play fighting

[Ross/Ali]

Holly and Giles have been play fighting alot.

She is really persistent... teeth, growling, barking, hanging from his ears
Giles is growling back, tail half wagging, mouth open but not really putting her in her place. in the odd occasion where he does bite her back, she squeals and then takes a step back for a second and pounces back twice as rough.

We are always splitting them up which often ends up with one of them going in the crate (usually Holly).
We try to put a toy in holly's mouth first but that keeps her occupied for a few second then tries to chase Giles down or turns on us and bites us. She will not take a telling either by shouting, pinning her down on her side or grabbing the scruff of her neck or similar.

Is this her attempting to be the dominant one, just being a puppy and playing or a teething thing?

The problem is that Giles is too nice and will not tell her off.
I dont like putting her in the crate either as its more like a punishment for her going in there but it calms her down instantly.

Any opinions?

R
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[Alan and Lynsey]

bella done the same with meg, we always let them sort things out by themselves.

meg would only take so much then she would pin bella, this would make bella give up for about a minute then she would come back for more.

have you ever just left them to sort it out or have you always stepped in?

bella knows her place now and will run about with meg and try and have a go at meg but she knows when to stop now.
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[Michael]

we let our three sort it out as well unless they are getting in the road then when separate cause if we stepped in all the time we wouldn't get anything else done because they just keep going at it. As yet haven't killed each other so I'm not worried

[kendal]

eventually he will give her a telling off that will let her know she has gone to far. she is still pushing him to learn the limits, you also need to let Giles sort it out because he needs to learn how to tell her when the game has gone too far.
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[Jack]

Despite the others saying leave them to sort it themsleves......I'm in the stepping in and sorting it camp - I did personally step in to ensure things never went too far with all of my dogs - mind that's me being HYPER responsible as I have Staffies and I KNOW what they are capable off if play gets too boisterous and a temper snaps - EVERYTHING is boisterous with Staffs so if you have a strong breed you HAVE to be responsible and monitor play carefully to ensure it STAYS as play. Pups sort dominance issues through play so it's easy to understand how things can get out of hand and I have always been very careful to ensure it never happened with my lot. I'm not saying it WOULD have got out of hand but I simply wasn't prepared to take that risk. I have a VERY Alpha female who is very high energy and I know her inside out and I DO believe if I wasn't a strong leader she'd have took the mick and we'd have had problems.

Daft as it may sound to some I think you have the Spaniel equivalent of her (God help you!). She KNOWS Giles is a gentle soul and so she is tormenting him and I firmly believe she WILL be (if she isn't already) the dominant one. He's too gentle and sweet to be bothered to be Alpha, just like my Rosie. I think you and Ali are doing the right thing by seperating them but I wouldn't recommend the crate for enforced "time out" she needs to learn NOW, whilst she's a puppy to stop and obey you when you tell her to. I would use a leash in the house when she starts this routine so you can enforce the stop and calm down commands you want her to obey. Jerk the leash when you tell her off and force her to stay at your feet until she has relaxed a little - or a LOT if she really IS like my Ella . I didn't need a lead - I'd physically pick the oh I swore up and hold onto her until she had calmed down - I took no nonsense from the very outset if she disobeyed as I KNOW with dominant dogs, no matter what their breed, you HAVE to start as you mean to go on.

What you don't want is for this to escalate or for her to start to resent the crate and therfore Giles so try with the lead and the enforced calming down period - don't allow Giles to tease her while you're doing this - perhaps make him lie down too so he can show her the behaviour you are wanting and expecting of her

I know dogs can sort many issues for themselves and some will disagree with me but I do honestly think you need to show the little Madame that YOU are the bosses who must be obeyed and that she isn't to ensure Giles & Holly grow up happily together and know their boundaries - Good luck - fun times ahead!!!
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[Suzanne H]

You may find Giles takes her on a bit more as Holly gets bigger/older.

Rudy tortured Otto something chronic and he would just take it. We had to remove the puppy to give him some peace. I used to feel sorry for Otto, but he was just biding his time.

He knew Rudy was a puppy. As soon as he sensed that Rudy was strong enough to take it, he started showing him who's the boss. Now they are best pals/sparring partners. Otto chastises him, but also looks out for him..

Our vet said "let them sort it out for themselves but step in if you think they will cause each other or their surroundings some damage"

They stop they're carrying on when told to...and if they don't, they're made to stop.

Unless Ian joins in, then I just find another room.

[Claire/Mark]

Tara and Mylo still do this, I just leave them to sort it out between them, Mylo is usually the one that starts it all and doesn't give up poor Tara takes so much then will tell him off and he usually backs off. Am still not sure who is the boss out of them two. I have stepped in a few times but only when a think it's going to get bad.

[kendal]

[Suzanne H]

Otto floors him and he lies submissively for a second then gets back up and bites his knees again. But he's getting big enough now to not be floored so easily. And at other times, Otto lets him give him some "doggy love"....

God knows what they'll be like when they're the same size and strength....one of them will be living in the dining room methinks.