Rileys mum Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Hi guys. I've just got my new pup home yesterday. she's a real sweetie and is settling in well. i have a question however... my older 18 month old gsp is playing really.rough with her.....i think. he is mouthing her head and legs and pins her down. he follows her everywhere and won't take his eyes off her unless she is asleep. Im worried its becoming too full on and he's being too dominant and will hurt her. She's tiny compared to him (same breed) and he doesn't seem to.know when to stop. What do u guys think? Is this normal He's not biting her or growling etc just mouthing...but its non stop. he plays beautifully with.other dogs and puppies in the past. any advice appreciated :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Is your new pup crate trained? My 18 month old did this to my new puppy and I just made sure I gave the puppy quiet time frequently. Wasn't too long until the pup was bigger than the 18 month old though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rileys mum Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 Thanks... good to know its normal. yeah she's crate training so will make sure she gets lots of alone time to rest lol poor thing looks so tiny next to riley and his lanky legs hehe. can't wait til she's a bit bigger and co.ordinated....he will be the one needing some down time ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reflex0 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Yes, those behaviors are normal for dog to dog play. Is this the first time you are having two dogs in your household? Do you know how to apply leadership amount two dogs? If I were you; I would not let two dogs play freely, because the adult dog will take over the leadership from you when he play with puppy. You should google it for more information in regarding how to manage multi-dogs household. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Just supervise the play, im having to do it with my 2 as the older 1 forgets his size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 (edited) Good doG reflex0 - that's a pretty brave advice Surely it ain't necessarily so If I were you; I would not let two dogs play freely, because the adult dog will take over the leadership from you when he play with puppy. Edited September 20, 2011 by HonBun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Agreed honbun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misschief Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) Do you think there is anything that can be done to prepare a current dog for a new addition?? we have an AMStaff and she is brilliant with other dogs until they sniff her to much then she gets a bit protective other than that she is fine, but we are getting a dally in the next 5 weeks and I want to minimise initial collateral damage to say the least haha. I could just be paranoid or do I just let them become acquainted naturally?? Edited September 21, 2011 by Misschief Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lolapalooza* Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Be really careful the older dog doesnt accidentally 'break' the puppy. I had a 2 year old roll over on a 5 month old and fractured a growth plate in his knee. He has to have 2 operations is now nearly 7 and has arthritis :/ Don't want to sound like a downer just really really don't want anyone else to go through this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misschief Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Be really careful the older dog doesnt accidentally 'break' the puppy. I had a 2 year old roll over on a 5 month old and fractured a growth plate in his knee. He has to have 2 operations is now nearly 7 and has arthritis :/ Don't want to sound like a downer just really really don't want anyone else to go through this. Wow haha thats bad luck (shouldnt laugh) but what are the odds that would happen!! would have never thought thanks for the heads up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) Do you think there is anything that can be done to prepare a current dog for a new addition?? we have an AMStaff and she is brilliant with other dogs until they sniff her to much then she gets a bit protective other than that she is fine, but we are getting a dally in the next 5 weeks and I want to minimise initial collateral damage to say the least haha. I could just be paranoid or do I just let them become acquainted naturally?? Hey Misschief, I'm not sure there's much you can do to prepare your current dog but I would suggest keeping watch when the two play and keeping them separate when you're not there until you are confident that they are both happy playing together. I brought my puppy home in June (8.5 weeks old at the time) to join my 2 year old and at first I did watch them really closely and fenced them off in separate areas when I went out. First introductions the older dog was on leash, then I let him off and let them play but I stayed close and stepped in before the older dog got worked up. After a week or so I felt comfortable that the puppy understood that the older dog was playing with him and that he didn't need to be scared. I think it was only a couple of weeks until I started letting them hang out together when I was out. My dogs are very close in size though, when the puppy came home he was 2 kgs and the adult was 5kg (yes, they're small!!) and by the time I left them alone Riley was rapidly catching up in size. If there was a bigger size gap I think I would have left them separate when I wasn't there for much longer. Also, now I think about it, their personalities came into it too, Saxon the older one, is softer and less confident than Riley, the puppy, and always has been so I wasn't too worried about him bullying Riley. Saxon has also been happy to share toys, beds etc then we've had friends' dogs stay so I suspected he'd be ok with the puppy. So much depends on the dogs and how you manage them so it's hard to say, but watch closely, make arrangements to keep them separate when you're not there to supervise, monitor them when you are there and don't rush things between them Edited September 21, 2011 by Saxonpup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Oh and Riley's Mum, I know what you mean about playing rough! Saxon and my Riley are crazy with each other, and they're only little, I can't imagine the scene at your place :D My two are very similar size now but from the beginning it's been all about bitey-face (and bitey-ears, bitey-tail, bitey-legs etc etc), racing around the house and growling/screeching at each other. It sounds like some sort of insane rampage sometimes!! But after watching them closely they seem to both be quite happy with it, neither tries to escape (much) and no one has gotten hurt I do wish I knew what went through their heads sometimes though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rileys mum Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Saxonpup it is madness watching them play isn't it. my girl is quite small compared to riley so that was a bit frightful to watch at first but now its all launching mouthing and good times between them with pup always coming back for more lol. i think because riley is still quite young it helps a tad as he's happy as Larry to play for ages and ages and has just as much fun as pup does :-) All play is still fully supervised until poppy gets a bit bigger. Thanks for the replies and good luck with the new pup mischief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Do you think there is anything that can be done to prepare a current dog for a new addition?? I recently bought 'The Focussed Puppy' which is an awesome book! One recommendation in preparing your existing dog for a new puppy is to introduce the smell of the new puppy before their arrival. If you can, ask the breeder to send you a small towel or blanket which has been rubbed over the puppy which you then put it in a common area of your house so the scent becomes familiar to your dog. You can do the same thing to help the puppy by rubbing a cloth over you and your dog and giving it to the breeder for a scent introduction to the puppy. They also suggest rubbing a cloth or a small toy over mum and the other puppies and sending this with the puppy to you. It can offer your new puppy comfort after his move. Good luck with your new puppy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lolapalooza* Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Be really careful the older dog doesnt accidentally 'break' the puppy. I had a 2 year old roll over on a 5 month old and fractured a growth plate in his knee. He has to have 2 operations is now nearly 7 and has arthritis :/ Don't want to sound like a downer just really really don't want anyone else to go through this. Wow haha thats bad luck (shouldnt laugh) but what are the odds that would happen!! would have never thought thanks for the heads up Well I sure wasn't laughing, neither was my puppy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 When I brought Kirah home, I set up a play pen inside the garage. She weighed under 5 kilos and Zeus (2 and a half years old) is 14.8 kilos and quite tall. Being a pup, she slept most of the time but I'd have her out playing with Zeus fully supervised. Then, when play time was over, she'd be put back in the play pen (garage door to outside is barricaded by a baby gate to keep Zeus out) and Kirah would sleep until it was time for more play or a meal. They've both been outside unsupervised since Kirah turned 4 months old, however, there's always someone home who keeps an ear out for anything. She's now 5 months and both her and Zeus get along famously; they even squeeze into the same kennel to sleep and Zeus loves having the company. They're the best of friends and Zeus adores his little sister and she her big brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Woofs Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Same thing happened to me. My 2 yr old amstaff boy squashed my puppy and badly damaged her shoulder. I had to do weekly chiro sessions for nearly a year at $40 a pop! She also had to be kept seperate from the others to allow the muscle to heal... It'll prob never be 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misschief Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Wow thats crazy!!, Well im definatly buying a puppy pen and placing it in the garage during the day till im 110% the 2 year old want squish ma pup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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