I could use some tips on staying the alpha when my pack increases.

Tomorrow Randy and maybe Rowdy will be coming home for good and I am a little worried about keeping everyone safe and happy. Sometimes Leo does not listen to me and I need to be sure that I have control during this transition period. Most of the time he is obedient, but when he gets distracted, like with the puppies, he does not immediately mind. Several times I had to put on his leash to be sure he backed off when the pups had enough of his rough play. Does anyone have tips for maintaining control without resorting to the leash? I also used a can with coins in it to get Leo's attention and that worked for awhile, then became ineffective. I am wondering if Leo has decided to challenge me for the alpha position and what I might do to be sure he does not.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on May 3, 2009 at 9:12pm

I'm no sure I have much advice, just wanted to wish you good luck with two new pups! Because Bertie is so easy-going, I let him work things out with Ethel on their own, with little interference from me (he was just over 3 when she arrived at 9 weeks old). I fed Ethel in her crate, both to avoid any food issues and also to help crate train her. But otherwise, it's been interesting to see how they sort themselves out. Early on, Bertie gave her several sharp corrections on the nose (as a mama dog would do) and she got the message pretty quickly about how far she could go with him. Ethel was also good at squealing when she was scared of his play or a little tired, which Bertie would take as a signal to back off. I also spent a certain amount of time with them individually, retraining Bertie in sit/down/stay, etc., which helped us re-connect, and getting Ethel socialized in puppy k., which helped her bond with me. So we had an easy transition from 2 of us to 3.