Hi everyone, both of my sisters recently got puppies (they live in separate homes). They are both right around 10 weeks. I got to take care of one over the weekend. Very sweet little puppy, the normal nippyness, but got along great with my dog.
We all met up today and let the 2 pups meet. The pup I took care of, raised it's hackles right away and was very leery. He did not do this with my dog the whole time they were together. Even when he was corrected by my dog. Why would it have changed w/the other puppy? We supervised their play, but they kept getting increasingly worked up, until finally the hackle puppy cut the lip of the other and we separated them after that. I had never seen such a young pup raise it's hackles. Any thoughts?
Jennifer Marshal Webboard User Reg: 08-02-2007
Posts: 1078
Loc: Southern Oregon
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Alex - Where did the pups meet? Was your pup taken to a new/strange environment?
What was the other puppy doing when the pup you took care of hackled? It sounds like the play may have been more of a rank scuffle than low key puppy play.
Is this pup being separated from other dogs and tethered to develop a good bond and trust in humans?
Jennifer, the pups met at my mother's house which was neutral ground. When the puppy hackled, nothing was going on except the inital greet and sniff, side by side. No mounting or t-ing. After that, the other pup tried to climb over and they both played for a bit, but got rough, and we separated. We tried this 2 more times until it got too much and we separated for good.
The hackle puppy is super super friendly and confident with people. It had appeared with dogs as well, since when it initially met my dog, was very submissive & friendly before the eventual puppy rough housing. When the pup met my dog, it was at my house and it seemed totally comfortable. When it got a bit rough, my dog would growl or snarl at him and he would back off.
Jennifer Marshal Webboard User Reg: 08-02-2007
Posts: 1078
Loc: Southern Oregon
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The puppy could be a bit sharp or you might have to keep an eye on him for dog aggression problems.. or he might not have felt comfortable in a new environment while meeting a new dog.
Sometimes neutral territory is less neutral than we think it is. If one pup got there before the other then it might not be neutral.
Hmm.. My first thought also was that he will probably be dog aggressive, as it's in his breed as well. Since he saw a young pup, he must have felt he needed to "pull out his guns" to get any kind of advantage over the other pup. He probably didn't feel it necessary w/my dog since in size & age comparison, he didn't have a chance and actually may have seen my dog as a parent vs a rival.
Jennifer Marshal Webboard User Reg: 08-02-2007
Posts: 1078
Loc: Southern Oregon
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Pups respond differently to eachother than they do to adult dogs - in general. It is often judged by size. Adult dog much larger will be treated differently by the pup than an adult dog the same size as the pup.
I don't buy much into breed tendencies toward dog aggression. IMO experiences, handling, and training have much more weight on dog aggression than breed alone.
Puppies hackle all the time, for different reasons.
It's typically a sign of unsureness and/or excitement, more than aggression. With all that said, I would never let my puppy (of any age) play with another puppy.
I only let my puppies around neutral adult dogs that will basically ignore them. Letting puppies get their fun from other dogs sets up a whole set of problems later on.
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Question on 10 week old pup raising hackles
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