Teaching 2 year old Doodle to play with new puppy

[Kimberly Daisy Kalli]

A few days ago, we added a new puppy to our family.  Our 2 year goldendoodle (Daisy) is slowly adjusting to her new sister.  The biggest challenge has been that the puppy keeps nipping at Daisy and steeling things from her.  Daisy will not growl at her (so far) but looks very annoyed.  The puppy keeps inviting play and when  Daisy starts to play she hits with her paws and pounces.  We want to make sure the puppy is not injured.  It seems like we are constantly separating them or refereeing.   Any suggestions?

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

We added a second a in the beginning of October and my advice would just be to let them work it out. This is how they will establish pack order and Daisy will also help teach the puppy to act around other dogs and how to play appropriately. Whopper at first let Simba get away with everything you describe but now she does let it be known when he's crossed a line. Just give it some time! I would make sure that you are giving Daisy special time away from the puppy though as well.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Absolutely....I think this is perfect advice!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We pretty much let the dogs work it out. Our old lab mix used to 'tell' the puppies what was unacceptable by nipping them on the nose. Basically it seemed to take only one nip from him on the nose and the pup respected him forever after. They still played but the pup rarely went too far. Interestingly, when we got our adult rescue dog, Simon growled at him in such a way that Clancy immediately recognized him as alpha, and even dropped toys at his feet. Simon seemed to keep the dogs in line with a look and a bit of a growl and once in a while a lunge and nip.
When we got Ned, he bugged our third dog (Springer) and stole toys. Ned is more of an alpha dog and now that Simon is gone he is our in-charge dog. He still steals toys from both Gordie and Clancy and hogs the attention and they let him. Gordie and Clancy have taken a while settling their differences - perhaps because Clancy was an adult when we got him. They will argue over toys/bones sometimes.When that happens we take the toys/bones away for a time.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Yep, I think you need to let them work it out, let them figure out the relationship between them and let the bond take it's natural course. There are times when mine get rough but it is all play and no one has ever gotten hurt, and Bandit was a lot smaller than Rosey. Hang in there!

[Lynda Kamrath]

I think it is all part of dog socialization. They will work it out satisfactorily to themselves. We have a 4-yr-old goldendoodle and a young pup. They play fight constantly, but the older dog sets the puppy straight when he steps over the doggie line.

[Kimberly Daisy Kalli]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Today was better, but I'll still be glad when Kalli gets a little bigger so I won't be so worried when Daisy pounces.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Hi Kim! Glad to hear things are better. I was trying to upload video today but the files were too large to show you how small Bandit was and Rosey just looked like she wanted to eat him but they are the best of friends now. Also check out the new video of Ollie and Charlie playing on the main page.

Happy TG to you and your family!!

[Kimberly Daisy Kalli]

Thanks Suzann! I am so glad I found DK. It is really helpful to be able to discuss these worries with other doodle owners. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Yes we are THANKFUL for DK!! We are just in Ann Arbor so when Kalli is a little bigger we should try to get together for a playdate!

[Kimberly Daisy Kalli]

We would love to try to get together!

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

If you guys plan something let me know, we're not too far from Suzann and we've all been known to make an impromptu drive to meet up with our fellow DKers! We'll wait until Kalli is bigger though since Clifford is close to 70 pounds.

[Carol]

Thanks for posing this question. I'm getting our second doodle in a couple of weeks and was wondering about: How will they interact, what should I expect, and what should I do? You provided some good insight here, which is to just let them be and work it out. Can I ask how you introduced the dogs to each other?