My pup just turned 4 months. We have been going to puppy play groups for 5-6 weeks, playing one on one, and have been to 3 hours of daycare a number of times. She wants to play, but it seems she gets too ramped up. And she’s not reading cues. Yesterday the daycare reportcard said she was a bit aggressive, and I have noticed it as well. Today at the puppy playgroup she was inappropriately latching on - the group is by breed size and age so that was all correct. We ended up leaving a bit early and won’t pursue that. She does not do this during one on one playdates. I’m concerned because I have to take her to daycare 1.5 times per week. Because of her age they limit to 3 hours of play which is also good but not if she’s not picking up cues. I also have a 7 lb, 8 year old shih tzu and I’m noticing the pup is not taking the cues given. Help!!!
I have little idea what you mean.... "Inappropriately latching on". What does that mean? Does it mean that your puppy is grabbing other dogs by spare skin and not letting go? If so, this isn't aggression - not at all. It's over boisterous puppy play and your puppy hasn't been corrected for it by kind and appropriate adults. It may well be that the problem is not your puppy but the group of dogs she is mixing with isn't teaching her what she needs to learn. I'd give her a break, stop worrying about a 4 month old puppy being aggressive, and concentrate on her being with dogs that she needs to be with.
3 hours of play for a 4 month old is too much imo. I would limit play for now, especially if it’s a bit boisterous. At this age they do need to be taught how to act and not all know what the cues mean. Play with large / medium breed dogs always looks much worse than it actually is. I would be more concerned that your day care thinks this is aggressive behaviour. Aggressive behaviour at this age is very rare.
Thank you. Yes she is latching on to other dogs skin and not wanting to let go. I am going to go back to one in one play for awhile. The moderator today did say she was getting over stimulated.
This is how our puppy played too. He would latch onto neck skin, ears, even lips of other older, larger dogs while playing. Puppy play, and especially large dog breed play like @Naya said is always crazier than it looks! I would also agree that 4 hours of play is a lot. It is crazy how much they will play play play even when they are so tired. They just start to get extra crazy and wild then. Luckily I found this forum shortly after I brought my pup home and it made me realize that his play could come off as "aggression" but was really just him being a puppy. He seemed like he was being mean on purpose and just not listening, but in reality, he was just being a puppy.
My dogs do this to one another as part of normal play, but they obviously know each other very well and I find it completely appropriate. It would not be appropriate with unfamiliar dogs or if they were bullying; ie not taking it in turns to be the chaser and chasee. In those cases, if the other dog isn’t ending the game when your pup is overstepping the mark, then it should be the responsibility of the human in charge to step in and end the play. I sometimes have to do this when we meet up with the litter mate to my eldest dogs, as she and Shadow can bully Willow. It’s not aggressive in any way, but it’s also not appropriate so intervention is necessary. I would say it’s very common with boisterous Lab puppies but not something that should be allowed to continue unchecked. It sounds like your pup needs suitably matched playmates who will give as good as they get, and/or a gentle adult dog who will calmly and unaggressively teach your pup good play manners - eg by disengaging and walking away when your puppy crosses the line.
