Puppies new to each other - should I worry? Advice welcomed!

[Guest Anonymous]

In early August, my husband and I bought a border collie/blue heeler puppy, Chloe. She has a lovely temperament and is very intelligent. She's also growing fast! She is now 5 months old, and we decided to get another puppy for her to play with. Since we had a good experience with her (i.e. potty training, playing, taking places) we figure we're up for the task!

Here's the issue: our new puppy, Jax, is border collie/collie mix. He's also very sweet and mellow, not nearly the energy of our other dog. Since he's only 10 weeks old, he's considerably smaller than she is.

Chloe loves to play, but it seems to my husband and I that Jax feels antagonized by Chloe. She "herds" him (as well as the cats, her toys, and anything else she can herd) so often she stands over him and tries to direct his path. When they get physical mouthing and pawing, he bares his teeth and seems genuinely angry with her. However, when he walks away from her, his tail is wagging and he seems happy.

Can someone shed some light on this situation for me? We're just not sure how to handle this. We don't want to be yelling at Chloe all the time, nor do we want to "baby" Jax and make him timid. On the other hand, we're afraid her relentless badgering will make him mean. I'm not sure if we should keep the dogs separated for awhile, or keep them together and just watch them carefully.

Any advice???

[Carolk9s]

I think new pup is just standing up for himself and laying boundaries. Soon enough he will be bigger than her. Unless there is TRUE aggression and bloodletting, I would, to a degree, let them work it out.
Of course you and hubby must, MUST be benevolent alpha's but dogs will generally settle their problems on their own.
Give yourself and the dogs a break, if a situation is developing where you think there might be a fight, calmly and quietly step in make BOTH dogs focus on you. Treats in hand, have them both sit in front of you and pay attention to you, not each other. Teach each a solid down/stay but keep it light, happy, and rewarding. Don't make it seem like punishment, make it seems as though they are making Mom so very happy when they are minding their manners.

[courtnek]

I agree with Carol. chloe is showing the new pup its place in your pack. It probably will never lead to real problems, as long as pup understands his place. hersuggestion is a good one for easing any tension.

[imported_Matty]

I would talk to a behaviorist who specializes in herding dogs. You have a cattle dog which is trying to herd the smaller dog. You need help badly. I don't think its as simple as just playing dominance. Most dogs would not feel the need to dominate a 10 week old pup. I think it has a lot to do with ingrained herding behavior.

[DogPaddle]

My Border Collie "herds" my Lab cross and my cats - it is no problem, for us anyway. In fact when in herding mode Kavik has never even touched the cats and has only hip-checked Zaphod. Herding is a modified dog behaviour which has circumvented the "kill" part of "chase and kill" its just "chase" (and control) - moderately safe, especially as far as dogplay goes (a herding dog that kills or does significant injury to livestock is not terribly useful.) Every dog is differnet though, if you feel the behaviour is over the top a dog behaviourist might be useful, try to get one familiar with herding breeds if you go that route.

[imported_Kat]

I would just tend to let them work it out. Collies usually show very erratic behaviour compared to other breeds including this herding. At the moment it is a fascination for your older pup and it will likely subside. What you should do is to get them both active and to train some basic behaviour with the pair of them. Collies and their mixes are high maintenance dogs and not more mental stimulation than they need physical .