New pup in house old pup going nuts

[gorillas22]

I have Callie who is a pup, and Conner is 16 months old. My question is Conner has been acting very weird since we got her. He loves Callie and needs to be around her all the time. At night Callie is kenneled and Conner sleeps in the bed with us. He whines and whines because he needs to be with her. She is still very young and gets up like every 3 hours and my husband takes her outside. Conner jumps off the bed and whines because my husband is gone with Callie. My husband has gotten into the habit of sleepng on the couch with the kennel in the living room and Conner sleeps with me in the bedroom. Also Conner will not eat his food and only wants to eat her food which is a mix of kibble and wet food. Conner wont eat as much as he should so I am worried about that. Also Callie wont eat as much as she should either and I was wondering what I can do to help her with this. She would much rather eat Conner's food then her own....

Should Conner settle down after we have had Callie for awhile, and also is there anything I can do to help my husband and I sleep better because Callie just whines and whines. She is only 8 weeks old and I know she cant hold her bladder for much longer then 3 hours or is this something we have to live with until she gets bigger. Any advice would be helpful on these situations.

Thanks
Shannon

[Meemoo]

Is it not possible to treat the two the same? Have both of them kennelled next to eachother so they can see one another as opposed to one in bed and one not? If neither are eating the necessary amount of food, perhaps it's time for a food change? What are you feeding them? Try to pick a food with human grade ingredients, no byproducts, preservatives etc. Feed them both at the same time, in their own bowls in their kennels separately. Pay equal attention to both. Not having this problem, I'm not sure what else to suggest but I'm sure you'll get lots of other geat advice.

Good luck!

[Molly's Mom]

Could it be possible that Conner is jealous of Callie? If she's up in the bed, is getting "better" food (most dogs prefer wet food to dry), and the new dog is getting your attention every few hours, Conner might be jealous of the new situation. I bet the night whining is not to be with her, but with you. Considering your husband has moved on the couch in order to be with Conner, he's obviously getting his wish.

All I can advise is to give both dogs some time to adjust. I would feed them separetely, even in different rooms, so the older dog will have to eat. Better yet, pick up the food when meal time is over so both dogs will learn to eat when you feed them. Conner could just be a bit depressed about the new changes, which is affecting his eating habits.

Even though Callie obviously will need attention, be sure that you also pay attention to Conner at the same time. My guess would be that he's wanting to hang around her right now not so much because he likes her, but more because he sees there are times, like the extra potty trips, when she may get attention he doesn't. I'm sure that's not intentional on your part, but he just may not be adjusted to the changes in the family.

We were lucky that when we got Sammy, the dogs got along from the moment we brought him in the door. I don't know if that was just luck, because they were both young, or because they had both lived around other dogs before. Whatever the reason, we didn't have to worry too much. However, we had to make a point to spoil Molly while Sammy was settling in, so when one of us were teaching him the house rules, another one of us had Molly and giving her extra attention.

[Missy]

My girl Ginger acted the same when we got her a little friend Chip and I think it is all because they want to get to know each other and play.
This is a very exciting thing to both of them right now but yes I can assure you Conner will settle down after awhile,But if you leave and take one and not the other the one who is left will always be the one who is crying and whining until the other comes home, I hope this help :flower: MIssy

[Rusty's mom]

Both our boys were like that with their little brother. To this day we can't pick Hobbs up and walk around with him. Rusty and Duffer get quite anxious about it and want Hobbs put down on the floor. They jump on us and the whining has to be heard to be believed. You can sit on the couch/floor with Hobbs and pet him all you want but picking him up and walking around with him is a no-no. Our Hobbs was always with his big brothers from the time we got him and the never, ever hurt him - just adored him and still do. Would you trust them to be crated together?

Kathy - mom to Rusty, Duffer, Hobbs and Lady