Border Collie Micromanaging New Puppy

[kiraloren]

I have a 3 year old Border Collie/German Shepard mix who's very sweet, but is reacting increasingly dominant to our 10 month old Black Lab/German Shepard mix puppy. They're both females, and they generally get along great. They play together and share food, water, toys, and sleeping areas without any issues. We've had the new puppy since she was 8 weeks old, and introduced them in a positive way. We raised the Border Collie since she was 4-5 months old. They are both spayed.

However, the issue primarily arises when either I or my boyfriend arrives home or shortly thereafter (within an hour if not at the time of arrival). They're excited to see us, and the Border Collie will nip and dominate and bring down the Black Lab to assert dominance (note that the Black Lab is nearly double her size and weight, but is very submissive to her and doesn't have an aggressive/defensive bone in her body).

I will usually try to greet the BC first since she is the older, first dog we had. But even when I give her plenty of attention and then move onto the younger pup, she gets very jealous and will attack her. It's never very severe (no bloodshed or injuries), and whenever I call her name and tell her to stop, she does. But then she'll just try to do it again. On a lesser level, if I'm cuddling on the couch with the Lab puppy and giving her lots of pets and hugs, the BC will notice and get jealous and come over and try to push the Lab out of my lab and get in herself. No aggression here, but very consistent every time I'm giving the Lab attention. Or, she'll "punish" the Lab later after I cuddle her and nip her and bring her down again.

I realize that my BC is feeling insecure or threatened, but how can I reassure her?

[D'Elle]

I know of no method for dealing with this that will work for every situation. I think it's more a matter of doing your best to be very sensitive to the needs of both dogs. You don't say how long you have had the puppy, so I don't know how long this has been going on. 

I have a rule that if a new dog comes into the home, the established dog(s) get extra attention. They are not allowed to push in between me and the new dog, but then I don't tolerate that between any of my dogs, as I consider it rude and will put an end to it. No one gets petted until everyone is behaving calmly and politely. 

I think if I were in your place, I would greet the BC at the door with lots of petting, and then say a verbal hello to the puppy but without petting the puppy I would, with a very cheerful voice and manner, put them both outside for a few minutes. This circumvents the problem of the greeting.

I would not let the puppy onto my lap while the BC was able to observe it. I would choose only times when she was asleep or outside, and if she came in or woke up I would pay attention to her.  Another way to deal with it would be when the BC comes up on the couch with you, you tell her to lie down on the other side of you from where the pup is, and then praise and pet her. If she tries to get in between, repeat the cue to settle down on the other side.

 She needs to know she is #1 dog, but at the same time she should not be permitted to behave aggressively toward the pup. If you scold or correct her for doing so, however, it will only make the situation much worse.  In your case  if something starts unexpectedly, a verbal correction for the behavior your BC has needs to be the most mild thing possible. Just a little  "Uh-uh " in a nice tone of voice, and followed by distraction like a short game when she moves away from the pup. But whenever possible I think avoidance of the circumstances is the way to go for now.

If you can find ways such as that to avoid the circumstances, it's possible that in time the jealousy will ease off. But you have two female dogs and it is possible that there will always be rivalry between them.

[kiraloren]

Thank you!!

That is very helpful. I agree I need to work on making sure they're calm and polite before I greet them. The puppy is especially excited and will throw her weight around to get in close to me. I am going to try letting them outside before petting pup and the couch tips you mentioned. 

Thank you again