Bringing Home a New Puppy

If you already have an older dog and you decide to bring a new puppy into your home, you will have to be careful the older dog does not get jealous of the little one. Your job as an owner is to maintain the correct amount of equilibrium between both animals by making sure neither lacks any of your attention and so that they do not notice any preferential treatment. In the case of bringing a new puppy into your home, the safest way of going about it is to let your older dog come in first place, in other words serve him his food first, let him go through the door first etc. Remember that if you manage to resolve jealously problems from the very beginning, the older dog will not assume aggressive attitudes towards the puppy and the puppy will not feel insecure. Make sure to not leave the two dogs alone until you are sure they get along perfectly well. The bigger and older dog could end up attacking the smaller one. Your older dog will need to continue getting all of the attention he normally did, this should not change by any means. Pushing the older dog to the side will cause the dog to suffer and it can actually be dangerous as he can become aggressive. Keep a close eye on both the new puppy and the older dog and learn to be attentive to any signs of sicknesses that could arise such as diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, hemorrhaging, ear infections, eye problems, coughs, fatigue, etc. If your dog or puppy gets constipated you will need to check in with the veterinarian. Do not use any form of laxatives without getting specific indications from the veterinarian. Laxatives can cause a dog to get peritonitis due to an intestinal obstruction. Every once in awhile you should get a feces and urine analysis as this will show if there are any arising problems. To get a urine sample, wait until the animal starts urinating and place a clean container under the dog. All you need is a small amount. If you need to get a feces sample, just get it from where the dog has just done his needs. You should ask you veterinarian to do a complete examination on both.