stange puppy behavior

[krndhn]

We have a new 12 wk old cavachon who is disiplaying what I consider strange behavior with our 7 yr old bichon,,,, both females.  The puppy's mother was bichon,  so in the beginning I thought she was getting close to her because she looked like her mom.  What she does is almost run into Roxy and then run or walk side by side (as though attached)  as though she were trying to "herd" Roxy by pushing her with her whole body.  Is this aggressive behavior, or trying to establish herself as the alpha dog?  Roxy will only take this for so long before getting annoyed and  snapping at the puppy.  Yesterday she became really angry and attacked Ginger and drew blood.  I'm afraid to leave them together alone at this point,  They do play together but I'm afraid that Roxy will hurt the puppy because she gets tired of the puppy's "pushy"  behavior.  Should I worry or let them work it out?  It this normal"

[veryworriedmomdad]

Thank you so much!!  Actually the big one was the female Sami who passed away at 10 1/2 yrs from renial kidney failure.  She was diagnoised when she was 9.  So we got a lot longer out of her that to be expected!!!  Chance too misses his older companion.  Sami was such a good teacher to Chance, even though sometimes he didn't deserve the kindness.  He was a rescued dog at 9 months.  Lived in pet store for 5 months and the family that bought him decided after 2 weeks they didn't want him and dropped him off at a farm. He certainly did not know how to act like a dog!  Like I said, he copied everything Sami did.  Sami taught him to stay in his yard, if Sami liked you, then Chance liked you!!  Two dogs are a lot of work, but aren't they worth the rewards in the end!!!

Good luck with Ginger and Roxy!  Before you know it, Ginger will be copying all of Roxi's good habits!!!!  (just watch out for the bad habits, they learn them too!! LOL)

[lindapalm]

After having two females for twelve years, next time around I would get two of the opposite sex.  Thats not saying they can't get along, my two did, but the larger, slightly younger, one always had to be the alpha.  I don't know if this happens also with the opposite sex dogs cause I've never had them. The bigger one would try to be the first out the door and knock the little one down, so I would make her sit inside and wait till the little one went first.  If they were both eating I would separate the bowls on different sides of the room.  The big one herds like yours, but she does it to our cats, which I ignore cause shes a border collie and the cats don't care.  The little one would growl when I knew something was up, so I would separate them. This improved over the years, but never completely stopped.  I think when Ginger gets older you'll see an improvement, and in the mean time if Roxy nips her maybe she'll learn to back off. We only had two real problems in twelve years, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[krndhn]

The  pics of your dogs are beautiful!  THe younger one surely was larger than the older one!  What did he die of so young?  We just lost our Daisey 6 wks ago... she was about 15, a bichon.  And Roxie missed her so much that we got GInger and now GInger is driving her crazy!  With Daisey, she was the caregiver... Daisey was blind and deaf the last couple years and Roxie was her eyes and ears, but they never ever had played together because Daisey was adopted at 5 yrs and had never learned to be a puppy and to play or jump or even lick. So when we got ROxie as a baby she learned her place quickly and learned to play by herself.  Now she loves to run and play with Ginger when GInger isn't pulling this weird behavior!  GUess I will jsut let them work it out and see what happens.

Thanks for your advice..... Karen

[krndhn]

What happens if they both want to be the alpha dog?  Even though Roxie came to us as a puppy, she was 7 years younger than our other dog, and insisted on being the alpha dog.  Now if this behavior shows that Ginger is trying to be the alpha.. what do I do,... just let them work it out?  I'm being very careful to not leave them alone and give them an opportunity for another  blood-drawing incident.  I don't see the puppy learning to steer clear of the older dog any time soon, infortunately.

Thanks for your concern and advice..... Karen

[krndhn]

Thanks for the advice.  Ginger's been seen by the vet twice already and no problems there.  We got her after our other bichon, Daisey, passed away at 15 about 6 wks ago, so Roxie is used to having another dog around, just not a puppy!

I don't believe her behavior is the result of bad breeding..... just bad behavior.  It's just like nothing I've ever seen before..... just pushing into Roxie's side with her whole body and forcing Roxie to move with her.  And she's always right up in Roxie's face too, but I believe that's just typical puppy behavior.

Thanks for your help..... Karen

[veryworriedmomdad]

We got our second sheltie when he was 9 months old, very scared and really didn't know how to be a dog.  Our older dog was 3 1/2 years old and very well mannered.  After 3 spats, our older dog drew blood on the little ones nose.  After we had him neutered, 2 days later, they got along fine.  The younger dog always walked right behind the older.  Laid right next to her(as you can tell by the picture).  He always mimiced her too.  His mother was sable and white like Sami.  

Good luck!!!

[lindapalm]

We had two females, and even though we had the smaller one longer, the bigger one insisted on being the alpha dog.  She always had to be the first out the door, first to be petted, etc, and she also drew blood.  It improved when they got older, but at times there was still flare ups.  If you can see the two getting pushy or angry try to stop it before it starts, which a lot of times is impossible.  Hopefully the puppy will learn as she grows not to mess with the older one.  Good Luck

[skydnsr]

Can the puppy see, is one thing that I would be wondering.  What you are describing is not what I think of as aggressive behavior or even the usual annoying puppy behavior.  When puppies haven't learned their manners and they get on an adult dog's nerves, in my experience, they will usually approach the older dog head-on.  Typically, they will jump up and paw at or lick the older dog's face.  The older dog doesn't always like it, but that's to be expected.  Not all human adults like kids, either.

So this behavior from the puppy sounds kind of unusual to me, and I would have the puppy medically checked out.  Also, I would talk to the breeder, and see if he or she has any insight.  And of course, if you should find out that there is definitely something physically wrong with the puppy, the breeder needs to know, so he or she will not mate that same pair of dogs anymore.  

Hopefully the puppy is fine, and this is just some silly behavior that will pass.  That is also very possible.  But if the older dog drew blood when she corrected the younger one, it is a situation that you have to get to the bottom of.   Part of the problem may be simply that the older dog is not used to having another dog around, especially one that intrudes on her "personal space."  Not all older dogs are good at correcting puppies in an appropriate way.  Good luck.