2nd Aussie Seems To Be An Angry Puppy - Is It A Phase?

by Elizabeth
(E. Lansing, MI)

I have a 3 year old Aussie female and recently we added another female Aussie puppy who at the time was 3 months old when she came in to our home. I was told the reason the puppy was being rehomed is the lady who had her underestimated their energy and she had difficulty correcting her. It was hopeful that with my experience with my current Aussie that this little girl would respond well with structure and a positive environment.

She is either tethered to me or in a crate or playpen and I have been able to minimize her temper tantrums. She sits when she wants something which is a great success. The concern I have is her behavior towards my older Aussie. I have had to minimize their playing together to almost nil because the puppy gets angry easily and will then go after my older girl. She always seems to go after her eyes and mouth and is very aggressive when she does this i.e. she is no longer playing. I have let my older Aussie correct her but the puppy doesn't seem to care and will still keep coming.

My concern is whether or not this is something she will grow out of or am I asking for problems down the road as she gets older and would possibly have to keep them both separated at all times. My older Aussie got off to a bad start and we have worked very hard to get her where she is today and I was hopeful that adding another dog would provide her with a companion / playmate but instead it seems that I have two dogs that can be in the same room but don't seem to be able to get along well enough to play.

There has not been any resource guarding but I don't want it to get the point they end to end up in such a bad fight that it sends them both to the hospital. They are both very good girls on their own right and my older Aussie tries to be a good big sister but I have concerns about them getting along and the puppy gets older. Should I keep working with them both or is it better to rehome the puppy before any serious fighting occurs?

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