4 yr old & 9 week old incessantly wrestling, when will it stop

**CarolynK** · 12-25-2011, 07:10 PM

Hey All,

My husband I are just added an adorable 8 week black boy pup to our household. We already have 4 (almost 5) year old black girl. Any time they are together the puppy is CONSTANTLY nipping at my other dog. She nudges him with her nose or pushes him down to the ground. She also mouths him. Though she would never hurt him on purpose I am so nervous with them wrestling because she is 60lbs and he's only 14lbs right now. My breeder told me its best to let the dogs iron it out, and only separate them if it gets too rough ... but inevitably it always gets to rough (to me atleast). The only time there is peace is if the pups sleeping. He will not leave my older girl alone. He's been with us for 8 days now, and I'm just wondering when I can expect them to just ...coexist together - like both play with their toys peacefully. When can I expect this to end? Is there something I'm supposed to be doing. I just get so nervous with him since he's small, but even after she corrects him - he is still going after her with his razor sharp baby teeth. I think my older girl has been really patient with him. Any thoughts or advice would be hugely appreciated!

Happy Holidays,
C

**deidra** · 12-25-2011, 08:01 PM

First your dogs are adorable! With the wrestling as long as the puppy is not getting hurt I would not worry about it. If it gets to ruff then intervene and let them settle down for awhile. I used to be the same way. My grandpa has a chihuahua and a Yorkie when they brought them over Tank would get a little crazy and try to play with them. Let em tell you those little dogs can stick up for themselves,lol. If Tank would get to ruff i would tell him to crate up(like we were going somewhere or something) then after a few minutes bring him back out.

**tammyhuffman** · 12-25-2011, 08:21 PM

That was one of the 1st questions I asked when joining this forum. A very wise and experienced member of this forum told me that one of her Labs played this game known as "bitey face" until he was 11 years old! our youngest just turned 5 months old and the game has not slowed down at all. When my oldest, Emma, who is 5 has had enough she let's Maxx know. As long as they aren't hurting each other just let them work it out but definitely supervise. Welcome to the forum, you will learn so much here. Your babies are beautiful!

**nicole** · 12-25-2011, 08:55 PM

It will end when you teach them that it's not something you want them to do 24/7. Start teaching the puppy to settle, use a leash if necessary.

Originally Posted by CarolynK

My breeder told me its best to let the dogs iron it out, and only separate them if it gets too rough ...

This is strange to me. You are good to be cautious! An adult can injure a young puppy very quickly, even if not on purpose. While you can let dogs of equal size "iron it out", when there is a huge size difference, you definitely want to be careful.

**CarolynK** · 12-26-2011, 04:14 PM

Hi again,

What she really said was let them interact - but if you feel its too rough step in and separate them...if I mediate too much, I could be mediating for life (which obviously I don't want to have to do). We can call my older girl off and she will listen, but pupster isn't there yet! The only time I see my big girl relaxed now is if baby is sleeping or in his crate

I feel bad for her. Love that he's tiny, but really looking foward to seeing them play together when they are closer in size/strength.

**tammyhuffman** · 12-26-2011, 07:58 PM

You will hopefully notice your oldest becoming more relaxed as she gets used to the puppy. Make sure you make it special for your older dog when they are together so the oldest associates good things happening when the puppy is around. Spend time with them alone also. We send one to one room with an adult and the other to a different room with another adult for one on one play time. Same with outside playtime. Try keeping the puppy busy so he is tired. A busy or tired puppy is a happy puppy. Emma did not seem really relaxed with Maxx for the first few weeks. She definitely gets tired of his antics and will head off to the bedroom for a nap. It will all work out over time. Good luck!

**tkeizer** · 12-27-2011, 01:46 AM

Welcome! Both of your babies are adorable! We brought Aila into our home when she was 8 weeks old. Gin, at the time, was 11 years old. They both played bitey-face and wrestled until both were panting up a storm. I always supervised, but I very rarely had to intervene. Gin would always let Aila know when she had had enough. She was never rough with Aila, but would give a little nip or a certain bark and Aila knew it was time to settle down (for the moment anyway). I found that the less I intervened, the better Gin and Aila could establish their "relationship". Although Gin is much older, not as strong anymore, Aila knows to respect her. From the day we brought Aila home, we made sure that Aila knew to respect Gin - we always fed Gin first (made Aila wait until Gin was finished eating); we always let Gin out the door first (made Aila wait at the door until Gin was out); Gin gets treats first; Gin gets greeted first; etc.

Good luck with your two, but I think you'll find that they will work things out between the two of them naturally. Having a puppy of 10 weeks - they are just balls of energy at this age - that is what puppyhood is all about. Enjoy it while it lasts.