My family brought home a 9-week-old Cavapoo a few days ago, and I’m honestly really anxious about whether this is going to work with our 4-year-old Cocker Spaniel.
Their first meeting went badly. Our Cocker snapped at the puppy several times and even bit her. The puppy was so scared that she peed. I was really shaken by it and immediately felt like bringing the puppy home might have been a mistake. My family, however, insisted that it would be fine and that we should just let them “sort it out themselves.”
Since then, our Cocker has been avoiding the puppy completely. She refuses to be in the same room as her for more than a few minutes and has been isolating herself a lot, which makes me feel awful. When they are near each other, the atmosphere feels really awkward and tense, and I find myself constantly on edge.
I do understand some of my Cocker’s triggers with other dogs. For example, she really hates being approached from behind or having another dog linger behind her. In those situations, she will snap. Because she has been avoiding the puppy and there hasn’t been any more aggression, the puppy has started becoming more confident around her. When I see the puppy rushing up to her, getting too close, or approaching from behind, I usually redirect her or pick her up before anything happens.
My family is getting annoyed with me for doing this. They keep telling me that growling and snapping are just normal ways for dogs to communicate and set boundaries, and that this is how the puppy will learn. I do understand that to a degree, but after the biting incident, I’m really scared to just let it play out. I get extremely nervous whenever they sniff around each other or when I catch my Cocker staring at the puppy.
I’m home from university for the summer, so I’ll be spending a lot of time alone with both dogs while everyone else is working full-time. I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have introduced a puppy to an adult dog before. Am I overreacting, or is it reasonable to be this cautious after the first meeting went so badly?