# Got a new puppy, now my other dog is behaving badly.



## slegary (May 19, 2012)

I have a two year old lab mix. She was doing really well with training and not touching what isn't hers.

About a month ago we got a new puppy and my lab is acting out. She is chewing things that aren't hers, not listening, she is more aggressive when we play and is digging holes in the yard. I made sure to give her a bit more attention than the new puppy in hopes to avoid this. We don't discipline the puppy because she is only 8 weeks and I read that you can't discipline puppies until they are 12 weeks because they don't understand, so could my lab be acting like this because she sees the puppy getting away with things?

What can I do to stop her behaving like this? Thanks for you help!


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## RabbleFox (Jan 23, 2013)

You shouldn't really discipline a dog of any age. Positive reenforcement works the best.

I suspect you lab isn't getting enough exercise. Longer walks, take her to the dog park, play fetch in the yard longer. She is bored mentally and physically so she digs and chews on things. She is probably also stressed by the new puppy and is chewing to relieve that stress. Don't leave things on the ground that she can't chew. Its unfair to ask her not to chew a shoe that you leave lying around. Especially when you have a new puppy. Puppy probably sees shoes and other objects as toys too. Make sure there are plenty of fun chew toys about. Kongs stuffed with frozen peanut butter, flavored Nylabones, bully sticks, and deer antlers are great choices. Not listening? Brush up on your obedience skills by working with her alone. Either out in the yard alone or in a bedroom with a closed door. Your dog must be able to work without distractions, then you can slowly add the distractions back in (puppy counts as a distraction).

Good luck.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I agree. People could really do away with so much of what they call "discipline" if they would just supervise well when their dogs are puppies and manage them well (for puppies and adults). If, when a dog is a puppy, you supervise them closely you can see when they are headed over to the leg of the coffee table and you can interrupt them before they even get there, and distract them with an appropriate chew toy instead. If you do this often enough (PREVENT before it happens) the puppy won't ever get in the habit of chewing on the coffee table legs, so you don't need to ever discipline for it.

It works the same with just about anything you don't want your puppy to do. When the pup is young, shape and manage their activities so they only have access to "good" or "right" activities/stuff. Bad habits are prevented. 

If you miss something, you can still interrupt once they've started, offer something appropriate for them to do instead, and praise them when they are doing the right thing.

As for your older dog, she's still young. Make sure that you keep up on her training (alone, not with the puppy) and keep up with her exercise, labs need a lot (without the puppy). You can't really train or walk them together at this point, because their needs are so different.
Besides training, which is mental exercise, and walking, make sure that she gets lots of your attention.....
If you have a partner/spouse/roommate, you can tag team, so one person walks the older dog while the other person stays home and does some training with the younger one, and vice versa.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Dogs, at any age, don't really understand discipline. Their brains can't really make the connection between the action and the punishment.
So basically if your dog is chewing a shoe, and you haul off and smack it, all they really know is that you smacked them and not 'I got smacked for chewing a shoe.'


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

HollowHeaven said:


> Dogs, at any age, don't really understand discipline. Their brains can't really make the connection between the action and the punishment.
> So basically if your dog is chewing a shoe, and you haul off and smack it, all they really know is that you smacked them and not 'I got smacked for chewing a shoe.'


In fact, being a dog, if the puppy is in the room when you discipline, the dog might very well form a connection between the puppy and the discipline.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Amaryllis said:


> In fact, being a dog, if the puppy is in the room when you discipline, the dog might very well form a connection between the puppy and the discipline.


Exactly. 
With things like this, you can always be sure the dog will understand what they're being punished for. So if you punish your dog for "acting out", especially when the puppy's around, she may think "oh that thing's here and I got smacked. I hate/fear that thing."


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