Hi.

We have a five yr. old female beagle, and we just added an 8 wk old male
pup to our happy family. Tink (the female) is a well behaved, loving dog.
Your typical beagle, she's a gem. She knows her place is at the bottom of
the pack and we have never had any dominance problems with her. We have
always been a one dog family (bigger dogs in the past) so we have no
experience with multiples.

What should we expect in terms of play between Tink and Scout. How rough
can it get, and what /when should we intervene and stop it . Our vet said
that as long as they don't hurt each other, bristle or bar their teeth we
should not worry much. But that really doesn't help my "new mom" jitters.
As of yet we have not determined who should be alpha between the two of them
and would appreciate any advice you can give us. Our goal is to establish
a happy ³pack² of two, for the time being. I cannot rule out adopting or
buying another beagle in the future. They have stolen my heart as a breed.

TIA,

Nora, Tinkerbelle and Scout.

"NGCamacho" wrote in message
...

What should we expect in terms of play between Tink and Scout. How rough
can it get, and what /when should we intervene and stop it . Our vet said
that as long as they don't hurt each other, bristle or bar their teeth we
should not worry much. But that really doesn't help my "new mom" jitters.
As of yet we have not determined who should be alpha between the two of
them
and would appreciate any advice you can give us. Our goal is to
establish
a happy ³pack² of two, for the time being. I cannot rule out adopting or
buying another beagle in the future. They have stolen my heart as a
breed.

Our two, Lab mix and a German Shepherd, sound like War of the Worlds.
Snarling, bared teeth, body slams, racing madly around the yard. You would
expect them to come in bloody,possbily missing a limb, but no one has ever
had a scratch. As long as no one is bleeding and both dogs are equally
joining in the play, let them go. But I would always keep an eye on them.
With our two, we seperate them if they get to out of control (too loud, too
rough, etc) Now, just telling them "Calm down" will seperate them for a
few. But they always go right back at it.

Just watch them closely and you will soon be able to tell how serious they
are.

"NGCamacho" wrote in message
...

What should we expect in terms of play between Tink and Scout. How rough
can it get, and what /when should we intervene and stop it . Our vet said
that as long as they don't hurt each other, bristle or bar their teeth we
should not worry much. But that really doesn't help my "new mom" jitters.
As of yet we have not determined who should be alpha between the two of
them
and would appreciate any advice you can give us. Our goal is to
establish
a happy ³pack² of two, for the time being. I cannot rule out adopting or
buying another beagle in the future. They have stolen my heart as a
breed.

Our two, Lab mix and a German Shepherd, sound like War of the Worlds.
Snarling, bared teeth, body slams, racing madly around the yard. You would
expect them to come in bloody,possbily missing a limb, but no one has ever
had a scratch. As long as no one is bleeding and both dogs are equally
joining in the play, let them go. But I would always keep an eye on them.
With our two, we seperate them if they get to out of control (too loud, too
rough, etc) Now, just telling them "Calm down" will seperate them for a
few. But they always go right back at it.

Just watch them closely and you will soon be able to tell how serious they
are.

"NGCamacho" wrote in message
...

What should we expect in terms of play between Tink and Scout. How rough
can it get, and what /when should we intervene and stop it . Our vet said
that as long as they don't hurt each other, bristle or bar their teeth we
should not worry much. But that really doesn't help my "new mom" jitters.
As of yet we have not determined who should be alpha between the two of
them
and would appreciate any advice you can give us. Our goal is to
establish
a happy ³pack² of two, for the time being. I cannot rule out adopting or
buying another beagle in the future. They have stolen my heart as a
breed.

Our two, Lab mix and a German Shepherd, sound like War of the Worlds.
Snarling, bared teeth, body slams, racing madly around the yard. You would
expect them to come in bloody,possbily missing a limb, but no one has ever
had a scratch. As long as no one is bleeding and both dogs are equally
joining in the play, let them go. But I would always keep an eye on them.
With our two, we seperate them if they get to out of control (too loud, too
rough, etc) Now, just telling them "Calm down" will seperate them for a
few. But they always go right back at it.

Just watch them closely and you will soon be able to tell how serious they
are.

"NGCamacho" wrote in message
...

What should we expect in terms of play between Tink and Scout. How rough
can it get, and what /when should we intervene and stop it . Our vet said
that as long as they don't hurt each other, bristle or bar their teeth we
should not worry much. But that really doesn't help my "new mom" jitters.
As of yet we have not determined who should be alpha between the two of
them
and would appreciate any advice you can give us. Our goal is to
establish
a happy ³pack² of two, for the time being. I cannot rule out adopting or
buying another beagle in the future. They have stolen my heart as a
breed.

