Hi I have a new addition, an 11 week old pitbull puppy. I also have a mixed breed (possibly a Bordie Collie/Pomeranian mix) who is 2. So my issue is with the puppy constantly playing too rough with my older dog. My older dog does not seem to get upset by this kind of play however he is a small dog (only 16 pounds or so) so what ends up happening is the puppy will mouth/wrestle etc on top of my adult dog but my adult dog can't seem to get out under. Thing is the puppy will STAY on top of my dog and not let BACK OFF to give him a chance to reverse the roles. My dog has not really been correcting the pup (a few times he yelped but puppy would not read his correction) but normally it seems once I remove the puppy off, my adult dog will want to revert right back into playing so it gets the puppy all wound up again! The puppy also has a bad habit of constantly grabbing onto my adult dogs fur like it's some tug toy. This has been very frustrating. So this has been going on for a couple of weeks now.
I have been trying to redirect his attention when this happens, when he stops this behavior I have him sit/look at me/treat. Sometimes the puppy listens, sometimes he is too engaged and does not. I've also tried removing him from play and placing him in a separate room/behind a gate/crate. Then in a few minutes letting him out and resuming play. I can do this over and over and he still will go right after my adult dog with the rough play.
Thing is the puppy is getting big quick so i would like to teach him that with my dog he needs to play GENTLE and his play style can only reach a certain point. I spend alone time with both everyday working on obedience, puppy is enrolled in puppy class, etc, etc.
I want to be consistent with my methods. I thought of teaching "gentle" or maybe "off" or "leave it" just not sure which would be most effective (if I should use different cues for different instances) or just stick to one. I'm all for positive training, but sometimes he is just super stubborn, not sure if a rattle of a can of coins would do the trick just as a slight startle to redirect his attention as once he gets into his mode he is pretty focused?
It's not only the play style he pushes my adult dog out the way a lot or goes straight to trying to get on top of him. Sometimes he initiates nice play, other time he just goes straight after mouthing his face, being on top, head/paw over back...at this age I'm sure he it's just all play behaviors although the head/paw thing seems like he is trying to show dominance.
Any other suggestions that might work I am open to and would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
I have been trying to redirect his attention when this happens, when he stops this behavior I have him sit/look at me/treat. Sometimes the puppy listens, sometimes he is too engaged and does not. I've also tried removing him from play and placing him in a separate room/behind a gate/crate. Then in a few minutes letting him out and resuming play. I can do this over and over and he still will go right after my adult dog with the rough play.
Thing is the puppy is getting big quick so i would like to teach him that with my dog he needs to play GENTLE and his play style can only reach a certain point. I spend alone time with both everyday working on obedience, puppy is enrolled in puppy class, etc, etc.
I want to be consistent with my methods. I thought of teaching "gentle" or maybe "off" or "leave it" just not sure which would be most effective (if I should use different cues for different instances) or just stick to one. I'm all for positive training, but sometimes he is just super stubborn, not sure if a rattle of a can of coins would do the trick just as a slight startle to redirect his attention as once he gets into his mode he is pretty focused?
It's not only the play style he pushes my adult dog out the way a lot or goes straight to trying to get on top of him. Sometimes he initiates nice play, other time he just goes straight after mouthing his face, being on top, head/paw over back...at this age I'm sure he it's just all play behaviors although the head/paw thing seems like he is trying to show dominance.
Any other suggestions that might work I am open to and would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!