Crate training new puppy with 5yo dog in the home [seeking advice]

[jessi1194]

Hello dog enthusiasts of Reddit!

My wife and I just brought home a new 13 week old female dachshund puppy, R. We have a 5 year old female dachshund, W. We're on day three together and things are going pretty well. W is taking her time accepting R into her home and into her pack, which we expected. W has always been wary of new - new people and new dogs, but once she opens up, she's very loving and affectionate. The first couple days with R were taxing, but yesterday W gave her a signature hip check and beautiful play time ensued. No snuggles yet, but W has officially welcomed R into her space and we're happy with that.

Now onto what I'm looking at as a bit of a mystery. I want to jump on crate training R very soon so we can, in the future, leave R and W home alone (eventually uncrated) for a couple hours at a time. W is a bit of an anxious girl but has settled down substantially as she's gotten older. We can comfortably leave her home for 3-4 hours without worrying. She doesn't love it, but she doesn't spend those hours howling or being destructive. She seems to just find a spot on the couch and wait patiently for our return.

I understand the process of crate training and know how I want to go about it for R. What I'm wondering is... is having W free to roam about the house while working on crate training R going to be a problem? Ideally, I would like for the crate to be in a common area like the living room, or maybe the dining room, so R can easily go in and out as she pleases while we're home and hanging around. But if seeing W out and about is going to hinder the crate training process for R, I don't want to set her up to fail.

Any multiple-dog parents with crate training experience have some sage advice? Help/stories are sincerely appreciated!

It's probably worth noting that I also work from home, and I really don't want to facilitate separation anxiety because I'm always here. I don't want to be a helicopter mom on R like I accidentally became for W in the beginning, but I also don't want to let negative behavior slide if I see it happening. What's the balance?

 

[laketa]

@jessi1194 Hi there. Wfh mom of a 5 year old dog, 5 month old puppy, cat and two teen boys. We did what you are preparing to do and here’s what we learned:
- crate in private place potentially with white noise to get them used to being very alone.
- older dog will get jealous. Have treats, toys etc available for both
- always give older dog the priority.
- you may find yourself in our situation where the play time and bond they have is non stop. We actually are training both dogs at the same time to settle, Place etc.
- older dog will regress a bit thanks to jealousy
- if crate is in public place, older dog will definitely be there right outside and it will contribute to a more challenging crate training experience
- make sure to have private time with both dogs at some point each day
Hope that helps!

 

[jessi1194]

@laketa Wow, it's so nice to hear from someone who is in a near identical situation! We definitely prepared for protecting/respecting what is already W's. We got new toys, new blankets, new bowls, etc for R and we're definitely doing our best to do right by W. So far she hasn't shown much jealousy over anything at all. She's never been very into her toys to begin with and has never been the type to resource guard. Grateful!

I'm definitely going to take into consideration what you said about placing the crate in a private place, somewhere W won't be able to just be right there and potentially make it worse for R. Thank you!

When you have private time with your older dog, is it given when puppy can be with another member of the family? Does that suffice? If not, what options do you exercise for leaving puppy alone in order to give that dedicated time to your older dog when puppy isn't ready yet to have safe extended time alone?

 

[laketa]

@jessi1194 We do private time at night. Our 5 month old takes about an hour of chill time in his crate after dinner and my husband and I watch a show with our older dog. The older one gets a kong and a private toy during that time and then joins us on the couch for snuggles. Once the show is done, we close the door on her and my husband and I take the puppy out for about an hour of toys and training by myself. It’s really me who needs that private time with the puppy as he’s my dog and if I didn’t do this I would literally have no one on one time because he loves our dog so much!

 

[laketa]

See that’s the beauty of the crate. If you do it right, they will enjoy chilling inside with a bone for an hour or sleeping or whatever. A safe place while we do other important things.

 

[jessi1194]

@laketa Thank you so much for the advice! We plan on getting the crate going asap and while I plan on taking it slow and starting with small increments, hopefully we'll be at a place where we can do that before too long!