Our two, Lab mix and a German Shepherd, sound like War of the Worlds.
Snarling, bared teeth, body slams, racing madly around the yard. You would
expect them to come in bloody,possbily missing a limb, but no one has ever
had a scratch. As long as no one is bleeding and both dogs are equally
joining in the play, let them go. But I would always keep an eye on them.
With our two, we seperate them if they get to out of control (too loud, too
rough, etc) Now, just telling them "Calm down" will seperate them for a
few. But they always go right back at it.

Just watch them closely and you will soon be able to tell how serious they
are.

Beagles are not very interested in pack order. They are bred to live
cooperatively in large packs. If they are changing places, having fun, all
should be ok. If one seems intimidated or bullied, then you should interrupt,
have them settle down.

Beagles are not very interested in pack order. They are bred to live
cooperatively in large packs. If they are changing places, having fun, all
should be ok. If one seems intimidated or bullied, then you should interrupt,
have them settle down.

Beagles are not very interested in pack order. They are bred to live
cooperatively in large packs. If they are changing places, having fun, all
should be ok. If one seems intimidated or bullied, then you should interrupt,
have them settle down.

Beagles are not very interested in pack order. They are bred to live
cooperatively in large packs. If they are changing places, having fun, all
should be ok. If one seems intimidated or bullied, then you should interrupt,
have them settle down.

"NGCamacho" wrote in message
...
Hi.

We have a five yr. old female beagle, and we just added an 8 wk old male
pup to our happy family. Tink (the female) is a well behaved, loving dog.
Your typical beagle, she's a gem. She knows her place is at the bottom of
the pack and we have never had any dominance problems with her. We have
always been a one dog family (bigger dogs in the past) so we have no
experience with multiples.


It's a fun adventure, watching two dogs playing together. You should
be in for a lot of laughs. :-)

What should we expect in terms of play between Tink and Scout. How rough
can it get, and what /when should we intervene and stop it . Our vet said
that as long as they don't hurt each other, bristle or bar their teeth we
should not worry much. But that really doesn't help my "new mom" jitters.

Sometimes they will hurt each other on accident (I have two that
think they are jet fighter pilots, dive-bombing each other outside, but
it's all in play & fun). And, they are *always* showing their teeth,
chewing
on each other & making a really loud fuss of noise.
Mainly, it comes down to you watching and making sure that the older
dog isn't playing too rough for the puppy to handle. The puppy will
most likely play too rough for your older girl to handle, it's all about
him experimenting and learning what she'll tolerate and what she won't.
She should be allowed to express her dislike for what he's doing if
she needs to, but you need to be able to watch & make sure her
"punishment" isn't over the top. Most dogs have a natural way of
knowing how far to go, and don't cross over that line. Some, however
do not, that's where your intervention is important. You should also
provide both of them "time outs" now & then, just so they can
get a break and a rest from each other.
One thing to think of, though, is to be sure to have one on one time
with each of them. The puppy will most likely easily bond to your
girl dog. It's up to you to take the initiative and bond with your puppy
by short, simple training sessions with just the two of you. It's very
natural for two dogs, especially if one or both is a puppy, to bond very
closely and exclude their humans in some ways. You allow when they
play and when they don't by teaching a command such as "That's
enough." It will come in handy when you're trying to eat, or watch
TV, or have visitors over without two "Wild Dogs of the Tundra" flying
through your living room! :-)


As of yet we have not determined who should be alpha between the two of
them and would appreciate any advice you can give us. Our goal is to
establish a happy ³pack² of two, for the time being. I cannot rule out
adopting or buying another beagle in the future. They have stolen my
heart as a breed.

Well, the determining of who among the two of them is really not something
you can do. It should be a natural thing for the two of them, and most
likely your girl, because of her age, will be the dominant dog. Do not
forget about her with the new puppy, and remembering that, for now anyway,
she is the leader among the two of them will help things run smoothly.
Don't let the puppy take over her food dish, feed her first, greet her
first.
As they age, the power may shift, but chances are pretty good that she will
remain his superior. By that time, you'll have a good idea of what's
appropriate behavior for them, and what's not.
Here is a good article, not dealing specifically with a puppy/dog situation,
but an article I've always liked:
http://www.mmilani.com/canine_pack_structure.html

Good luck, and have fun with your new puppy, and with watching them
play! I always get a good laugh out of the two of my guys. One is
currently 4 years old, the other 15 months. Like your two will be, they
are size-matched very well, weighing within 10 lbs of each other
and roughly the same height. Sometimes it can sound like an earthquake
is ripping through our house when they are playing, but all it takes
is one resounding, "Knock it off!" and they run to me and settle a bit!
Shelly & The Boys:
Coda (4 yr old Collie-somethin')
Bodhi (15 mos. old Belgian Sheepdog)