Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

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tierasa
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Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

Post by tierasa »

Hi all. My name is Rasa, and I'm new here. I've been reading the forums for a while and I knew this was the best place to get some advice from fellow chow lovers like myself.

My sister and I are the proud owners of a four and a half year old cream male named Tai. He's an absolute mess in all of the best Chow ways. However, we think he's lonely. Almost a year ago, my sister and I moved into our own home taking Tai away from his half-sister and a male mutt. He adjusted to the new house after about two weeks or so, but now, we think he's lonely. Whenever there are other dogs around in the neighborhood, he seems to want to play with them. We take him back to see his half-sister at my parents' house once every other week or so that way he's not completely void of canine companionship. We thought maybe having a companion here at his own home would be better for him especially since I'm likely going back to school in the Fall, and my parents' house is 45 minutes in the opposite direction of school. He's not well-socialized, so I think a doggie daycare or something of that nature is out of the question.

Long story short, we took him to see some chow puppies today. We thought that would be the best way to see how he might react if we decide to bring one home. However, it did not go well. The breeders neglected to tell us when we made arrangements that there were a large number of Dobermans on the property, so the moment we got out of the car there was a lot of aggressive barking. This put both Tai and my sister on edge. While I was talking to the lady of the house and checking AKC papers (the daddy of the litter is Tai's half brother. I knew him as a puppy. ;)), the man of the house put one of the 5 week old puppies in the floor with Tai. Now Tai has NEVER been around a dog smaller than him let alone a puppy. Tai wanted to play with her and ended up nipping and/ or scaring her. All I know is that she started yelping and crying. I scooped her up and she was still crying for a while. Eventually she settled and it was obvious he hadn't hurt her. However, that put more tension in the air and Tai didn't settle down for the entirety of the visit.

I know in different circumstances Tai would've behaved more normally. When the puppies were in their crate, he was fine with just checking them out and one of them seemed to like him just fine. She would be our choice for his companion since they seemed to react well to each other when I was holding her though even then he tried to nip at her. So my question is: Would Tai have understood she was a baby had he not been on high alert and is it possible that he would adjust to her if we brought her home? Was it a bad reaction or just a bad situation or both? What if any precautions should we be aware of if we do bring her home? I'm also a bit concerned that it seems they've taken her from her mother at such a young age. Any advice you guys can give us would be helpful.

Thanks for reading this long post.
Rory's Dad
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Re: Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

Post by Rory's Dad »

So 1st off, not sure I understand the situation completely. Pups should not be removed from the litter prior to 8 weeks. This is to allow them to learn proper interaction and socialization skills. Simply exposing a young pup to other dogs earlier than that should not be an issue. If Tai was removed from his litter earlier, he may not have the basic learning set to deal with pups. The yelping from the young pup should be a warning sign that play got too rough, but if he wasn't injured it should have stopped there. So, I am guessing that Tai was released early?

If Tai had already dealt with housemates of similar age before being separated, he might be ok. Clearly you should avoid another male dog. He doesn't have the social skill to adapt to that, and with you going back to school, he wont get the time needed to overcome his issues. Even with a female, you will need to separate them when no one is available to supervise.

Maybe the situation set him on edge, but I think it's more likely that he reacted to your attention to the other dog. That would only increase with a new dog in the house. He will not view it as a companion, but rather a competition for your attention. You should spend more time getting him properly acclimated to his situation and properly socializing him.
tierasa
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Re: Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

Post by tierasa »

Thanks for the reply, Rory's Dad. Tai was in fact brought home at 7 weeks, but there were extenuating circumstances. His breeder, my adopted grandmother, had cancer and had gotten too sick to take care of him and his sister. We were fortunate that it was just a litter of two. They were born shortly after her diagnosis. She went down hill pretty quickly and passed away 3 months after we brought Tai home. My grandmother had just a few of her dogs left when Tai was born, so he pretty much only had his parents and his sister to interact with before he came to live with us. Because of this you think he wouldn't be accepting of a new puppy even though he's lived with other dogs his whole life, or just that he doesn't understand that it's a puppy?
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Tippsy'smom
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Re: Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

Post by Tippsy'smom »

Maybe it's just me, but it doesnt sound like anything bad happened. He tried to play with the puppy. She wasn't hurt, she was just scared. That's why she cried. You would to o if someone so much larger than you did that to you. He doesn't understand that the puppy is too small to play with. That's all it was. At 8 weeks or older, I'd say you'd be fine to bring her home.
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JasonandNat
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Re: Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

Post by JasonandNat »

Yup sounds normal. But you do have to keep in mind that once you have a new puppy your going to have set the pecking order. If Tai is 'yours' brewing that bond will not go well if you don't take charge of the situation.
tierasa
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Re: Bad Reaction or Bad Situation?

Post by tierasa »

Thank you all for the replies. We've opted not to get a puppy at this time. The breeders wanted us to take her way too early, and I was worried about her health because they were obviously new at breeding Chows. Anyway, thank you guys for the advice.
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