The Name Game
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This is a little off topic of the thread…but if the above is typical, is it more difficult if you have an older male (4 years) and you're getting a female puppy? It seems like he would be really annoyed if a younger female dog keeps trying to boss him around. Nemo was okay with my senior beagle but he has been on his own for the past 5 months. I'm slowly imagining what I'm going to get into. :rolleyes:
My Tyler was 4 when Kate came. He was very tolerant. Rarely lost his temper with her, perhaps only 3-4 times. On the other hand, Kate was the aggressive little bitch from day one. Those little puppy needle teeth left scabs all over his neck and ears. Needless to say they sorted it out without our help. They sometimes grumble and snipe at each other to this day, but there has never been a fight that drew blood.
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I have 2 male basenjis 12 years, 11 years, one female basenji 2 years and one female malinois 17 months (acts about 7 months) and haven't had any real problems. Jet, the tri-ing, my 11 year old, is a bit grumpy inside, but enjoys playtime outside. He has lots of rules about indoor behavior and growls a lot, but, sadly for him, nobody pays much atttention to him (except the current and past malinois who both act a bit afraid of his growling). So, he growls, acts real tough, but has never hurt anyone. Digital, the brindlewonderkid, my 12 yo, is more playful and is a very tolerant gentleman. So you'd think my Zest puppy, is going to rule him, but every once in a while he'll put her in her place and she kowtows to him quickly (unlike with Jet, who she usually ignores him when he tries that).
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We once got a puppy with a 12 year old male (and an older female). For the first week the adults kept their distance from the girl pup, but within a couple of weeks my male and the pup were inseparable. She hung from his neck with those wicked teeth and he hardly ever growled at her, she was his little shadow and they adored each other. Adults will make terrible noise and flash fangs at the pups, especially at about 6 months when they are teenagers, but most pups ignore it all!
Male dogs are usually very sweet and good with pups…females are, well, bitches.
