My 5 month old puppy is obsessed with my 4 year old dog. She won't leave her alone and is uninterested in me and no treat or toy can get her attention. Help!

My 5 month old Aussie puppy is obsessed with my 4 year old Aussie. It’s not aggression—just the opposite: she is demanding to play. But it not like a polite request. Instead she grabs a mouthful of the older dog’s fur and won’t let go. If she gets anywhere near the older dog, her eyes light up and she pounces, jumping and biting. On the other hand, she is very uninterested in me and no treat or toy can get a rise out of her. The older dog puts up with her for the most part but sometimes she takes the bait and then there is no separating them with the little one stuck onto the older one like glue. So what I’ve done for the past month or so is keep them separate. The older dog is put away when I take the puppy outside. She is by herself (with me) in the yard or in a crate or ex pen inside. But the whole house has been taken over with this arrangement and I can’t live this way forever. Help!

Cindy's Answer

Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to managing puppies that show this tendency. I don't allow it. If I have the puppy out of the ex-pen they are on a leash and I have the leash in my hand. If I take the puppy outside, she's on a leash and not allowed physical contact with the adult dog.

One of the reasons she may not be that interested in you is because in the pup's view, the adult dog is more fun so you'll have to work extra hard to make yourself more valuable. I've raised countless puppies over the years in our home with other dogs, I automatically keep new puppies separate from our adults to protect the adults from being put in the position to have to tolerate being pestered and to protect the puppy from an adult dog that might overcorrect them. Until you establish a training relationship with the pup, there is no way to work through this other than management while you work on training and getting a working relationship with her.

I had a puppy like this about 12 years ago, she was a real handful and was obsessed with my other dogs, but I managed all interactions and fed many of her meals by hand to build value in relating to me. It was a lot of work but little by little she came around.