Not listening since new pup arrived

[jujuli]

I have recently posted the new arrival of our new rescue Vizsla pup.  She has bonded very well with Charlie, however, Charlie is starting to run away when we are on walks.  He has always been very very hyper when we are at the sea but he has always stayed quite close to me.  Now he just goes completely loopy, I tried to get him on the lead and off the beach and he barked like anything and pulled to get to the sea.  He would not calm down, and was shaking, everone was staring at me and I was trying to hold Amber too who was also barking too because she was wondering what was going on. I was stuck and had to let him go and run off to the sea.  Since this I have stayed off the beach and on the dunes but yesterday he ran away from me completely.   I thought he would come back but he didnt, he had found his way to the sea and was sitting barking at a couple who he had followed up the beach, it took a long time to calm him down and he wouldnt listen to me at all.  It was like I wasnt there.    He never been that far away out of my sight, I believe he wouldnt have come back to find me at all.  Today I kept his walks very low key, on lead with lots of playing in the garden, and did some off lead training with Amber on the beach who was brilliant.  But I will never be able to let the pup off the lead because she follows Charlie and I cant trust him at the moment to stay with me.  I feel now I will have to give them separate walk.  Is this reaction normal with new dog?  Do I have to start his training from scratch?  Will I be able to walk them off lead together?    Im really trying to give him lots of love and cuddles but the pup does need a fair amount of attention.  Is this a sign that I have the balance all wrong?  By the way, I can take them on a street walk on the lead absolutely fine, they love walking together.  Its just Charlies offlead walks.  He always used to bark at me if I chatted too long on a walk, is this just attention seeking?  I would welcome anyones opinion.

[elaine.e]

Do you think Charlie is feeling anxious about Amber's arrival? I've looked at your previous posts and can see that Amber has only been with you for a few days, that she's only 6 months old and that when she and Charlie play together he barks a lot. Do you think the barking is just playfulness or does it sound anxious? My older Cocker doesn't play with my younger one but he occasionally has a few seconds of running about with him and barks in a sort of hysterical sounding way while he does it. I think it's because he's unsure about being so close to Louis!

Even though Charlie's playing with Amber he might not be comfortable about her presence at the moment. It's a huge change to his life and it will take time for him to adjust. I think his running off on the beach and not coming back could be because he's feeling confused and anxious. He's not meaning to be naughty but being in a place where he always gets excited might be giving him a sort of adrenaline rush that he just can't control at the moment. I'm not sure if I've explained that very well, but hopefully you'll understand.

It would be a good idea to do some of their walks separately for the time being so you can do some training with Amber and just get her used to being walked on her own as well as with Charlie.

It can be really difficult for an existing dog when you introduce a new one. Even if they seem to get on well it's still a huge adjustment for the existing dog to cope with and their behaviour can change, hopefully just temporarily. Are there places, less exciting in Charlie's mind than the beach, where you can try him off lead for the time being? If it's somewhere that doesn't normally make him hyper you should have more success in keeping him close to you.

Good luck . It may be difficult for the moment but hopefully they'll continue to build up their relationship and Charlie will settle down again soon.

[Bluebell]

Every time we have introduced a new dog to the house, it has sparked some adolescent behaviour from one of the others - (lillie who is 6 ...   ). It slowly resolves with going back to basics, and separate walks, and time....
Above said Lillie has just spent the last couple of weeks trailing a long line on our walks to prevent her bogging off after squirrels, fezzies,anythingthatmoves. Most definitely as a reaction to my daughters new little puppy 

[jujuli]

Thanks elaine.e I do understand what you are saying, you could be right, thank you for helping me see more clearly that this is a huge adjustment for Charlie which doesnt always show in obvious ways.   Most of the time they are happy in each others presence and do their own thing but Amber has puppy energy and Charlie does not always want to play, I can usually tell his different yaps, whether its a play yap or Im not in the mood yap.  I will watch his body language a lot closer and give him more space if he needs it.  I am now taking them on separate walks and for a few days and will take Charlie on less stimulating walks until his stress levels have calmed down.  When they have been apart they are always happy to see each other again.   I felt so guilty taking them out separately at first but I now realise it is necessary for me to train Amber properly and it gives me time with Charlie alone.  When I take them out together on the dunes I might be able to let Amber run off lead and keep Charlie on a long lead.  Thanks for the advice.