New Basset puppy vs our first Basset !

Hi - I am new to Dogsey - I was wondering if anyone has any advice??

We have a 14mth basset (Hamish) and now have another puppy who is around 13 weeks old (Homer). We got the second puppy as a companion for Hamish - he would howl the place down when we went out and became very very anxious. We also thought it would be nice for him to have a friend to play with when they went out on walks (most dog owners we encounter don't let their dogs play with other dogs on their walks and drag their dogs past us when Hamish wants to say hi to them !)

We are having some problems. Hamish is now even more possessive than before. He used to steal things to get attention - now he steals and won't give back (he has bitten me 4 times!) He now gets quite aggressive when you try and take things from him ie. mobile phones, cd's... I am worried that he continues like this and he bites a child or stranger/visitor.

Both Hamish and Homer seem to just nip at each other quite alot (tonight they have been really bearing their teath at each other and so I put Homer in Time out - the kitchen and he bit me!) I know that Hamish needs to assert that he is top dog but Homer seems to be putting up a huge fight with no sign of letting up!

Has anyone else had these problems? I am not expecting all our problems to be fixed over night (we recently have just trained Hamish to go to his own bed and not sleep on ours)

I know a lot has changed for poor Hamish over the last 8 weeks with a new puppy and also sleeping in his own bed but how long is this going to last!!! We try and favour Hamish over Homer but I am now worried that Homer feels left out as everything Hamish has Homer wants!!

Any advice is greatly appreciated/
thanks,
Rachel

Unfortunately you have discovered the hard way that getting another puppy doesn't necessarily resolve the issues of your other dog.
I think the best way forward is to find a very good training class and go along to it, you'll need to do two classes, one for each dog, so they get your undivided attention when training them. That will develop a better bond between you and your dogs.
The 'possessiveness' got worse because now Hamish has to protect what he values from Homer rather than just yourself. You really need to seek help from someone who can see the problem first hand and offer solutions.
To start with though I would make sure that neither of the dogs have anything that they can get possessive over so remove everything and just have toys etc out in controlled circumstances.
Becky

Hi

Sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing.

There are so many behaviour experts on here that I'm sure you will get the help you need.

I have had two Bassets, one of them was female and did not experience the problems you mentioned. I think that was because they were different sexes.

Bassets have very strong personalities and demand what they want and even very young puppies have a big persona.

Harvey my male Basset did get exceptionally assertive and dominant around 12 months old up until he was 19 months. He never bite any of us, but did growl at my 14 year old son in the evening and would sometimes growl at male visitors. I did cure him of it but it was all done with food, I never told him off or shouted at him as with Bassets that only makes it worse.

I made sure Lewiss gave him a treat everytime he went to cuddle him and visitors would give him treats. If I wanted to take something from him I would give him a treat in return. Probably not what others will suggest, but it helped us. Food is Harvey's one true love.

Is your dog castrated? The vet kept telling me to have him done but I didn't because I was told that it might not change that sort of behaviour anyway. I'm pleased to say he has grown out of this behaviour and is a total sweetie now.

I would have to say that it was perhaps unfortunate to get another dog of the same sex when he is going through his changes, especially as male Basset puppies do not give up anything and are naturally assertive anyway but I'm sure you will get through it and as I said an expert will be along shortly ....

Good luck

Sarah

HIi

Welcome to Dogsey!

Although I don't have Bassets, I've got a 20mth male Boxer (Max) and a 4 month male Boxer (Murphy)

I've noticed Max being more possessive over all sorts of things, to be honest, with both us and Murphy.

They only play with toys under supervision, then they can be removed if necessary. That way, there isn't anything material to fight over.

I also don't leave them unsupervised with food, this is for 2 reasons:
1) They will swap bowls and the puppy ends up with big-dog food and the big dog eats puppy food
2) I don't want any fighting over food

Both my boys go to dog training, and are currently in seperate classes. Although they are on the same night, each dog gets "special" one to one training time.

I also greet, fuss and feed Max first, every time. After all, he was here first! It's not that Murphy doesn't get fussed etc. but the first cuddle in the morning and when I get home from work goes to Max!

Max is castrated, and we plan to have Murphy done also, probably when he gets to about 8 months old or so, but that's a decision for you to make.

My boys fight and scrap, but it's all noise and slobber, with no malice in it. Teeth occasionally connect, but I don't think it's on purpose! They roll around on the floor making horrible noises and throwing each other around. If I didn't knnow them, I'd be worried, but since Max is like that with most other dogs, I feel better about it.

I think the best thing you can do is make sure they don't have any toys/objects/food to fight over or get possessive over.

Make sure they both have special one to one time with you, so that neither feels left out. A puppy class for Homer and an appropriate level class for Hamish also is a good idea!

Hi

Just had a thought that might help. Try contacting the Basset Hound Welfare. They are fantastic and on their website they give details of people who you can contact who can give you advice on Bassets. They do not just rehome but are excellent for helping people who just need help with problem Bassets. You will find a list of contacts in your area who you can phone. Don't know why I didn't think of it before. I have myself contacted them and they were very helpful. Their website is www.bassethoundwelfare.org.uk

Good luck

Sarah

I think you need more than a few words from us on here to sort things out. You need someone to come and see first hand all the different behaviours, the interaction between the dogs and the relationship/interaction between human 'pack members'. Sometimes there are very subtle things going on that you may not notice yourself, that may be important.
If you can find someone with a knowledge of the breed, so much the better.

good luck

Hi,
Thank you for all your replies.

Hamish is castrated and homer will be once he is old enough.
They are put in seperate rooms to eat and are given their food at the same time as homer would just eat everything!

We have a huge box of toys but they are more interested in ther chews and pigs ears. I am at home alot during the day so when they become lively I tend to give them something to chew on. They always get identical chews but still seem to fight over the same one!

Homer sleeps downstairs in the kitchen and Hamish upstairs in our room. He used to sleep on the bed but over the last 3 weeks we have trained him quite quickly to sleep in his bed next to ours. So he is made a fuss of first and last and he spends time just one on one with us up in the bedroom.

We do always greet Hamish first and last when we come in and out.

They seem to get on ok as they both sleep on the big bean bag we have together and on some occasions Homer snuggles to Hamish.
They don't act badly all the time! There have been many occasions when I have given food to Hamish and Homer takes it from him and Hamish just lets him have it with no fight.

We have come to the conclusion that Hamish likes silver things - remote controls (he has broken so many as we keep forgetting to put them out of reach!) Watches and silver mobile phones and cds. He likes things he can crunch too such as cassette tapes and cd cases!

They are fine on walks and love attention - when kids and adults come up to pat Hamish he rolls onto his back and lies there. He is a great natured dog but I am just really worried that we are doing something wrong and he isn't happy (perhaps watching too much Dog Borstal). He seems fine and listens to me one day and the next is a terror.

I have never had a dog before so this is all new to me (although I have now read quite a few books).

I also used to use food to get back the things Hamish stole and it worked pre-homer. Now he holds onto it and I got bitten when I tried to take it off him (my fault for trying to get it) but part of me wonders if it is rewarding him for taking it, so that he thinks if I want food I will take this?

oops sorry to be long winded. I will try and a number of a local behaviourist (we already spoke to one on the phone a few weeks ago) and I will make an appointment with but when she/he comes round Hamish will be on his best behaviour no doubt!!

Thanks again
Rachel