Puppy and her old family

[ANNE SWANSON]

Hi,

We have a 12 week old puppy who we just got from a neighbor who lives about 175 feet away, a few houses down from us.  When my puppy is in the yard she sometimes stops if she hears dogs barking and smells around and gets very distressed.  She starts to cry and runs to the fence to see if she can see out.  I swear it's because she can hear her mom and 3 siblings a short distance away.  Is there anything to be done about this? It seems sad.

Also, because she's so young and can't be left alone in the house yet we have taken her to her back to her mom and siblings for a few hours or a day if we have to work.  It's only happened twice in a month but is likely to happen again soon.  The siblings really gang up on her barking, jumping her, and nipping on her quite hard.  At first we weren't going to leave her in the situation. She is the runt of the litter and they are twice her size.  She would run and hide under things and seemed very scared.  But then she started fighting back and it seems that within some time she was doing a bit better.  But it was very scary at first.  

We initially thought it would be nice for her to be able to see her mom and play with her brother and sister.  But now I'm wondering if we are causing her too much stress and it's something we should try to curtail, even if we don't have too many babysitting choices.

 

Thanks,

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

I still struggle thinking of her being 12 weeks based on the pictures you sent here. Now that you say she's a runt, I am stumped even more because she looks so big and I personally don't even see any husky in her. 

She looks somewhat similar to a client of mine's dog who turned out being a lovely Australian cattle dog mix, but your dog has more white. 

I suggest seeing the vet and having a physical done and getting her teeth checked to get an accurate age. There are also DNA tests to have an idea on what breeds she may be, but your vet/vet staff can also give you some ideas by looking at her and doing a physical (weighing her, looking at the color of her mouth, and other characteristics). Many times, you may get different opinions, depending on who you ask. 

Walking your dog (once you know her exact age and vaccination status) playing with her, and interacting with her can help as she gets used to her new place. She likely has lived with these dogs for some time and therefore feels as if they're her social group, her "pack". With time, she should bond with you more and more and miss them less. 

I wouldn't encourage these interactions if they result in her being bullied and causing her to feel scared to that point. You also don't want to allow her to be in the position of rehearsing fighting back to defend herself. If you can find a nearby daycare run by dog trainers, that would be an optimal solution, as they can monitor play and ensure no dog gets bullied or put into the position of needing to act defensively.