New Puppy

[Marcia Fox]

We already have an existing two year old goldendoodle, Bo. We decided to get him a little brother because we felt he was lonely. So we got Tye, an eight week old goldendoodle. Yes, it's Bo Tye! Anyway, they rough play, Tye bites Bo's ears with his sharp puppy teeth, and Bo gets a little rough, but no physical damage, they just keep going at it. We're afraid at this early age that Tye might become aggressive or mean with the rough play. Has anyone else had this experience?

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thanks so much for posting this! 

[Julie, Boomer, Milo & Casey]

A trainer recommended we take our puppy to daycare or play dates without the older one so he'd learn to play with puppies his own age. We did that for the first six months so he learned how to play appropriately with other dogs. Our older one let the puppy get away with too much, IMO and dogs his age put him in his place when he got rough.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Yes, we are planning on taking our little one to a puppy socialization class, just like we did it with Monty the first time around. That way he will have a chance to learn proper manners around puppies his age (and Monty will get a break while his little brother is out of the house).

[Bonnie and Kona]

OMD I wish I had heard this tip when Owen was a puppy. Kona never put him in his place. I was going to tell Marcia that she should be happy that Bo is standing up to Tye's puppy attacks. I think Owen became more aggressive because he could do anything to Kona and my big boy just looked at us mournfully. Owen is almost two and a few months ago Kona started occasionally putting Owen in his place... finally! 

And, YES, dogs wrestle and teeth show and it's not a war, is play. 

[Katie and Sophie]

This is completely normal and is actually really good for the little guy!  he will learn bite inhibition very quickly.  Let they play and have fun with each other :)  It will NOT lead to aggression in any way!

[Marcia Fox]

Thanks again for all the help. You all have beautiful doodles!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

I have no input here, I'm just learning from the discussion since we will be bringing a new brother home in a week to our 2 year old Monty. And yes, we had suggestions to name the new pup Python. Not happening! But I love the Bo Tye thing you got going on. :-)

[Marcia Fox]

And love the Monty and Python, but don't like snakes! Hmmmmm?

[Ginny Nightingale]

I think it is great that Bo is enjoying his new little brother so much--just terrific! But I do have to voice my concerns too that no one else seems to be voicing. An 8 week old pup has not yet developed muscles, tendons, ligaments etc and I agree with your hubby that you need to watch over them and make sure that little Tye is not going to be injured. I think that if things get too rough, they should be separated for a while, then allowed to play when they have calmed down a bit.

 I raise puppies and I am very careful with my 3 older dogs when I let them interact with the pups. I do not let them get too crazy. Maybe your Bo is not as rough as you think--but if the puppy is really getting thrown around or pinned to the floor, etc, some supervision is a good idea. The damage to hip and elbow joints can be lifelong--I am not saying that you should prevent them from playing, but use common sense and slow things down if it gets out of hand.

[Marcia Fox]

Thanks for the comments. I think they're ok, and we're still around when they rough house. The pup isn't pinned down, seems to be able to stand his own. But those puppy teeth are so sharp, and we don't want Bo to get injured, plus the pup to get too aggressive. We've been giving the puppy some treats to chew on, plus toys, and poor Bo feels left out, although he gets the same. But he eats his treats fast, then tries to take the pups away from him, like he's jealous. He doesn't hurt the pup. So I've started putting the pup in the computer room and shutting the door so he can chew on his treat and hopefully get rid of those puppy teeth. Will just take time.

[Marcia Fox]

Hattie is so cute!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Well, there is something you can do about it... ;-)