Will it influence him? - Page 1

So as I posted before I have a Mambo pup coming.  We do however have a dog here who is somewhat scared of men.  The dogs live downstairs.....as my room is also down there.  The new pup will be in my room though when I'm not training with him, or he is not outside with me.  Obviously I have a door, and there will be no contact between him and the other dogs....I do have control over the Huskies, and other dog when it comes to other dogs, but my question is... Can the puppy be influenced by them even if he is never allowed to be around them?  The dog who is scared is getting better and better as I've been working with him, but he does this "half bark" when he is scared. He isn't the type of dog to tuck his tail and hide. He is territorial, but also a little fearful.  Can his barking out of fear influence the pup.....who will be in another room of our downstairs? Or should I move that dog out to a kennel? Any suggestions?  The new pup will be going pretty much everywhere with me, but it's the time when I'm not there and people come over  that I worry about. I can control the other dogs barking while I'm there, but obviously nothing can be done when I'm not there  Oh well I'm very tired so most of this didn't come out completely how it was meant to be.....suggestions though?

Mambo? 

Mambo z Pohranicni Straze

Yes, I would keep him away from the scared dog I would even go ahead and put the scared dog outside!  I have heard in Germany when they have a puppy that has an "iffy" kind of temperament (maybe a little skittish or something) they teather it to a confident and stable dog and the puppy learns by the example of the older dog, your puppy will sense the fear in the other dogs bark and that could influence the puppy!  If you are going to use your new puppy for Schutzhund or competiton I would not allow him to hang out with or be around the fearful dog anyway!  You and only you are his pack for a while.....he needs to bond to you and not another dog.  Not to mention I have seen puppies ruined by an older dog jumping them and causing a real fear of other dogs in the puppy.

Good luck with your new little guy.

Vickie
www.PowerHausKennels.com

Thanks for the info. I had no intentions of allowing them around each other, not sure if you caught that in my post.  My intentions are and always have been to only have him with me, not other dogs. I'm just talking about could he influence him.....even though they will be in separate rooms, in separate parts of the basement. He will only be able to hear him, not make contact or see him.

If your pup is stable, and you keep him separated as you plan, and you interact with him and not leave him all alone w/the fearful dog, he will be fine, IMO. If he is borderline, then I'd keep him away from the fearful dog altogether, but I have never seen a stable dog become unstable just because of occasional, limited, exposure to an unstable or overly fearful dog.

I have raised and seen a hell of a lot of pups, of all different breeds. The only thing I have ever seen influence a dog, is his sire, dam and the generations of dogs behind them. Only his ancestors will be whispering in his ear during his life and experiences.

Jenni78 I pick him up Monday, but from what I'm told he is basically fearless at this point. Thanks you guys.

He will be fine. Enjoy your pup. While they can be influenced by their environment, the scenario you are talking about would not concern me a bit. I have 6 dogs...all different personalities. Wouldn't they be more similar if they were so influenced by eachother? Now, that's not to say they don't learn a hell of a lot from watching older dogs, but learning and changing who they are genetically hardwired to be are two different things.