[mscynthiapham]

Hello everyone!

I currently have a 9-10 week old yellow labrador retriever (Brees) and an 8 week old French bulldog (Rosco). I got the lab about two weeks ago and the bulldog today.. as a surprise gift from my boyfriend.

Brees has already been trained to potty outside, sit, lay down, and basically listen. Well after he brought Rosco home, Brees has been quite jealous and doesn't really listen to our commands (sit, etc).

They bite and 'nibble' on each other and I'm not sure if they're playing around or being aggressive... is this normal? Brees wants to play with Rosco, but he's way too big and I'm afraid he'll hurt Rosco. Rosco's head can probably fit in Brees mouth lol.

Also, is there any advice/tips that can help with training/raising two puppies?!

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[HollowHeaven]

Well, I can tell you that you're in for a lot of work. You're looking at double the potty training, double the training, double the supervision, double the vet bills, etc. You've got two babies to take care of now.
It's normal for puppies to play together. Puppies that young are just simply not going to be aggressive. If they hurt one another, they will yelp and put a stop to it. They will let one another know when it hurts too much.

Read up on littermate syndrome. While these two aren't littermates, they're close enough in age to have almost the same affect. Remember to give them both lots of individual time.

 

[mscynthiapham]

I know.. But I wasn't anticipating another dog in the house for awhile; my boyfriend literally surprised me with the bulldog today.

Brees is literally about 5 times bigger than Rosco (and still growing fairly quickly). And when they bite each other, I'm afraid he'll go overboard and get a grip on his bite. But he doesn't intentionally mean it, he just wants to play.. I don't know what to do!! Lol.

 

[pawsaddict]

If you are worried about Rosco getting hurt, always be there to supervise them together. I don't think you'll have anything to worry about, since they are so young, but if their play gets a little intense and you're worried, maybe redirecting them towards something else (bring out a toy and play with them, start a little training session, etc.) would help.

I agree that littermate syndrome is a huge possibility here. Here is a very good link about it: http://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/littermate-syndrome/

 

[HollowHeaven]

If it hurts too much, Rosco will correct Brees. In the litter, when playing, the puppies will yelp if the biting hurts too much so the other puppy knows to back off.
If Rosco yelps, Brees should back off a little. They will set boundaries with one another. I wouldn't worry about it unless Brees completely ignores Rosco as far as correcting. If Rosco asks him to back off, and he doesn't, then I would separate them for a few moments. Do this every time he gets too rough. This will teach Brees that whenever he gets too rough, the fun stops for a while.

 

[MollieLoo95]

Don't worry about them 'fighting'. They're just play-fighting, and as long as they aren't yelping in pain/tucking in their tails they are fine. This is how dogs - and especially puppies! - play.
And don't worry, a big dog probably won't hurt a little dog. Dogs have a really good sense of how big/strong other dogs are and often switch their play 'mode' to acommodate this.

 

[cardozosula]

Its pretty natural for them to 'bite' as its just part of their playing process. As long as they dont growl at each, then they are not being aggressive.