Guest Blog – When the Little Dog just loves the Big Dog

When you buy a puppy and you already have a dog, the major concern is, how they will get on? Of course you want a bond between dogs, just as you would between any two individuals living under the same roof. The first question everyone asked when I got Lola was, how’s Meggie? She had been the only dog and as an English Pointer, pretty much the princess of our house for six years. Sharing the limelight with a smaller, cuter version of herself was never going to be easy.

As it happens, Meggie accepted Lola within a couple of days. She tolerated her at first, then mothered her a little. Eventually she moved on to a roll of an older sibling with her naughty little sister. It was great to see the bond between dogs and I encouraged it. A little too much it would seem. Lola decided that Meggie was leader of her pack. On the few occasions I took them out together, Lola was completely disinterested in me. All she cared about was what the big dog was doing.

I put a call in to Damian along the lines of, why is my dog ignoring me? He pointed out that if Lola is allowed to play with Meggie and chase around with her at home, she’s going to do the same when she’s out. This then translates to seeing other dogs in the park and thinking they are just there to play with too.

I made a few adjustments to limit their time together. Within 48 hours Lola was back to being my dog. Of course, I cannot wait for them to be able to run together;  it’s one of the reasons I got a puppy now, while Meggie still has a lot of running left in her. However, for her to have any time off the lead, I need to know she will always come back to me. This is just another step in making that happen.

Posted: December 6, 2018