Concerns introducing my new puppy to my 18 month old puppy

[pbacbell]

I am so worried I picked the wrong puppy! We have an 18 month old male german shepherd who is as lovable as can be. We wanted to bring another puppy into the family, so last night we brought home an 8 week old female black lab. My GS LOVES her, but the lab growls, barks, lunges, and snarls at him. I never saw any of that behavior when she was with her brothers and sisters. I was expecting a sweet, playful pup. We limited their time together so she could adjust to her new surroundings. My GS would just follow her around, sniff her, just curious.

Is this normal behavior for a lab puppy? I guess I expected some growling from my GS, not her. Am I overly concerned too soon? Any and all advice would be helpful.

[JenC]

Puppy play can sound vicious. When you got the pup, did you tell the breeder you already had a dog in the house and maybe didn't want the most dominant puppy?

[smartrock]

Our little girl is definitely more dominant than our older dog, who was 6 years old when we got the puppy. Here are photos from the first week we had her and this summer. The little one was definitely playing, not being vicious, no matter how it looked. I don't think 8 week old puppies can be vicious. Your older pup is a new and very exciting friend, unlike the siblings she just left.

You'll need to supervise the puppies at play at all times. They are both puppies still but the little one is more at risk for physical harm. Lark spent the first months hanging from Chase's neck like a vampire if given the chance.

[pbacbell]

Yes, they knew we had another dog. She definitely wasn't the dominant one. Both her parents are very sweet and laid back as well. All the more reason I was expecting that from her. Today they are doing a bit better.

[pbacbell]

Aww! Precious pups. Thanks for the encouragement! When I pick my lab up in the middle of the growling, she just snuggles right in. Yes, hard to believe she could be aggressive, but I've never seen this before with a pup. Keeping fingers crossed and lots of supervision!!

[Annette47]

Yes, they knew we had another dog. She definitely wasn't the dominant one. Both her parents are very sweet and laid back as well. All the more reason I was expecting that from her. Today they are doing a bit better.

She may have been scared and overwhelmed with her first night in a new place with a new dog. Of my two pups, Cookie thinks everyone is her friend and wants to play with everyone she meets (she is very submissive to dogs other than her sister), but Sassy takes a while to warm up and will sometimes bark etc if she feels threatened. After a couple minutes though, she realizes the other dogs aren’t going to do anything bad to her and she is fine, although less interested in playing with strangers than her sister is. She plays wonderfully with her mother and sister though, and I suspect if there was a new playmate who she would see on an on-going basis she would be fine as well - she just takes longer to warm up than some. Your pup may be the same ... just give her some time and space and she will most likely be fine.

[smartrock]

Sweet and laid back adult labs often start out as little wild things, btw. We had other breeds before getting our labs, and the labs as puppies were definitely the more active and challenging.

[Maxx&Emma]

Lab puppies can definitely sound possessed when playing, I can not imagine your puppy is vicious!

[barry581]

I doubt your puppy is be aggressive, and I bet that within a couple days of the pup settling in, you will be fine. You definitely need to make sure they are supervised when they are playing. The pup could very easily be hurt unintentionally while they are playing. That was my biggest concerns when Bruce arrived was how hard he and Sophie went at it when they played. Even now that Bruce is bigger than Sophie, she can still beat the crap out of him!

[pbacbell]

Any suggestions on what to do when my lab growls at my GS? Should I correct her, separate them? Definitely better today, but she is definitely letting him know she doesn't like to be followed around. My shepherd thinks this is all fun. He loves getting a reaction from her.