[tim_s_adams]

My dog is now 21 months old, and she seems to be becoming a bit less tolerant of puppies in that 4-6 month stage, because they're non stop, in her face licking and jumping, and all those things puppies do. So I had to laugh the other day watching her try to tell a puppy off for doing this stuff.

This particular puppy LOVES my dog and makes it her mission, when she isn't bothering other dogs or puppies with her antics, to convince my dog just how much she really wants to play!

So my dog usually greets this puppy amicably enough, then starts growling at her, then showing teeth, then occasionally pinning her down if she still doesn't take the hint. She never bites the puppy, her mouth is always open, but it looks like she might!

On this particular day this puppy just wouldn't listen to reason. Nyx did all the stuff mentioned previously, but little Hazel just wouldn't quit! I was watching closely, because upping the ante to an actual bite seemed like the next step, and I didn't want the puppy to get hurt!

Well, apparently Nyx didn't either. Rather than bite the puppy she started using her paws. First one to just roll her over. When that didn't work Nyx resorted to holding her down with both front paws while growling and showing her teeth! It FINALLY got through to Hazel, and she decided others might be a bit more fun to play with...

Nyx looked relieved when she ran off, but she also seemed to smile a bit too! Sort of like a parent when their child does something annoying but so funny that it's hard not to laugh! I was pretty amazed by her restraint...

 

[Shane'sDad]

Great story Tim :thumbup:....you've really got a good one in Nyx....I bet you already know that though...don't you ?

 

[Sabis mom]

What a good girl!

Sabs used to get annoyed and hold the youngsters down with a paw on their head while looking at me with a look that I could clearly interpret as "Seriously? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?" But she never hurt them and she never lost her cool. It always fascinated me that she could completely immobilize a fair sized young one with that one paw and never do any damage.
Nyx should be a great nanny later on, she sounds like she has it covered.

 

[wolfy dog]

I don't think any dog likes the 5 - 10 month olds. Quite the job for the 21 month old dog. Kind like a young teacher with a group of rowdy kids (that was me in my first job!).

 

[Apex1]

Apex is still pretty young almost 20 months...our neighbors have a 6 month old pup Gsd mix and Apex is super tolerant of her licking his face and all. Also rather careful and gentle with her. He taught her to play chase instead of the biting wrestle quickly. Was cute. Maybe if it was something we did all the time perhaps it would be less true. They more often interact by owner accidents (no fences). Apex is a doggy dog tho so there is that.

 

[McGloomy]

This story made me laugh lol. It's silly how our 'big pups' now seem to think that younger pups are so annoying! They don't realise they're still pups themselves do they?! ?

There's this one 4 months old GSD who much resembled my boy when he was the same age. All he wanted to do around Ocean was to lick him in the face, bite on Ocean's back, and try to engage him in so many ways. That pup keeps on trying to get my boy's attention by nipping at his face. My boy was initially super patient and just casually ignored and moved his face away, but finally when he couldn't take no more, he growled and barked ONCE. The pup finally left him alone ?

I'm like, you know, you were as small as that pup like literally 2 weeks ago. Lol

 

[tim_s_adams]

One funny thing about this is that, although older dogs act annoyed, I don't really think they are. It's just schooling, teaching the puppy when enough is enough.

Puppies who act more timid and don't get in the older dog's face with the licking and jumping tend to be treated more harshly. I've seen this happen repeatedly, and from what I can tell it seems nearly universal. Almost like telling them they have to toughen up if they want to be left alone...once they do, they are.

Dogs are weird, but it does seem to work!

 

[wolfy dog]

One funny thing about this is that, although older dogs act annoyed, I don't really think they are. It's just schooling, teaching the puppy when enough is enough.

As long as you are dealing with sane adult dogs and owners who understand what these teacher dogs are doing. Many people want their adult dogs to be nice to pups and protect the pup, which makes matters complicated; pup gets too much ego and the adult dog needs to be more forceful next time than he/she normally would have to be.
I personally never trust a strange adult dog to interact with a pup of mine. A pup from a good breeder and adopted at around 10 weeks of age has had many lessons already and doesn't need all these 'refreshers'.

 

[Nigel]

My girls have no time for puppy antics anymore and will correct the new guy without too much hesitation, Zoe is a bit more tolerant than her sister, but neither seems to like him much. None will drink water from a bowl he's used, they don't like floaties, lol! That pup is the messiest drinker of any dog we've had. He's no timid pup either, he's actually quite full of himself and pretty social guy all the way around.

 

[tim_s_adams]

To me this is one of those things about dog behavior that is so counter intuitive. Puppy acts shy, dogs pick them more....puppy stops acting so shy, even though he's getting picked on more. It is counter intuitive...but dogs seem to all get it, whatever "it" is.

 

[clipke]

Great story! Jax does this at the dog park. He still thinks he's a tiny puppy to some degree and doesn't know how large or loud he can get. He'll police smaller dogs and puppies with his bark and sort of herd them around if they start to get too rough. It's very funny to see.

 

[Heartandsoul]

That's a good example of schooling and it brought back some funny memories of our old girl "teaching" our pup when to back off. Never bit the whipper snapper but laid down the line.

Nyx used some great judgement.

 

[Kyrielle]

To me this is one of those things about dog behavior that is so counter intuitive. Puppy acts shy, dogs pick them more....puppy stops acting so shy, even though he's getting picked on more. It is counter intuitive...but dogs seem to all get it, whatever "it" is.

Acting shy (i.e. cowardly) will get you and others killed in the wild. Our dogs may be domesticated, but that's a hardwired instinct. It's also why humans generally view cowards with disdain and conclude they are useless. A coward is no help in a situation where assisting a fellow member of the species (dog or human) is required. Hence both dogs and humans dislike cowards and will try "tough love" to get them to act out, defend themselves, and behave a little more bravely.