# Puppy relentless with older dog in family



## epecorin (Jul 4, 2015)

We have a 13 week Vizsla puppy (Woody). He is relentless with our other dog, a 4 year old Husky\Lab mix (Rocky). Woody is constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY, biting Rocky. I know that all the books, literature and web pages say they just have to work things out. We stand by until Rocky has had enough and then we separate them. Rocky will take Woody down to the ground and put his mouth over Woody's head, he will mouth Woody's chest and arms. He has made Woody yelp several times. We know this is necessary in the chain of command, but Woody NEVER ever gives up until we pull him off Rocky. Any ideas to alleviate this situation would be helpful.


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## Tabor (Jan 28, 2016)

Do you keep a leash on your dog the house? Have you established a "place"?

These may not stop the biting but they would in theory give you better control over the dog and situation (or any misbehaving scenario)

Also, try distracting it like you do when he goes after a shoe/anything else he shouldn't. 


I have a 7 month old V and 5 year old Pitt Mix, they play kinda rough but usually the older dog lets her know when he's had enough. It has gotten better since he's gotten older, it happens, just less...and he is better on her 'social cues'

Luckily them playing rough has never turned into a legit fight or anything more than a 'LEAVE ME ALONE' growl or the V getting put in his place.
She has made him yelp a few times, and I don't love it...but it gets the message across. Like you said, its their chain of command.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Rocky sounds like a very good natured dog, and Woody sounds like a normal puppy. You just have to give Rocky breaks from Woody.


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## 1stVizsla (Jun 22, 2016)

Hi epecorin, we are having the same problem with our 12 week old Visla and 13 mo old GSD. I am keeping a muzzle on the older dog/puppy out of caution and restricting their play to 2-3 approx. 1 hr sessions per day. 

That's about all I can take as it is hardly relaxing and makes me nervous to watch them play. Although I see the older dog laying down and letting the female puppy administer lots of nips, including hanging of his muzzle when I have him without the loose muzzle I am uncomfortable watching the "mouthing" of legs, neck etc. that I see. Overall I see the older male, neutered GSD trying to be gentle and wagging his tail constantly, and she is also going after him, I long for a time when they can just sit side-by-side.

We are trying different things, walking them in woods together, different parks, play environments before I let them have access to each other 1 week ago.

I have crates for both and don't anticipate letting them alone together (perhaps ever, will certainly be watching EVERYTHING closely this first year).

I do see some progress in that I can call each of them on the trail walks and they will come to me and they occasionally break off their attention from chasing each other and focus on smelling off-trail individually (puppy more so than older dog) but I can't tell if we are making any progress in their developing a calmer demeanor around each other.

I would love for them to have a calmer demeanor around each other. I'm limiting their contact now because the puppy needs breaks. She eventually hides from him under beds and chairs and shark-attacks him and hides between my legs while strategically lunging. 

I'm trying to provide structure and rules until they calm down and normalize their behavior but I have great concerns about whether this is normal. 

I'd love any advice/comments from anyone as I have never had 2 dogs in my house. Have read lots but all dogs seem different?

Thanks for any advice!!


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## epecorin (Jul 4, 2015)

Hi 1stVizsla. I hope things are getting better for you. Our Vizsla (Woody) is almost 4 months old and still wild when it comes to our 4 year old Husky/Lab mix (Rocky.) Rocky has a lot of fur and skin, particularly around his neck. It is such a prime biting area for Woody. My husband travels and he has been gone since Sunday night. It is now Wednesday night and I am about to lose my mind. I feel bad, but I do put Woody in the crate when he doesn't let up. Rocky just looks up at me and I can tell he saying" Please get him off of me."  This is our second Vizsla. There was no other dog in the house with the first Vizsla. In some respects it's easier because we knew what to expect, but on the other hand it is very difficult having a second adult dog. I find it's not as crazy if I get them outside in our fenced in yard. But when it rains, YIKES! It is crazy around here. If you come up with any suggestions, let me know. Good luck to you.


