It’s important to realize when a puppy might not be interacting appropriately with another puppy or dog. Some puppies can be bullies, play far too roughly, or be overly exuberant and unable to read the room. We’re covering the steps you can take to help a puppy with appropriate interactions and what to know about puppy play.
In the episode you'll hear:
- What I learned from a Jack Russel Terrier puppy and Border Collie puppy in the 90s.
- How puppies learn when they are playing with littermates and that young puppies can show calming signals.
- The reasons that puppies might be bullies including when they leave the litter.
- About my experiences with Buzz and his discomfort with other dogs.
- How Tater-Salad had an inappropriate play style when he came to live with us.
- What to look for when you take your puppy to a play and socialization class.
- When to use a positive interrupter to help your pup with appropriate interactions.
- What to do if you have a softer puppy who is getting pushed around.
- About puppies who badger your adult dog and how to keep older dogs safe.
- That most adult dogs have a limited time where they give a puppy a “free pass”, but others have zero-
tolerance. - Ways to help exuberant puppies who have not yet learned to read the room.
- How to set up your environment for success and safety for puppies and adult dogs.
Resources:
- Podcast Episode 157: Dog Body Language: Understanding Canine Communication Signals And Emotions
- Blog Post: Socializing the Singleton Puppy: Swagger’s Big Adventures
- Podcast Episode 158: Stop Your Dog’s Unwanted Behaviors With This Positive Interrupter
- Book: Shaping Success by Susan Garrett
- Podcast Episode 72: Preventing Dog Aggression: Introducing Dogs or Puppies with Project Togetherness
- Podcast Episode 30: Why Dog Crates Are Not Dog Cages
- Recallers
- YouTube Playlist: Living with Multiple Dogs Tips with Susan Garrett
- Podcast Episode 32: 20 Easy Ways to Exercise Your Dog at Home
- YouTube Playlist: Behavior Chains in Dog Training with Susan Garrett
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
I love introducing puppies to my Beagle. She LOVES puppies, but has a very clear “Okay, we’re done now.”, which makes her very safe to help “bully” puppies get better dog manners.
She will play with the puppy, handicapping herself a LOT depending on the puppy, and when she is getting tired with the play she will just disengage from them, turning away, and refusing to play. If the puppy carries on (it doesn’t take long) my Beagle will scream at them. It is a sound I have never heard her use for anything else. It’s startling (for the human too), and the puppy will sit there, seemingly pondering what they just did to get fun, sweet aunt Rosie to scream at them. It only takes a few play sessions for the roughest puppies to start picking up on her quiet “I don’t want to play anymore.” cues, so they can avoid getting screamed at by their playmate.
She did this once with my sister’s rather pushy working line GSD pup at family dinner. It made everyone turn in their seats, startled, when she screamed. Her pup was clever, it took once (or twice) for her to stop playing when Rosie was done playing.
Hello, I have a standard poodle who is almost three years old, we got her at 8 weeks from the same reputable breeder of our other standard. She came from a litter of eight, so not a singleton. We brought her home into our family with our 8yr old male standard. They seem to get along well and my 8yr old male did respond in kind to her rough play. As the pup grew the rolls reversed and she became a bully and the alpha dog. The male standard was definitely submissive and a gentle soul. The pup would just stare at the older dog in many different situations then the older wouldn’t move or climb stairs unless we distracted the pup. We did socialize her, she went to daycare, constant guidance she eventually learned to “read the room” and play nicely. No problems at daycare she gets along with everyone. But she continues to be a very rough, dominate player outside of daycare with any other dog she meets. She has been introduced to a very young pup and she is very tolerant with him. I can’t reconcile what the issue is with her or how to change her behaviour. Our older male standard died last year so there isn’t competition for attention. The other thing she has done since we brought her home is suckle and kneed her bed like nursing from her mother. To this day she still does it, we are unable to figure out why or to stop it. She tends to do this more when one of us comes home from being out of the house. Is it a sign of insecurity and emotional immaturity? Any information and guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Awesome information!!