. We try to give equal attention to the two, but no matter how much attention we give Lola, she gets upset when we pet Molly.
It seems like it’s usually the other way around – the older dog jealous of the new dog – so we are at a loss at how to handle this.
The two dogs get along fine other than this issue and enjoy spending time with each other. I don’t want Lola to be aggressive to Molly and I don’t want Molly to feel like we’ve replaced her. What should we do?
Molly was rescued and showed signs of abuse. She is a shy and skittish girl. Lola was rescued and had been passed around multiple animal shelters and foster homes until we took her in. She was also physically abused in the past. Thanks, Kim
Dear Kim,
What a loving mom you are. And in a challenging position. One of the things I share with all of my rescue parents is that it is essential to let go of your dog’s past story as soon as they begin living with you. I say this because in the wild, a dog’s past history is of no importance while living in a healthy, balanced pack. The only thing that is important is their present now. And in the present now, there is always a leader and following members of the pack. Your dogs will only hold onto their past as long as you do.
So in this case, you are going to need to be a more assertive leader and not allow Lola to continue her pushy behavior. I am going to make the assumption that she also leads her walks, and this has been allowed and she is pushy (while not aggressive) with meal time as well.
I am going to suggest that you go back to retraining sessions with the girls. Practicing sits, stays (very important), downs, comes, and healing on the leash. You will not need to do long sessions, perhaps 5 minutes or less, but the important thing is that the girls get it that they are now in working mode and their only job is to listen to you. Praise them when they do and then go about your day. Try to do so at least 3 times a day. Increase the timing of stays each session. This will assist Lola in learning to calm herself. Also I suggest using a front clip harness on Lola such as the Walk In Sync™ System to assist her in learning how to be in her body in a calm way while releasing her past.
Paws Up! Alecia
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Alecia Evans is the inventor of The Walk In Sync™ Humane Dog Walking and Training System with her exclusive 5 Minute Manners Makeovers using the Walk In Sync™ Harness and Accu-Grip Leash, along with her Walk In Sync™ 3 Easy Steps to teach any human/dog duos to Walk In Sync in just minutes.
The former host of the award-winning GrassRoots Aspen TV Series, The Whole Animal-An Alternative Approach to Animal Care, Alecia takes a natural approach to dog training and health care. Her work has been featured on Fox and Friends, The Sandra Glosser Show, NY 1, and in Aspen Magazine, DogTipper.com, The New York Daily News and Woof Report.
About Paris Permenter and John Bigley
DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.
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