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## 1stVizsla (Jun 22, 2016)

Hi epecorin, things just magically snapped into place for our V puppy and the 14month old GSD! I was ready to admit defeat when the older German Shepard just "got it". 

He actually learned verbal commands (he is exceptionally smart) to be "gentle" and "puppy" to signal him that he was playing too rough. 

Consequence if he didn't stop grabbing her legs or neck in mouth or other offensive behavior was that his muzzle was IMMEDIATELY put on. I carried the muzzle on walks etc. for ~3wks during the training. Just seeing me with the muzzle was a deterrent for him.

I realized that he (both of them actually) began to watch me and respond to my directions (even in the heat of their play) if I gave the GSD the "gentle" command.

I actually felt ridiculous (a bit like a playground supervisor) brokering their "play" but it worked!

The misbehaving GSD in our case has not had his muzzle on in over a month and he has been playing so nice with the growing (18 wk) puppy.

If your problem persists, you may want to try this (tedious) approach with a muzzle consequence. I think most dogs hate them but it worked wonders for our dog. Your older dog will probably be very relieved whenever he sees it in your hand.

Now all I have to say is a stern "gentle" to our GSD and the bad play stops. Best yet is he has almost forgotten to play that way and they have a much healthier relationship now. 

Good luck if this problem hasn't worked itself out yet!


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## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

So glad things are working out for you  My aunt has been visiting all summer and she has an 8yo GSD and she has also been using the muzzle so that he will play gently with our 10mth V. We've also had some success with that method as well.


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## Telamore (Aug 8, 2016)

hello everyone  

Singed on to look for a solution to the 2 dog issue and found this post 

We have a baby vizsla girl (11 months) and a 1.7 year old lab. He is great with her! Never bites, lets her do all types of crazy things to him without getting upset. She, on the other hand, is vicious with him... biting all over, biting and pulling on his lips (ouch!), runs away and attacks him with speed. Basically, if i was him i'd through her across the yard a long time ago. I don't know how he deals with it. Only once in a while if he's tired he will growl at her with the "go away" growl. He's about a 100 lbs more than she is. So when the play gets rough i'm worried he will squash her. 

So my questions are:

1. At what point does play become bad? We let them work it out, but I also don't want them to learn that bad play is ok, so is there such thing as bad play?

2. Should i separate them if things get too rough? Now i try to sit with them and nudge her off with a NO if she goes nuts on him. But i can't possibly sit with them all the time they play. During the day they are in separate rooms while no one is home, but go bananas once it's play time. 

3. Any suggests on how to keep each occupied to break from going crazy? We tried toys, which always ends with them stealing the toy from one another, then there is crying and yelling involved. Same with food chews, bones, treats, etc. They want what the other one has, even if it's 2 of the same. 

All suggestions and ideas are welcome. 

Thank you!


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## pollo832 (Aug 25, 2015)

Telamore said:


> hello everyone
> 
> Singed on to look for a solution to the 2 dog issue and found this post
> 
> ...


Telamore,

I too worried about this as well, My Osti is 6 months, and I dog sit for my brother often, who has a 2yo Golden. They are non stop play with growling and biting just as you describe in your post. This worried me that it was too aggressive, unitil I took Osti to a friends house that has a basset hound. The basset and Osti still play but much different no biting and aggressive growling. Somehow quickly i believe the basset communicated that the biting was not welcomed and Osti doesn't do it to him. So after that I worried much less about my brothers Golden. Granted I have very little experience with raising dogs as this is my fist time with a pet, but those were my observations. They are the best of friends and they know each others names. They both get really excited when I say "lets go get Osti" or "lets go get Gus".

In the beginning when Osti was just 2 months I would put Osti in his crate for a time just so he wouldn't over exercise but I had to force the issue cause he still wanted to play. Now that he is 6 months they seem to self regulate and go at it for an hour or two then rest and then back at it and then rest so I don't really worry anymore.

Osti was just 3 months old in these pics

Tom


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