Hello and thanks for taking the time to read my post. My 1 yo female pup (went through first heat cycle, had false pregnancy, then finally got spayed and is now 2.5 weeks post op) continues to hump and play too rough with our 12 yo female -- both chocolates. Wilma, the 1 yo is my 4th chocolate so I thought I knew the drill but she is extremely spirited and high energy. I am looking for ideas to mitigate the overly aggressive play with our older dog as I don't want her to get hurt. Most of the time they can pay next to each other on the couch or play a game of tug - but lately the younger dog just gets wound up and starts to hump or tackle the older girl. We have tried training "easy with Betty" or "leave Betty alone" with treats and it had improved but now it seems to be worse again. We are keeping a "grab tag" short lead on the wild child and if she goes too hard at the old girl putting her in a time out. How long should the time out be?? Any other ideas?? The older dog never established set limits with her -- so she is getting pushed around.
I have similar issues with my two - as soon as it gets too rough or my older one has had enough, I cue "enough" and scatter some kibble. I try and get something else for them to do then (a snuffle mat, kongs, a chew etc). I would break it up or pull her off humping right away for a short crate break to calm down. I use time outs (to calm down from rough play, mouthing/nipping - all over excitement for the most part) and its 1-2 mins in the crate for the younger one (8 months). She's usually good after a time out or moving to something else to do.
