Harley needs me! I must help him. I’ve got to find balance between these two dogs. Pawhaps it’s time to reach out…

photo courtesy of wattsupwiththat.com

It’s been a month since the arrival of the whirling dervish (aka Jax) and while Harley seems to have the patience of a saint…

My fear is that any day now, like a two sided coin – he could flip…

While adding a young puppy to a house with an adult dog is new territory for me, I “believed” I was prepared. But I missed the chapter that covered “protecting the adult dog.”

I read an interesting article What to Expect: Introducing a Puppy to Your Adult Dog (written by Laurie Luck – founder of Smart Dog University), and one particular sentence leaped out at me:

Too often, the adult dogs in the house are expected to take whatever the puppy can dish out…

Here I am pre-occupied about the puppy adjusting, I over looked ways to protect/preserve Harley’s sanity. #badpetparent

Constantly thinking “puppy this” and “puppy that” I didn’t set myself up correctly for a harmonious household.

Jax knows one speed – ZOOM. He’s fast as lightening and strikes like a viper. In the course of a few hours, Harley subjects himself to Jax:

• jumping on his head
• sitting on him
• nibbling/biting his ear, tail or paw

I have GOT to carve out some freedom for Harley…

There must be a way to share time, fun, love and attention to two. How do I find more balance between two dogs? I want Jax to feel loved, yet I don’t want Harley to feel ignored or abused. #finelines

I do know not to punish Harley when he growls. I understand this is his/their form of communication. But puppies have poor communication skills and tend to “miss” subtle signals.

Right  now I:

SUPERVISE: Because Jax doesn’t have the same set of social skills as Harley, I’m present for all of the interactions between the two…

CRATE – CRATE – CRATE: I use his crate for two reasons. (1) he’s a puppy, and you crate puppies because you’re potty training and keeping them safe. (2) Jax is persistent and energetic, if there are scheduled separation breaks during the day, the less chance of Harley doing that “flip” thing I talked about earlier 🙂

From all that I’ve read, Harley’s behavior towards Jax sounds pretty normal. It’s never (nor do I ever believe would) escalated to an unsafe level.

Right now walking is our most challenging act. We look like a comedic ballet…

Moments like these help me “keep hope alive” that a harmonious household is in my future…

But I’d still be grateful if YOU would be my “Lucy” and share with me what you’ve done if you’ve been where I am. #anyideas?

Make this a great weekend, thank you so very much for sharing me with all your friends!