Puppy Class Playtime

[Sally]

Farley seems to be the most aggressive puppy during playtime and puppy class.  He is not afraid of any type of dog and seems to play rough.  He does a lot of nipping of the other dogs.  I asked the trainer if we should be worried and she said "I don't hear any of the other dogs yelping so let him go".  I worry the other owners will get upset at how rough he plays.  Does anyone else's doodle play rough?

[Collette Bonvillain]

Our puppy is almost 10 weeks and we haven't brought her to classes yet. She starts next month. But, we have a cat she plays with at home. Our cat mostly lets her play and chew on her ears. She allows Ellie to get rougher than we want. So, we say NO up to 3 times. After the third no we put her in the kennel for a minute to calm down. We have a really tolerant cat who is used to a 2 and 4 year old, but she lets too much slide! We are trying to nip even the slightest behaviors in the bud because the puppy is going to be big eventually and needs to have really good manners! :) Also, I'm not a trainer or anything but I've read from trainers and have had trainers come to the house for other pets we had... And some of them say not to play games like tug o war because that can encourage rough play. I think it's pretty natural for some puppies to be rough, so it's up to you if you think it's too much.

[Sam&Bella]

Actually, Bella was the complete opposite! She was so shy, she used to hide under the chairs when there were bigger, older, puppies. She did ok with little dogs(In the blurry pictures you can see:) She was playing with a little bichon and threw him on his back by accident, and like your trainer, mine said the same.  So I just listened to her and I think she was right.(We left after a while because she wasn't having that much fun:( I thought the same about the other owners, but they just laughed.I am actually really surprised that Bella isn't afraid of dogs,(thank goodness) because of her experience with big dogs at the class.

Sorry for that whole history thing that I just wrote! I think that if you gave him a micro timeout, it might help him learn his manners:)I hope that helps a little:)

[Sam&Bella]

P.S. That's not me holding Bella:)

[Beth & Cheddar]

Yes! Cheddar is almost 13 weeks and is very nippy when playing with his brother. Sometimes I have to give him breaks before going back to play because he overwhelms his visiting brother. Usually by the end of the play session his brother is more nippy because Cheddar tires out. I am not sure if Cheddar is like this because it is his home turf or if it is just how he plays with other dogs.

[Cammy Todd]

I had the same concerns as you when my doodle was little.  In my experience, the bigger issue is if your puppy accepts feedback from the other dogs and responds appropriately (i.e backs off if another dog is yelping).

My puppy Izzy is now 18 months old and I still think she plays pretty rough...but she has been well socialized and immediately backs off if needed.  We take her to daycare two days a week and one of the workers told me last week that Izzy is their "Go To" dog if they are worried about a new dog being socialized.  Apparently, Izzy plays with and gets along with everyone and they never have any problems with her.  When a new dog comes to the daycare, he/she gets to play with Izzy first to test their socialization level and ability to get along with everyone else. 

Proud doodle mom moment for me:)