Why is my dog acting jealous after her sibling's surgery?

Yes, absolutely dogs can show jealousy. Make sure you give extra attention to Chispita when you come back inside, and give her extra playtime and walks. Usually jealousy doesn’t cause any long term problems. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Chispita.

There are lots of possible causes, but the most important one could be pain. I would consult with your vet and make sure her pain medications are all at the best doses for her currently. Alternatively, she could be developing some resource guarding. She has gone through a stressful procedure and she may be feeling more sensitive and protective of herself and her spaces. For now, I would keep the puppy away so he doesn’t get hurt. This article may provide more insight: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102897&id=10464193

That is a reasonable concern. However pets are very forgiving as long as the incident isn't severely traumatic (involves severe pain or discomfort). I would work to continue to show the puppy attention and to play with him for at least 30 minutes twice a day. Also while the puppy is around your other pet you can allow the two dogs to at least see each other or comes nose to nose with each other while being supervised to ensure they don't rough play any compromise your pets sutures. You will be surprised how forgiving our pets are. I have had pets separated from each other for years and when they get back together all is forgotten and they coexist happily together as if they were never apart. You can also take some of your personal items hat have your scent and your other dogs scent on it to your mums house so that the puppy has a reminder there with him until you are all reunited again. Best wishes with your pup and I hope that Champ heals well from his injury. Best wishes and take care.

Your house is a lot different, and your own dog may be feeling like there is a bit of an "intruder" situation going on. it may take some time for your dogs to all get along, especially if the change was recent. Until they get along better, the dogs should only be together when able to be supervised by you. You may also want to pick up items of contention such as beds, toys, treats, etc that may be fought over if your dogs feel threatened. If a fight breaks out, immediately separate the dogs for a "time out"/cooldown, and then reintroduce when all dogs are calm and relaxed. When you are not at home, the dogs should be separated or crated in separate crates to avoid a potential fight. If the issue persists, speaking with a trainer or behaviorist may also help as they can often observe what is going on in the home, and can make suggestions based on your specific needs.

Female to female aggression is very hard to manage. Are all your pets spayed and neutered? This is the first thing I would do if not. Some of the worst injuries I have seen are between two females in the same household. They are likely establishing dominance and there are things you can do to reinforce the “leader” by feeding them first (or feed them all separately), letting the alpha dog walk in front when taking walks. I strongly suggest you work with a behaviorist and take aggression seriously bc I have seen it escalate quickly. Hope that helps.

Sometimes dogs don't like the change in smell when another dog comes back from the vet. You may want to wipe down the older dog with a damp cloth and brush her to get the vet smell off her. It also can be that he now sees she is weak and he wants to take over being the top dog. This can be dangerous as he could fight with her and hurt her so you are right to keep them separate when you are not there to monitor their behavior. If your younger dog is well trained I would make it clear to him that this is inappropriate behavior by your voice and placing him in a crate or outside when he exhibits this behavior. Hopefully in a few days things will settle back into the normal routine. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

I would actually suspect that Bruno is sick, not jealous that you have a new puppy. Unfortunately lethargy and anorexia are general signs of many illnesses, so I would take him into a vet today to get checked out. Best of luck, I hope this helps!