New dog irritating old dog - need advice!


Sstone

New Member
Hello! I'm looking for advice on how to handle our new 1-year old male dachshund, Otis, as he adjusts to his new home and to his "big sis" 7-year old female, Phoebe. We got Otis 3 wks ago....and we've had Phoebe about 5 yrs. Both are rescues, so ages are approximate. Personality-wise, he's a really happy guy and loves all people, strangers included. Phoebe is very shy and gets nervous around new people.

We expected there to be a transition period but I did not expect him to irritate Phoebe quite so much. We thought they'd be friends eventually!

We were told by our rescue group to separate them during the day while my husband and I are at work and during the night when we're asleep. So we've been doing that but Otis cries and barks in his crate. At first it was not that bad, he'd bark for the first 20-30 min. but has been getting worse, he now wakes at 3 a.m. and cries and wakes us up and wakes Phoebe up (she sleeps on a bed in our den, same room his crate is in but not visible to him). He also pees in his crate quite often even though we take him out 2+ times in a.m., come home at noon, and 3+ times in evening (follow a fairly strict routine). So that is problem #1.

Problem #2 is him jumping on her as he's wanting to play. also recently he has started urinating on her. :( The first time I saw him do this, it seemed like it was unintentional but now it's happened again and seems very territorial and mean. Is this normal for a boy dog? He's neutered.

She has been assertive with him at first (growling when he gets in her face) but they also have moments when they're fine and seem to get along. As time goes on though, she seems to be retreating and getting depressed and anxious. She doesn't want to be around him. It breaks my heart because she was our baby for 5 years before him and we care about her so much! Part of the reason we got a second dog was so she could have a play mate.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for us?
 
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