New pup

[Pauliv4]

Recently added a new pup to the household, female GSP currently 7 months old. My first is now 10 years old. I forgot how much work a new puppy is. She is very high energy and driving the old boy crazy. He’s not liking her very well right now. Any tips on integrating them as he’s gotten a little rough with his corrections so they have to be separated currently.

[Vaughan]

That's interesting. Pups are usually able to endlessly bully older males. My 5 y.o. GWP just can't seem to disipline our young female, no matter how badly behaved she is. Then again... I had a 12 y.o. male GWP when my 5 y.o. boy was a pup and he got belted too hard a couple of times. Did no harm so I think it just looked bad to us but not to either of them. I think the old bloke was just tired. Maybe let them mix when he is rested but give him some space when he is tired.

In my experience it is fantastic for a young do to have an old dog for a companion - and the same for the old one, if managed. That old dog was a bit tired and grumpy at times when the pup was young but I'm convinced having the young dog is what kept him going and really happy for the last 2 years

[Pauliv4]

Thank you for the response. That was my hope when I brought the new pup into the household as the male is a fantastic dog and I wanted him to teach her the ropes so to speak. We were on a waiting list for 2 years so it took longer than I wanted to get the pup. She is extremely high drive and just in his face so much that it annoys him. The last correction her gave her broke skin so they have been separated since then. They can go on walks together on leash with no issues but he will not initiate play or participate in play.

[Vaughan]

If he doesn't want to play does he have pain?

My old dog broke skin on the young male pup a few times but he only disciplined the pup maybe 6 or 7 times in total the 2 years they were together, so it wasn't a big deal. We were managing hip pain on the old dog at this point, so we had to consider that. Your young female sounds a bit like ours. She is 18 months now. She is well behaved and very sweet but completely bananas.... I don't know that I will bother to fly her out to hunt with her this autumn, she is not mature enough in her head yet, even though in training she gives the impression she will be a super dog. Better to let her mature a bit. Point being, cut your old dog some slack, she is proabably a bit annoying

Sometimes the older dog just doesn't want a new dog around. When that old dog of mine was a pup we already had a mature female in the house. She resented him and never liked him. As he matured she grew to respect him but that was as much as she could manage. When we got a 3rd oone, she just loved that pup and they were bonded until she died. Neither of them liked the older male and the 2 boys blew up at each other occasionally. I bear the scars with love.... They hunted together brilliantly, so it wasn't a huge issue.

[9.3x64]

I agree with Vaughan. I would cut the old dog some slack.
10 years old for a GSP is a fair age, he will have a few aches and pains by now. He is probably like a cranky old man trying to deal with a teenager.
And when you introduce a new pup, it’s a bit hard for the old dog to accept.
I remember years ago when I introduced my GSP pup to the home, I thought he would cry all night and keep us awake.
But instead the pup slept all night long, and our old dog cried all night long.

[Pauliv4]

I appreciate the feedback the old guy is still very active but does have some arthritis and occasionally needs rimadyl after a lot of exercise. He will play fetch until I make him stop but will have difficulty later in the day. I’m working on obedience with the new puppy now and hopefully she will calm down a bit or learn to contain her enthusiasm around him. She plays very well with younger dogs at the daycare center and wears every dog out other than a border collie that keeps up with her. I would just like for them to peacefully coexist in the house, hopefully someday.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.