Puppy playing too rough

[SoniaHarding]

i want to socialise my 8 week old border collie puppy with my friends puppy (We are on a rural property so her puppy lives here too). He is a border collie x irish wolfhound and is 11 weeks and considerably bigger.

They are working out play but it can get very rough. My little guy goes into full attack mode ( I think he gets a bit overwhelmed)  and the other pup just gets so excited he doesnt know when to stop.

We are calling time out when the behaviour escalates and giving them treats as a calm down reward. Every time the play escalates to unacceptable we separate them, calm them, reward and then let them try again. I also use a verbal cue to de-escalate play.

Ive only just started but seem to be having a bit of success. Is this the correct way to go, or is there another method you recommend?

Thanks

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

It sounds like you are doing a good job in giving these pups a break when things start getting a bit rough. I would suggest if possible interrupting before your little guy goes into full attack mode if this is done because he's feeling defensive. Play should be fun and engaging and not something that your pup has to feel the need to defend himself.  However, sometimes things can be tricky... In some pups, going into full attack mode may be still part of play. I have known of some pups who just seem to have fun turning into Cujo during play, and although it looked fierce, they were just playing and enjoying it.  So we need to assess whether your pup is truly trying to attack to defend himself because he truly feels threatened, or whether it's all part of play. 

One good way to assess this is by looking at your pup's body language. Are the ears back? Is the tail between the legs? Is he trying to hide? Does he seem uncomfortable when cornered or when the other pup is in his face? If so, chances are good he isn't enjoying the interaction so best to step in (possibly before he starts to go into attack mode-so identify what may be some triggers),  and prevent things from escalating  Yet, sometimes, things aren't cut and dried as desired, we may not be reading the dogs correctly or the dogs are giving ambivalent signs, but we have some other strategies to determine whether things are going sour or both parties are enjoying the interaction. 

So another way to find out whether the "victim dog" is feeling intimidated and not comfortable in a specific play session is getting a hold of the "instigator" (in this case the bigger wolfhound mix pup) for a few seconds and observing your pup's reaction. Does he seem relieved and try to leave, or is he looking for his playmate? Does he try to re-engage him play? If the latter takes place, most likely he enjoys this type of play and is just coming back for more.

However, we may still want to do some timeouts, especially if the bigger pup is playing too rough and your pup is showing signs of being emotionally impacted. This is a good way for the bigger pup to learn to calm down and play a little more gently and at the same time, to prevent your pup from feeling overwhelmed. Self-handicapping is a skill that pups can learn from a young age. This term simply refers to the ability for larger dogs to learn to fine-tune their playing styles and make several adjustments so not to hurt a playmate that is disadvantaged in some way (smaller, more delicate, slower etc). 

[SoniaHarding]

Thanks so much for your reply. I'll certainly have a look and see. A day after writing this I'm suspecting it may be part of play at as he has now decided latching onto my clothes and trying to bite me is good. I generally distract him with another toy but sometimes he is a bit persistent . I'll try food treats distraction too and also good old no and see how I go. ( I think you have an article on this already). Regarding play we will keep going and see how things pan out. Thanks for the advice.  Its much appreciated. I've attached a photo. He looks so cute and innocent!! Sonia

[Adrienne]

Aww... look at that face!

I am all for redirecting the nipping to alternate behaviors, especially if we can catch our pups before they even latch on (it's more difficult to redirect once they're attached and tugging at our clothes). I am not too much a fan of a plain "no" because I feel dogs do better when we tell them what we want them to do and provide alternate outlets for their instinctive behaviors. So lots of brain games to keep these workaholic dogs's brain occupied, puzzle toys and training. 

Here you can find some bite inhibition games for puppies:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

Here are tips for training a softer mouth:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/

Here are some threads about nipping pups with more tips:

Hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne