Author Topic: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it  (Read 1266 times)

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Offline DiJon

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Hi, We have a 3.5 year old cocker Tia who is getting on well with Ozzy our 17 week old cocker. They play together and he is her shadow when they are out in the garden. She's even been protective of him a few times when our male cat is telling Ozzy to go away.

Ozzy can be a real pain with Tia, always licking her face and nose, as well as lying down to be submissive. Tia just growls at him and really does not like it at all.
The biggest thing I am wondering is if Tia will ever let Ozzy sleep next to her. He always tries to sneak in for a cuddle next to her, and she just tells him to go away in no uncertain woofs. He never gives up and will always try again :)

Is her behavior normal? She never had pups of her own so the maternal instincts may be lacking.

We are hoping one day they may just fall asleep side by side  :luv:
Di & Jon

Offline Linda B

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Re: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2014, 04:47:13 PM »
We have experienced this a few times with ours over the years......it's normal behaviour......they will sort themselves out in time.......

Offline elaine.e

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Re: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2014, 04:57:51 PM »
Tia's behaviour is perfectly normal and is nothing to do with maternal instinct, or lack of it. If she chose to let Ozzy sleep next to her that would be just as normal :D

It's great that she's accepted him well enough to play with him, but it sounds like she needs opportunities to escape him too. If she's growling when Ozzy is in her face or trying to lay down next to her she's telling him that she's unhappy with his actions. If he ignores her and persists she may go a step further and bite him. So she could probably do with some help from you. There has to be a balance between letting them get used to each other and letting things get out of hand.

Do you ever walk or train them separately? Whenever I've had an older dog and a puppy I've walked them together once a day, then separately at least once a day too for the first few months. Walking Ozzy on his own will give Tia a break from him, will help him bond with you, help him not to be too dependant on Tia and will give you a chance to do some training with him.

Walking Tia on her own will give her some respite from Ozzy and will also help Ozzy to learn about being home alone.

Hopefully they may share a bed eventually, but it doesn't always happen. My 2 are much happier in their own beds or curled up on the sofa, one either side of me. They get on well, but they're not best buddies, and that's just how it is sometimes :D

Offline lescef

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Re: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2014, 07:08:04 PM »
My two get on reasonably well together but Maddie made it clear very early on that Bramble was not welcome near her so I don't think they will ever snuggle up together. When we are in the car they are harnessed on the back seat and I have noticed that sometimes their heads are almost touching and that is a bit of progress.
 I am just glad that they do get on well most of the time!
Lesley, Maddie and Bramble

Offline JamiesGirl

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Re: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2014, 07:12:02 PM »
It's like having a 3 year old child and asking them if they want their new brother or sister to share their bed every night. The answers going to be no, it's their room and their bed and their own place to sleep. It doesn't mean they are never going to share a bed but both dogs need their own space away from one another.
🐾 Jamie's Girl - Sara 🐾

Offline linda c

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Re: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it
« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2014, 08:36:23 PM »
Mine always each had their own beds, if they wanted to share then the other would either accept it or growl. They got used to each other and seemed to know when it was best to stick to their own bed.

As Ozzy gets older he'll know when Tia wants him to snuggle up to her. When Blue was a puppy the other dogs told him off if he was pestering, if they didn't he happily got in the same bed.
Tia May always want to be in her own bed and Ozzy will learn to go to his bed.


Offline DiJon

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Re: Puppy wanting to sleep with older cocker but she wont entertain it
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2014, 07:26:57 AM »
Many thanks for all the responses. Maybe one day things will settle as long as both dogs are happy that's our main concern.

Doing some research before we got Ozzy, it was recommended that we walk them separately for a number of reasons and we have been doing that. At the weekend we will take them out together once Saturday and Sunday so they get use to each other walking, and Ozzy loves this. We cant wait for him to get a tad older so we can start hill walking again with them both.

Thanks,
Jon & Di

   
Di & Jon