[im_nice1]

we are pet sitting our friends dog for a week while they are away. we have an 8 month old playful border collie/lab puppy and thought they would be good company and play together since they are nearly the same age and size.

However, they seem to have taken badly to eachother and whenever some human being is in the room they are vying for attention. the guest dog is gentler and more meek. However our puppy spends all her time wrestling and biting her on the cheek and leg till she whines. the guest dog hardly retaliates. our dog doesnt let her play with her toys either and bites her if we pay the guest dog some attention.

since we've never had 2 dogs before, we dont know whether this is vicious biting out of jealousy or are they just playing and playbiting? and what shall we do about it..let them decide on their own or keep them separate? and how do we cure our puppy of this kind of biting?

going crazy!

PS-our puppy has never bitten other dogs in play in the playground..she likes playing rough but is not mean otehrwise.

 

[TooneyDogs]

Biting is a part of play but, biting covers alot of ground. More to the point is determining whether they are playing nicely overall. You do know what good play looks like? Play bows, role reversals (chaser/chasee; on top then on bottom); good manners...not forcing play on dogs that don't want to engage; no bully behavior.

A dog with good bite inhibition will not make another dog yelp in pain and you'll often see the offender slow down, become more cautious and gentle.

 

[im_nice1]

Thanks tooneydogs,

to be fair to our pup, she does try to get the guest dog to play ball, tug-o-war etc, but when the other does not respond (or we pet the guest dog) she goes in a biting/wrestling mode. also the play bow, chaser/chasee, etc doesnt happen. its our puppy just after the other till the other cries..and still doesnt let go.

what really worries us is that she bites the other dog on the cheek/leg till it hurts...that doesnt seem to be like 'playing nice' behaviour! she has not done it till now with other dogs and we're wondering what to do about it.

 

[dakotajo]

My pup does this too and it's only to one of her buddies but only the one. The one dog doesn't really play so Dakota gets right in her face and even takes her leg and puts it in her mouth, anything to try to get the other to play but she doesn't bite down. I think the only thing you can do is try to settle your dog down or keep them apart for awhile. I think maybe if the other dog showed some growling or teeth your dog (and mine) would back off

 

[TooneyDogs]

At 8 months that rude, ill-mannered behavior can bring a swift attack from another dog. You were fortunate to have such a mellow guest. The problem will be how to fix her poor social skills. For the time being, interrupt her when the interaction is not nice. See if you can arrange a play date with a well socialized dog that can act as a role model for her. Make the playdate on neutral ground.

A word of caution...she needs to learn that biting is not nice...that lesson can be a harsh one even from a very good dog....but, she needs to learn it.
You can do the bite inhibition training yourself but, the lessons are usually much slower however, they are a safer way to go.