Rough Play

[Mare1]

Help, I have a 5 month old (9 lbs)small mix breed and a older lab (75 lbs). Well, Abby the puppy plays alot and really gets going with the jumping up at the lab (Pella), going for the ears or anything she can try and grab.

Pella is very laid back, and does nothing to discourage this play. I thought she might try to warn the pup, but she doesn't. She even lets Abby take charge of toys, bones included. (not food though) Pella is just a gentle sort with her, but can be a great protector when needed.

Is this rough play something I need to try and stop. I feel sorry for Pella just because she lets Abby walk all over her. Any suggestions, they get along great all other times, it is just when Abby does this play thing.

Thanks, Mare

[tommyjake]

my 7 month old and my older dog are going through the rough play stage too. Theres not really any need to discourage it as all they are doing is trying to establish whos going to be top dog. Eventhough it may look bad when they are doing it, its just what comes naturally to them and as soon as theyve worked out whos boss they wil stop fighting

[Tiffany0204]

^ I agree. It just might be that your little dog will be taking the place as highest ranking pack dog, next to you of course!

Carrie was mentioning that her small chihuahua is top dog, even over her doberman. Size means nothing. As long as the little dog isn't pushing any sort of personal boundaries with Pella I don't think there's anything to worry about. I am not a professional though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[Shalva]

I would leave it alone.... right now your puppy is working on a full fledged puppy license..... and it has an expiration date on it but only Pella knows when that is.... when Pella is done with it she will let the puppy know..... Shalvas puppy license expired at around 14 months.... one day she was being a jerk to everyone in the house (I have five dogs) and the next they made it very clear they were done with her behavior and it seems like a conference must have happened and they all decided on the same day taht they were done.... they spent the next month or so disciplining her nicely and sometimes not so nicely but she got the message and has assumed her place in the pack....

the more you get involved the worse it will be you have to let Pella make the decision about when she is done..... and the others are right... the puppy may indeed end up higher in pack rank than Pella and Pella may or may not care .... but in either case I would leave it alone unless you see someone really getting hurt.....

good luck
S

[Carrie]

right now your puppy is working on a full fledged puppy license..... and it has an expiration date on it but only Pella knows when that is

LOL. That's wonderful! I love that!

Well, I had a Lab too, until last year when I had to put her to sleep. And she was the same way.....soooooo incredibly tolerant of anything. But at the same time, my Doberman puppy was a wild child. And my Lab, Bonnie was old, getting arthritic and just too lazy to do anything about Lyric. So, I did step in and protect her from being harrassed too badly. I'd distract Lyric and try to give him something else to do. I am the head chef in my house and I won't allow a dog to harrass another dog. I won't leave it all up to them to figure out. I don't want my dogs thinking they need to decide things like that between them...at least not too much. Bottom line....they need to know that they can come to me for anything. LOL. Long girl to girl talks, the birds and the bees...anything. I know some people think it just interfers with their own rank establishment between them, but I'm one of those weirdos who don't give a whole lot of weight (some, not a lot) to the pack thing with the domestic dogs and humans. I'm just Mom and they need to go by MY rules if they want to live. LOL.

[mulroony]

If the larger dog does not seem to mind I would let it go, as long as it does not get too rough. If you start seeing signs of aggitation or the older dog trying to get away and the puppy not allowing it I would step in.

My friend has a doxin who comes over to play pretty often, and he does the same thing to shelby. She will let him take the bone out of her mouth as long as he doesn't come between her and her food when she is hungry. Usually we let them go at it, but I can tell when Shelby is getting annoyed because she will go up on a couch or somewhere else where it is hard for him to reach her. At this I usually get him to clam down for a bit until Shelby is ready to play again.

Also keep in mind some dogs are just big push overs and will let all the other dogs around them get away with murder. The doxin will also put his head inside our pit/lab mix's mouth (Jackson's head is as big as the doxins whole body mind you) and bit at his tongue and he will let it fly. Usually the bigger dogs just avoid him or push him away when they get tired.

[Mare1]

Everybody has good ideas, I think I will let them be. Unless, someone cries out for help.

My instinct is not to interfere, but I fell sorry for Pella. But then again she is a big girl and should know when to set the limit.

I know getting Abby has really helped Pella with her depression period and adjusting, so maybe she enjoys the play.

Thank you everyone.

Mare