Hello everyone,
In a few month we are going to bring home our first English Cocker Spaniel pup. He will be 10 weeks old.
We already have an old doxie mix. She is a rescue dog of about 8-10 years of age - according to our vet, and she has been living with us for about one year. She is a calm dog: she never chewed on anything, she never released herself in the house, and she sleeps most of the day.
The problem is that she is not quite responsive when we try to play with her or train her. In my opinion (although I am no expert in training dogs) she actually experiences playing or training sessions in a negative way as she is pretty tensed when we ask her to do anything, yawns a lot, and licks her nose. We have never touched her in an aggressive manner but my husband suspects that she was abused before, and now she experiences training as a form of aggression. Based on what I read about Dachshunds, they are by nature a rather stubborn breed who does not enjoy training much, anyway. So we try to make her life as pleasant as we can by minimizing any stressful situations.
My concern, now, is about the future pup. As I have never had an old dog and a pup at the same time, I do not know how this cohabitation is going to work out. I am afraid that the pup will learn from the Doxi her response to training (which is not quite optimal). I am also afraid that he may feel her tension when we ask her to do anything and consequently perceive us as a threat as well, rather than his "pack".
Do you have any experience with such as situation? Any suggestions on how to minimize the influence of our Doxi on the Spaniel?
Thanks so much.