Noe is too rough with our other dog!

[Stephanie and Noe]

Our new puppy Noe (11wks) is having a hard time seeing our 5lb 12 year old poodle mix as a dog and treats her more like a chew toy. The difficult part is even when Gracie puts her in her place Noe just gets more excited and comes at her harder and faster, we've tried to work on "leave it" and use time-outs frequently until she can calm herself down. But I am just afraid as she continues to get bigger she could really hurt Gracie. Of course there are times like this picture where she is calm enough that they do ok, but for the most part it's been a challenge! Any advice is appreciated!

[Bob Johnston]

I can see why she is confused gracie looks like a cute little stuffed doggie. i love the ears.

[Stephanie and Noe]

Thanks she's a pretty special pooch, we call her our little Yoda!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Although our older dog is a huge (85-90 pounds) he was no match for the puppy we got. The pup brutalized our big boy and the adult dog would never ever put him in his place. We spent a lot of time with the pup in time outs and with the big guy getting new special privileges like getting on the couch to get away from him. If they were left alone the pup was always in his crate. 

My suggestion is to keep your puppy exercised... to the point of being tired. If he is well exercised he is less likely to  be accosting your little Gracie. Otherwise keep them separated until Noe is well trained. Professional training would certainly be a benefit for all. It's all a process and I hope you see improvements as the weeks pass. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.