Intro
People think new puppy = cuddles. In truth? It’s refereeing fights and praying your older dog doesn’t move out. Here we are now, 6 weeks down the line. Bertie might look frustrated here, but I promise you prior to this he was running bum down loopy playing. Adding a new puppy to a pack may sound fun, cute and cuddly but i promise you it isn’t easy. Here’s the reality…..
The decision
The whole foundation of this blog is agility but agility is so much more than the few hours training in a week. It’s about the drive, the bond and most importantly, the fun. So I thought it was fitting to introduce my pack in my first post and how we got to where we are now, with two older dogs and having just introduced a puppy into the pack. Since starting agility, I’ve been watching all the cocker in my class, jealous to death of their speed and pretty faces. As you’ll come to learn, Bertie is a Maltipoo, typically a ‘pampered lapdog’ which couldn’t be any more wrong for my boy. He’s moody when you try to cuddle, about as calm as a bull in a China shop and stupidly quick when driving for the ball. However, as we work our way through training and Bertie gets older (he’s 2), it became apparent very quickly that Bertie struggles to keep up with the working cockers and collies in my classes. The lack of working breed could limit him as we work our way up grades but that’s not to say I’m not going to be taking him as far as possible up the ranks. To have a more ‘traditional’ working dog for agility, I made the psychopathic decision to get myself a RED Working Cocker spaniel (Red are said to be the loopiest of the lot, just like your traditional chocolate lab, as my mum used to say, you never see a chocolate guide dog). Whilst he looks calm here: , read on to see the absolute chaos he causes.
The Rocky Start
So my current pack consists of 2 Maltipoos, Bertie and his idiot brother Frankie (the definition of an absolute wanker but in the cutest way possible). Let’s talk about Bertie first, as he grew up he became quite aggressive to dogs in his personal space, especially other males. Without foreshadowing, I think you know where this is going. Then we have Frankie, Bertie’s absolute best friend in the world, absolutely adores him, but Frankie is quite submissive during play. Probably because Bertie is bigger and more powerful so it usually ends up with Bertie dictating the play. Then Ralphie came, the first meet….. I was truly nervous for how the meet with Bertie would go, as any of you would have been if you’ve ever tried introducing a puppy to your older dogs. I introduced Frankie first thinking all would be perfect, little did I know, Frankie had grown a backbone overnight and decided he was going to be the big boss. Then I brought Bertie in, surprisingly, it went really well, showed real signs of acceptance until we went inside. Bertie was completely avoidant of Ralphie and anytime Ralphie came in to ‘attack’, as puppies do, Bertie would harshly correct. Without the use of a crate (see related articles for how I’m crate training my puppy to complete neutrality), this would have been virtually impossible. You’re probably wondering ‘where’s Frankie during all this’, Well…. Frankie got a bit overstimulated and tried to hump Ralphie a lot that night so he got removed from the pack into the bedroom. I knew from day one that anything like that would be disciplined to the max. At this point, I was really struggling with the puppy and older dogs not getting along whatsoever.
Progress and turning point
Given Ralphie is going to be Dual-Purpose Working Cocker Spaniel, gundog and agility (look out for future posts on how I’m juggling this), I needed to get him out and socialise ASAP. At 9 weeks old, we went to my static caravan in Hornsea for the weekend to get out on the beach, be around new sounds and sights and train neutrality to cars, bikes and crowds from day 1. Slightly controversial as he hadn’t had his second jab yet, that’s a discussion for another day (I’m not an expert and am certainly not qualified to talk about the risks to this). After a rocky first week with the pack hierarchy, we finally arrived at the caravan. Instantly, Bertie and Frankie engaged in good play in the caravan with Ralphie all weekend. This glimpse of how the settled future between them would eventually look was desperately needed and welcomed. After a few days away, we returned home and Bertie switched instantly and didn’t approve again. At this point, I was fairly certain and hopeful that time would sort everything out despite this slight blip again.
Ongoing balance
The brighter ones amongst our community here would have picked up on the foreshadowing there. We’re now 1 month down the line and everything is truly perfect within the pack. Bertie has now fully accepted Ralphie, constant play with positive corrections when enough’s enough. Funnily enough, last Tuesday at his agility class, Bertie had a ‘puppy hangover’ from a really busy weekend of constant play and was visibly tired during training. Something I managed better this week for his competition Saturday, I monitored and regulated play better on Friday to not tire Bertie out. There’ll be posts on how I manage a non working bred’s dog energy whilst competing in a working dog sport, I feel I’ve truly cracked the code completely. Frankie’s backbone has reemerged over the last week, this time much more positively and controlled but not without a cost. Frankie is currently nursing an outer ear injury from puppy deciding to play tug with his ear. As sorry as I feel for Frankie at the moment, he’s constantly looking to pick a fight and play with Ralphie, which I’m allowing but really monitoring and keeping Ralphie off his ears.
Future outlook and Reflection
Getting a puppy is not easy, never mind a multi-generation bred Working Cocker. As much as I truly think I’ve helped integrate him perfectly into the pack, in a sense, I got lucky that Bertie decided to accept him. If you’re thinking of getting one, read all my puppy-related articles and think ‘is a Working Cocker Spaniel the right dog for me’. There’s a parallel universe where Bertie rejects Ralphie and I’m in for a decade of hell, don’t let that be your universe. One slight potential issue I’m currently managing is: When Bertie decides enough is enough he gets his teeth out and warns Ralphie off. At the moment, Ralphie responds to this by pouncing around barking in his face winding Bertie off the clock and is getting braver day by day. After Bertie does a harsher correct, I’m crating the puppy away from the situation as I don’t want anyone to get hurt or Bertie to change his stubborn little mind on the puppy.
Chaos is normal and pack dynamics are volatile but I truly think everything will always work out in the end if you really want it to. Adding a puppy to the pack is tough but so worth it at the end and seeing the progress and acceptance developing is so bloody rewarding. I honestly think it’s all about balancing multiple dogs well and not letting the scales tip too far in one direction. I can’t wait for the future and I hope you all stick around to see what it brings! If you’ve just added a puppy to your pack, let me know how its going, we can struggle together and share Puppy Training Tips.
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