I have an 11 week old Shepherd who is a biter. We have read Ed's article on biting, but would like your opinions on whether I should allow the puppy to roughhouse with my four-year old Shepherd. They play great together and the four-year old is very gentle with the pup, unless, of course, the pup bites her to hard. I am just not sure if the roughhousing carries over to us in reference to the biting. Your help/opinion is greatly appreciated. Thanks
I haven't personally raised a dog and a pup together, but I have a couple of knee-jerk responses to your post:
1) If an 11-week-old GSD WASN'T a "biter," then I would be seriously concerned about that pup;
2) It's great that the big dog plays so well with the pup and this will be good for the socialization of the little guy.
As for the mouthiness carrying over to you... that's just a thing you're going to see in working breeds of dogs. At his age I think I'd just offer him fun alternatives, like biting an old washrag etc. And you can gently start to wean him off the idea of biting you. The pup is only trying to express affection and you should keep this in mind when "correcting" him (and I put "correcting" in quotes because an 11-week-old puppy is very much a baby and should be "corrected" accordingly <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ).
Thank you, Pete and Jeannette. The pup is gently corrected by giving her one of her many "toys". I was reading Pete's reply to my husband and he said in a joking manner, "I don't know how much more affection I can take!" We, of course, will continue to gently wean her off of mouthing us. We will also continue to let the pup roughhouse with the older one...they have such a great time together...it didn't even come to my mind about the "socialization" she is getting from the older dog.
Letting the puppy play with your older dog is fine but just make sure you spend lots of individual time with the pup. You want to be sure that the puppy bonds with you first.
Excellent advice, Chuck...thank you for the reminder. The pup does get her individual attention and play time with us, but I can see where it can be very easy to slack off and let the older dog take over with keeping the pup occupied. We will keep ourselves focused on the bonding issue along with the other things that come with puppyhood. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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