Puppy picking on older dog

[Annabell]

Hi everyone!
I have 3 rescue dogs. 2 doxies and a ShihTzu. The ShihTzu is 6, female and dominant. The male doxie is 5 and the new female doxie will turn 1 this September. We have had her for almost 3 months and the other dogs since they were each a little over a year old. The new female will not stop picking on e older male and he will not defend himself. Every now and then he will engage in play with her but he hides under the furniture sometimes to stay away from her. We have tried spray bottle, redirecting, etc. and nothing seems to work. He is a beautiful bright long haired mini...she just treats my other dog like he's prey!
Does anyone have any suggestions. I'm beginning to wonder if this just simply isn't the right dog to have added to our home.



Thanks for any help.

 

[Nell]

Hi, I sort of have the same problem.....I have a male dachshund cross (rescue) who will be 3 in January and a six month dachshund girl who tries to be dominant most of the time. My two also play very well together but my older boy will not defend himself either and my puppy gets a bit rough too at times.

Given free reign my puppy would dominate all of us and I am having to work very hard every day to establish that I am the pack leader!

But she is like a teenage child who is constantly trying to push the boundaries. The way I am managing this is by not allowing her to make the decisions, for e.g. she is ONLY allowed on my lap by my invitation, not because she chooses to jump up.

If I feel she gets too rough with my other one I don't scold her I just tell her to "chill" and if she does not respond I remove her from the room for a few minutes. If when she comes back in she starts again she is removed again etc. I call ALL the shots!

They all have endless energy at this age so it's also really important that they get adequate exercise and that you spend time playing with them otherwise they get bored and look for trouble! Playtime should end when WE say so if my pup wont "chill" when she is told I remove her from the situation and she gets time out (5 mins). It is hard work but I do believe it's worth it in the long run. Good luck.

 

[jarredfeet]

The same with friend's pup boxer and older bloodhound who's recently thinning his hair on the tail by rough playing of the younger pup. My friend was advised too to be more firm and be master when playing and enforcing discipline just like Nell told and you have to be consistent. The boxer just turned 20 months and showing some improvement on behavior, especially by draining his energy with good exercise and chew bones.

 

[Annabell]

Thanks for the replies! I'm not the biggest disciplinarian, but it appears that's going to have to be the case.