Do puppies pick up bad habits from other dogs? My pup never ate our wood chips until he saw my sister in law's dog eating wood chips...my pup also never whined while being out and roaming, but has now started whining like my other sister in law's dog. (Her dog will whine every time she leaves and even if she is still in the same room) Should I keep him away from them until he is less impressionable? He still has other well-behaved dogs he can play with that don't have quirks or bad habits.
Oh yes! They take their cues from, firstly their Mum and then any adult dogs they are with - far quicker than they take cues from us humans! .
Rory copied Doug thank goodness he didn't copy Moo I was very careful to never ever let him see her do her Moo Moo stuff. It seems to be cultural I just made sure he was exposed to the good stuff i wanted to continue in the family and made super sure I watched his interactions with Moo. It worked he is very good boy and follows the path of Doug. .....mostly
My boy Duncan taught all of my foster puppies how to wee outside and play nicely. He was a brilliant teacher. After he passed, I tried to have foster puppies again and discovered it was WAY too much hard work without my buddy Duncan! So yes, they definitely learn from other dogs and I agree with @Boogie that they learn much quicker from other dogs than humans. Quick related Brogan story: When I was in the hospital for six weeks a few years ago, Brogan had to go stay with a friend who has two dogs of her own. One of her dogs howls like a Banshee any time she hears a siren. Brogan was a very quiet boy who rarely barked and never in his life howled. About a week after I got back home and was walking with Brogan, an ambulance came by us on the street. Brogan stopped, put his nose up in the air, and let out the longest, most heart-felt howl I've ever heard. It was absolutely hysterical! Then he kind of looked around as if to say, "Who made that noise?". He never howled again, but I'm quite sure he learned his one time trick from my friend's dog!
Oh no Aspen has learned how to kick up the grass after he pees/poos from one of my sister's dogs, it was pretty hysterical watching him do it the first time
I'd like to get a pound for every time I've heard of people who introduce a puppy into the house and believe that the older dog will calm it down! Most times they end up with a pair of hooligans!
My neighbours in California had an Aussie who they left alone in the garden all day while they worked. He ate half of their wooden hot tub. They had the brilliant idea of getting another Aussie to keep the first company. Together they ate the second half of the hot tub.
I'll never forget Moo aged 12 leap onto Rory from the back of the sofa. She loves having her toy boy and regularly brutalized him. He loves every minute of it shes also been a devil for dragging him about by his ears. She taught him bitey face too.
I have a game I play with Benson..he loves it..race to a bench leaps on it and waits for his treat. I can just point at a bench, tree stump...shout "On!" and off he goes. This game started out in agility, but we use this on our walks now. I have never taught this to Bramble, or taken her to agility. Now though, when I give the "on" cue, they both race each other to the nearest tree stump, leap on top and wait for their treat I think Bramble has learnt this trick purely from watching Benson
I have a pair of Hooligans! My 1yr. old "Finn" has made my 9year old "Pup" regress. Like having two puppies now. However the younger does often look for the older dogs cue. I am praying he does not pick up the poop eating that my older dog loves....so far so good.
