| Introducing a new puppy...
This is actually the last porion of a post that I haven't gotten a response to on the General Info column. I decided it was now a behavior issue, so I thought I'd try to elicit a response again. As an FYI, the entire thread is under "Picking the Right Puppy" in General Info. Here goes:
OK, we've followed the seasoned advice on this page and it has been helpful - but we need more help.
We found the puppy that chased the ball the most and after visiting the litter three times, it is the puppy we like most as well. This should bode well for training...
The final act was to introduce our 13 month old female to the ten week old male before we took him for good. A couple of months ago I asked the question about introducing a new puppy to our female, Jade. The response was to pick a neutral site where neither dog had been. This is what we did.
When they met, Jade approached and sniffed and became tense. He sniffed back and they both wagged their tails. She then barked and chased him as if trying to play. He became scared at her barking and retreated multiple times. I never let them interact in an unrestrained manner fearful of what Jade may do because even when leased she tried to show her dominance by mounting him - I'm not sure why a 65 pound female has to mount an 18 pound male but the drive for pecking order dominance obviously runs deep.
When they approached each other, every time Jade sniffed and wagged her tail and then growled and barked. The puppy would hide and seemed interested in playing until Jade showed signs of aggressiveness. We were told that because he's a puppy and male, she would take to him - this didn't seem to be the case. While she didn't do her typical bared teeth and raised hair on her back like with other dogs, I was uncomfortable letting them play in an unrestrained manner. Therefore she could feel my resistance on her harness which I think makes her worse. She wagged her tail and barks and even puts her rear in the air and head on the ground (like when her and I wrestle and play), but I didn't want her to hurt him. Even if she had no malicious plans, her weight and size would clobber him.
Our final attempt will occur on Friday. They are bringing the pup to our house to reintroduce them. We really want this puppy and are hoping for some more valued advice we can apply. If anyone has ideas, PLEASE HELP!!!!! Two rotties that have to be kept separated simply will not work so if this seems evident to the experienced masses out there, please advise.
Thanks again.
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