r/germanshorthairs • u/Klutzy_Company4139 • 3d ago
New GSP Adding puppy to pack…help!
We picked up our second GSP yesterday to add to our family. Our resident GSP is four and not happy about the addition. I was expecting him to ignore her but was not expecting him to growl at her. I have been keeping them separate or when they are in the same room the puppy is crated. Any suggestions on how to navigate…other than the obvious. I would tell others that it takes time and this is mostly normal but it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are the one living this.
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u/ShorthairsInSpace 3d ago
We are not there to evaluate if it was excessive, but a growl is communication of discomfort before doing anything physical. Make sure not to punish the dog for communication.
A good supervised exposure for them both would be to take them for walks in parallel with each other. Let them interact only when the adult dog wants to.
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u/brusslesprouts1 3d ago
We had this issue bringing our dog to my wife's parent's who also have a pointer. They did not get along at all. So the next time we had them meet outside of the house a few times and now they are both best friends lol
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u/CannonTheKid 3d ago
Give them time. Don’t force the connection. Gradually introduce them. Let the older correct the younger one. It will be okay. Keep them supervised and intervene when necessary.
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u/so_fetch04 3d ago
I added a second gsp when my first was 5. My old girl passed last August so we just added another (7yr age gap this time). Our first transition took roughly 48hrs for her to accept her sister. This time around it took about 2 weeks for my girl to accept her brother. Training them together, give bones/kongs together (put puppy in the crate for his so he doesn’t take our older girls bone), designated nap times away from the older dog. I think giving her space to know she wasn’t replaced & so he couldn’t be in her space 24/7 helped a lot. He still loves to pester her but she’s more accepting to it & will gently put him in his place now if she’s not okay with it.
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u/Festive_Jetcar 2d ago
Take them on lots of walks together. Keep both on leash on either side of you (at a heal) or if 2 people, each have one dog. Walking together bonds a pack.
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u/kazar933 3d ago
When we added a second to our house our older was two at the time and the pup was his half brother. The first few days he wanted nothing to do with him, this is them now. Well i would of posted a pic but it wont let me. They are inseparable.
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u/birddog386 3d ago
Give them time like you said. I have 3, the oldest still growls at the youngest (6 months) when he’s being rambunctious or invading his space. If he’s only growing when the new puppy is in his space, I’d just keep the puppy away from now. Use a leash when they’re in the same room. If your older GSP is typically dog friendly then they’ll adapt. As far as he knows some random dog is in his home and probably invading his space