[Tb3318]

Hello new to the forum. I have a 5 year old mixed breed about 40lb. She is a wonderful dog. I also just got a rat terrier. He is about 12 weeks old now. We got
Him at 8 weeks. The dogs play great and my older dog is very controlled during the play. But my question is how rough can I let the puppy get with my older dog. He doesn’t stop. He will even grab onto her coat on the side or under her neck and just hold on for dear life. And he will growl When he starts getting going. But it’s not an aggressive growl. Do I let my older dog dictate how rough I let the puppy be. Or should I stop the puppy when he starts to hold
Onto my dogs coat. Thanks. I can upload videos if necessary.

 

[LeoRose]

If the puppy starts to be a brat, interrupt him, removing him and putting him in his crate for a few minutes if need be. There is the distinct possibility that if he is allowed to continue this, by the time he's an adult and looses his "puppy license" you older dog will decide that enough is enough, and start telling him to knock it off, and then you will have a real mess on your hands. .

 

[Tb3318]

The thing is my bigger dog is playing the whole time too. I just want to little dog
To think it’s ok to hold onto her. I guess she will correct him when necessary tho.

 

[LeoRose]

You really do need to be stepping in now. Some adult dogs will tolerate a LOT from a puppy that they wouldn't from another adult. Then, one day, they decide that the puppy is an adult, and the "correction" could result in vet bills and two dogs that have to be kept separated for the rest of their lives.

Also, if your puppy decides that it's okay to hang onto your dog, there is a good chance that they will think that it's okay to hang onto any other dog like that. I don't know if our pup is a Standard or a Miniature, but if he's on the smaller side, and tries it with a much larger dog who isn't as tolerant as you other dog, you could wind up with a seriously injured, or even dead, Rat Terrier.

 

[Tb3318]

Ok. Thank you.

 

[Lillith]

If puppy is being super obnoxious, yes, interrupt. Some older dogs will correct puppies, and others do not because, well, they're puppies. They get a puppy pass. I would watch some videos on dog body language, too. Your older dog may already be letting the puppy know that he is being too obnoxious, subtly. If your pup is ignoring the signals, immediately intervene. If you're noticing that the puppy is backing off or "apologizing", it's probably okay. Dogs are generally pretty good at communicating with each other, but sometimes the young ones need some help!

 

[parus]

I had a very similar situation with my standard poodle puppy Jet and my elderly giant schnauzer Cas. Cas let the little puppy do whatever he wanted, but then the puppy wasn't so little anymore and suddenly one day when the puppy went in to boisterously play as usual, Cas just about ate him. (Luckily Cas has good bite inhibition so he didn't actually leave a mark on the pup, but if he were an impulsive dog he could have done real damage.) After that, Cas was snarly and annoyed by the very sight of the puppy for a good couple months, and I was worried I was going to have to keep them separated indefinitely, as the size difference made disagreements especially dangerous (Cas is about 100 lbs when fit, and the puppy was about 35 lbs at the time).

Luckily it all worked out - the puppy grew up and developed some manners, and now they're buddies again - but in retrospect I should have nipped those behaviors in the bud and not let the situation escalate in the first place. Jet is 15 months old now so he's still pretty hyper, so I make a point to not let him badger Cas, because I want them to stay friends. I just call Jet off or redirect his behavior (e.g. giving him a toy) if he's being too rough or persistent with Cas, and if that doesn't work, I give him a little time-out to settle down.