OK, you’ve owned Blu for 10 years; he has been your best friend all that time, accepting you just as you are, always there for you when you come home.

As he gets older he begins to slow down, becoming less and less active as the years go by. It isnt time to replace Blu, as with most dogs, he is irreplaceable, but you do want to get a new puppy.

Blu wont be happy about this, how do you teach him that this new puppy will be his friend, and that he is acceptable to allow into the house?

Jealousy will be a guaranteed reaction to this newest member of the family, and you will have to know how to deal with this. For the first few times they are together, be there with them, do not leave them alone.

Because puppy is new and misses the family he has just recently left, he will demand attention from Blu, in return, Blu will get frustrated, growling and possibly snapping.

Give Blu time to adjust to this new addition, give him the same attention he has always received from you. Dont let puppy control your time with Blu, because Blu will learn to resent it and this is something you dont want to happen.

I thought that allowing my dog to growl at the puppy was wrong, and at first I would reprimand him for it. What ended up happening was the puppy used him as a chew toy, and my older dog was afraid to reprimand the puppy for fear of displeasing me.

What you need to allow is Blu to reprimand puppy as necessary, accepting that he would not hurt the puppy, and is only teaching him his boundaries.

One advantage to this whole could be that Blu begins getting a little more exercise, even if its just because hes busy getting away from the puppy!