The Young and the Restless

Did you add a younger dog to your family thinking it would help keep your older dog “young”? Has your older dog now gone from napping to restless irritability by using his/her wisdom and energy to judiciously choose when to let the interloper know a line has been crossed?

Let’s face it, energy is a limited resource - for us and our dogs. Younger dogs have more of that resource to tap into than older dogs. If we advocate for our older dogs, we can help keep the peace between all parties and prevent energy wars between the young and the restless. 

Here’s how to negotiate peace between the young and the restless/exhausted: 

1. Tire your younger dog out before allowing him/her to play with your older dog. Your older dog will thank you for bringing your hyper adolescent dog down from an 11 to a 5. 

2. Ask for attention from the dogs before encouraging play. This will help you grab their attention when needed during play. 

3. Frequently interrupt play. Every 30 seconds to 2 minutes, call your dogs away from each other. Ask the dogs for a sit or other tricks before releasing them to play once again. This frequent interruption will help modulate play arousal levels. The longer the play session, the more likely the dogs are to shift from Dancing Queen mode to Kung Fu Fighting mode. 

4. Recognize a “no thank you”. During a play break, if your older dog turns or walks away, your older dog needs a break from the younger dog. Do not allow the whippersnapper to dive bomb onto your retreating older dog. Allow your older dog to rest while you finish burning off your younger dog’s energy. 

5. Avoid tight spaces. Older dogs may live with aches and pains on the daily. Being in a tight space with a younger dog lacking impulse control can heighten the older dog’s concern of being bumped. Put on the dogs’ walking equipment in separate spaces. Allow the dogs to move through a tight space alone. You can even train your dogs to move through such spaces in a specific order. 

6. Provide separate rest areas. While of course we want to snap cute photos of the dogs living the snug life together, it’s best to let them choose when the snug life is right for them. 

We hope these tips help keep the peace between your young dog and your older dog. A little bit of dog diplomacy and advocacy goes a long way. Need more nuanced help? I’m only a click away.

Thank you to the wonderful trainers and sport dog enthusiasts who have shared their photographs with me. In order of appearance, the title page photo is from Katrina Drake, the brown dog with black puppy is from Erin Saywell, the wire haired Jack Russel terriers running is from Katrina Drake, and the last two photos with the Bernese Mountain Dogs are from Audrey Fellows. I had so many wonderful photo submissions, thank you to everyone who submitted photos!