Kira and Coconut revisted.

[Anthony8858]

Hi all.

Kira is our 3.5 month GSD, Coconut is our 6 year old Maltese. Both females.

Both Kira and Coconut will lay on the same carpet for an entire evening, and chew their favorite bone.
THEN (just like that), Kira goes into play mode.

She'll "mouth" Coconut all over her body, she'll mouth her backside, tail, and top of her head.

Coconut will put Kira in her place when she's had enough.
HOWEVER, here's the problem.. Kira doesn't know when to quit. When Coconut gets tired, Kira will playfully tug at Coconut's tail. I don't like this, and I want to stop this.
Coconut has bitten her, and made Kira yelp, but Kira keeps coming back for more. Kira will NOT close her mouth on Coconut, only antagonize her.

Any suggestions?

[Jax08]

I would redirect her. Jax did this with our cat. Whenever she would pick on Cracker, I would tell her "Easy" and reward her for being gentle. If she got to rough, she got a No! Once she came to me, I gave her a toy.

[Anthony8858]

Originally Posted by Jax08

I would redirect her. Jax did this with our cat. Whenever she would pick on Cracker, I would tell her "Easy" and reward her for being gentle. If she got to rough, she got a No! Once she came to me, I gave her a toy.

I redirected her. She took her treat, and sat there...watching Coconut's every move.
Then she would fly through the room, take a grab at her tail, and run. Coconut would chase and bark at her, and let her know she's angry.

Today, Kira came up with some white fur on her lips. I know it's playful, but I'm concerned for my little Coconut. She's doesn't know how to play the way Kira does.

I had to put them in different rooms today, because the "playing" never ended. The barking, and growling at Kira, and Kira's playfull puppy bark was unbearable.

[DanielleOttoMom]

Hello there. Lets see here..... There is nothing wrong with crating her or puppy time out. I would us a verbal command "Leave it" or "No" (which ever one preffer) a few times a direct her some were else. If she still doesn't responed. I put her up in her crate. After a while she will learn to respect Coconuts space (also to listen to you). She still is a baby and just want to play..... You can control the situation with giving them their space as needed. Hope that helps you a little bit.

[msvette2u]

Do you ever keep that puppy on a leash so you can have control over it?
Most your posts make it seem as though the puppy has control over your entire household and you're helpless to stop it.
Our puppy will terrorize the adults too, and if they aren't successful in stopping it themselves, we leash the brat and make him behave.

It is not fair to your older, smaller dog to have to tolerate that behavior and by "redirecting", especially with treats, you may be unwittingly giving the puppy (and the older dog) it's okay and even a rewarded behavior to harass the small dog.

[Jax08]

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

I redirected her. She took her treat, and sat there...watching Coconut's every move.
Then she would fly through the room, take a grab at her tail, and run. Coconut would chase and bark at her, and let her know she's angry.

Today, Kira came up with some white fur on her lips. I know it's playful, but I'm concerned for my little Coconut. She's doesn't know how to play the way Kira does.

I had to put them in different rooms today, because the "playing" never ended. The barking, and growling at Kira, and Kira's playfull puppy bark was unbearable.

Redirect her with a toy. She wants to play...so give her something different to play with. Don't let her focus on Coconut. Make playing with you more fun than playing with Coconut.

[jprice103]

I have the same issue with Cheyenne and the little ones (3 Chihuahuas). They will play great for awhile, and then the Chihuahuas will have enough...but Cheyenne is far from being done playing. It can get pretty intense! lol

I have a baby gate separating them...and when things get too rough, I'll bring Cheyenne on the other side of the gate so the Chihuahuas can get some rest and peace! Of course, Cheyenne will just jump over the gate (no gate will stop her!), so I just set some chairs up in front of the gate so she can't jump it! That way I don't have to crate Cheyenne...and everyone is happy. Once she knows she can't get to them anymore, she usually will move onto something else.

[Anthony8858]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

Do you ever keep that puppy on a leash so you can have control over it?
Most your posts make it seem as though the puppy has control over your entire household and you're helpless to stop it.
Our puppy will terrorize the adults too, and if they aren't successful in stopping it themselves, we leash the brat and make him behave.

It is not fair to your older, smaller dog to have to tolerate that behavior and by "redirecting", especially with treats, you may be unwittingly giving the puppy (and the older dog) it's okay and even a rewarded behavior to harass the small dog.

I don't see where my posts indicate this. Kira is well behaved, and going through normal puppyhood. She's on a leash, when she's walking. She's confined to our kitchen / family room. She's crated in her appropriate time.
She's in obedience school, and doing terrific.

I do agree with NOT rewarding her with treats, and that's why I'm asking the question here. I also do NOT agree with crating her or giving her a timeout, because I do NOT want to associate her crate with any form of bad behavior.. and THAT'S why I'm asking the question here.

FWIW... She's crated all night, she's crated whenever we need her to be. We didn't get her to keep her crated either.
When she's out of her crate, she'll spend 99% of the time behaving around Coconut. But once she gets going, she don't know when to quit.

I think you need to go back and thorough;y read my posts. My Kira is amazingly obedient for her age, and well behaved. However, I'm here so I CAN LEARN to curb the few issues that others may have experienced before me.

[Konotashi]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

Do you ever keep that puppy on a leash so you can have control over it?
Most your posts make it seem as though the puppy has control over your entire household and you're helpless to stop it.
Our puppy will terrorize the adults too, and if they aren't successful in stopping it themselves, we leash the brat and make him behave.

It is not fair to your older, smaller dog to have to tolerate that behavior and by "redirecting", especially with treats, you may be unwittingly giving the puppy (and the older dog) it's okay and even a rewarded behavior to harass the small dog.

I was thinking the same thing....

[Anthony8858]

Originally Posted by Jax08

Redirect her with a toy. She wants to play...so give her something different to play with. Don't let her focus on Coconut. Make playing with you more fun than playing with Coconut.

Yes, I do this.... Then Coconut will invite her to play, by going over to her.