My Lab Puppy Plays Too Rough

One calls the puppy, gives it a treat and then the other immediately calls the puppy to the other end of the room, house or yard, also for a treat. You stay still, the puppy runs back and forth. Provide mental stimulation too. Kong toys, puzzle toys, learning tricks and commands or heading out for an adventure keep a puppy busy and happy.

My lab puppy plays too rough. I have a 5 1/2 month old chocolate lab puppy who is being way too rough when she plays with my 7lb Yorkie/Chihuahua mix. She doesn't realize just how large she is and now that she towers over the little one, the little one cant really defend herself anymore. Are My Puppies Playing Too Rough? Luckily for Alberta, there’s actually a pretty easy way to tell if your dogs or puppies are playing too rough with each other: Observe the puppies to see if their play has nice back-and-forth. In general, if the puppies are taking turns chasing, tackling, and biting, the play is probably OK. The problem is the puppy is growing up and the cat is the same size, now she is just to big and rough an probably doesn't realize she is hurting the cat. Teach her to 'leave it'. Start this (on a leash so you have complete control) by having the cat and the dog in the same room. We examine rough play between dogs. We focus primarily on dog play that some might consider “inappropriate” or “not safe.” When dog play fighting is acceptable and what dogs growling while playing means. In the field of animal behavior, researchers often refer to social play as “play fighting” because it includes many of the behaviors seen during real fights.

Our friends have a Lab and got a doxie puppy. The lab was playing a bit too rough, and broke most of the ribs on the puppy. The vet suggested euthanizing, since it was so close to death, but they opted for surgery. Many broken ribs and $6000 later, the puppy is as good as new. Playing is a healthy part of socialization for dogs and it is definitely something to be encouraged. On the other hand, rough play can be dangerous for you and your dog because it can lead to bites or other injuries to yourself or another pet. If the situation is getting too intense, then it is best to remove the dog for a time-out session. Wait at least an hour after your puppy eats if you're going to play gently, or 90 minutes if you're going to play rough. If you don't wait enough between eating and playing, your puppy may get a stomach ache or even develop a life-threatening condition (gastric torsion) where the stomach swings over and twists on itself. [1] Some dogs however play too rough, in a hyper-aroused state. Playtime with others takes the dogs to very high levels of energy, increasing the chances for things to turn bad. When we roughhouse with our dog, because we’re not dogs, we don’t master the rules of play and will often bring the excitement level out of control.

When your puppy play starts getting too intense, you can separate the pups to let them settle down. Try to do this by walking in between the pups and gently nudging or blocking the offending puppy. Playing too rough? (Older dog and new puppy) help (Apologies in advance for formatting- on my phone!) We have a 10 week old goldendoodle puppy and 6 year old GSD mix. They LOVE playing with each other, but it’s pretty rough play (goldendoodle will launch his whole body at her like a battering ram/will not stop playing with her unless they are. Problem: Dog Plays Rough. Hello, Related Articles. 9 of the Most Common Dog Injuries; Aggressive Biting Puppy; Stud Dog's Family Role; How can I help our six-month-old Lab learn proper playing behavior? She is very good natured, but when she gets very excited and she wants to play, she begins jumping and nipping at our hands and arms. At first, you may need to pet or scratch your puppy for short periods of time, since the longer she’s petted, the more likely she is to get excited and start to nip. Discourage unacceptable behavior. You must also teach your puppy to be gentle with hands, and that nipping results in unpleasant consequences for her.

Generally, puppies will let their play mates know that the play is too rough, either by yelping, growling or snapping. Your job is to help the older puppy understand these signals. Say the older puppy has the younger puppy pinned down, that is totally fine. The young puppy will lay motionless to signal that the old puppy won this round. I have a 5 month old purebred Labrador. Not my first Lab and my 5th dog, but I was totally unprepared for the level of aggression this litle fella is showing. He is fearless and has no problems when he meets other dogs. As expected has huge amounts of energy and my usual training method involving lots of exercise is not working so well. Instead, when to stop puppy nipping, if your puppy gets too rough, stop playtime and walk away. Your puppy should quickly learn that you will ignore him if he misbehaves. If you’re struggling with this issue, avoid rough play. You also should skip play biting. How to get a puppy to stop biting As your puppy grows up and gets bigger and your old dog ages, run interference for him. Don’t let the young dog get too rough and most importantly, don’t let him pick on the old dog. My Bashir is 12 years old now and Bones is almost four. Thankfully, Bashir has taught Bones how to play and they don’t play rough with each other at all.