(Problem) I was reading your “Aggressive Gun Dogs” column in the December/January issue and I thought you could help me with a possible dilemma. My family currently has a German shorthair (Gunnar) that will turn nine in March and we will be getting a puppy at the beginning of May. I feel there might be some trouble in the home.

Gunnar always has been great around people and other dogs. Our neighbors had a male vizsla three years older than Gunnar and they would play together for hours. Then about three years ago the neighbors got a new male vizsla and Gunnar was fine--he didn”t like the puppy jumping on him but just moved and showed no aggression toward the puppy. Two years ago the older vizsla developed cancer and ended up being put down. That”s when Gunnar started growling at the younger dog and acting more aggressive toward him.

The neighbors then got a female Lab because the younger vizsla didn”t turn out to be a hunter. Now, both dogs will run around Gunnar and he will stand still, but when they get close he”ll growl. They will both be submissive but when they are right under him he”ll lunge at them.

We haven”t seen or heard of him breaking skin. A few times I saw him lunge and I thought he bit but didn”t know how hard or if he really did anything to the other dogs. I live an hour away from my family”s home so I don”t see everything that goes on. Gunnar is mostly good with other dogs; it”s just the two neighbor dogs and one Lab-Chesapeake cross he doesn”t like.

My question is, what do you recommend we do when we bring the new puppy home? I”ve heard you should let the older dog find the puppy but how and where should this happen? They will both be housedogs. I know the curious puppy will get in Gunnar”s face eventually and of course I want them to get along even though it might not be possible.

I also know Gunnar is starting to get pain sensitive as he ages; it”s getting better with the long break from hunting season, but the pain is always there--he snapped at my dad for the first time in his life a month ago. So I”m looking for any tips or suggestions you may have.

(Solution) The first thing you want to do is try to get the breeder to keep your new pup in the litter with the mom overseeing and with littermates until the pups are 10 weeks old. You want to make sure the pup knows it is a dog and that it understands all the dog signals, knows what they mean and knows which ones to give when.

This will save you a ton of grief up front. The minimum age to remove pups from the litter should be at least eight weeks, but 10 would be better. You want the new pup to know that Gunnar”s growl, his posture, the expression in his eyes, his ears and his lips mean either “Get out of my face right now” or “That”s okay; let”s play for a while.”

Pups learn to communicate like that during their first 10 weeks of life. Taking them at the so-called magical seven weeks (49 days) is too young for them to have learned everything they need to know to fully understand “dog.” Some pups in a litter will learn this by eight weeks; others need more time.