I have a 16 week old labrador male that is just wonderful. I bought him when he was 7 weeks old and he has been just a fantastic dog, quick learner and just so sweet. He has grown up around my older chihuahua so he knows not to bite or be rough. He is just a gentle giant. Last week my father (who lives with me) bought a 17 week old lab girl. She is sweet maybe a little quite but overall a good dog. The problem I am having is that she plays really rough with my little man. He doesn't really seem to mind and has only squealed a couple times. But she just plays way too rough, and she goes after his legs. He will be running past and she will almost try to hamstring him. She hasn't drawn blood on him but I can see red marks all over the inside of his ears. She tends to bite his ears when she goes past. She still had 2 brothers when my father bought her, so I assume she has just always played this way. I work at home and so I will be doing a lot of her training. But getting her to play less rough has been a real struggle. When the two are out in my yard in the heat of play they almost never listen or come back. I can tell she has so much more of that pack mentality and my little guy has none of it. They both love each other and aren't aggressive, but if I can't get her to stop I am going to have to completely separate them or something. I mean I assume I can get her to change, but if she doesn't I might have to find a new home for her. But that would be the absolute worst case scenario, and my last option.
It's perfectly normal and natural, all of it. Over-exuberant play, normal. Leg biting, normal. Even pushing it to the point of squealing at this age is normal. They are still learning what is OK and what's too much. Stopping them from doing this will deprive them of that important lesson. Thinking of rehoming for normal play sounds a bit extreme if I'm honest. Not listening to you when they're playing is also normal and has nothing to do with "pack mentality", it's just being a puppy. If you want to grab their attention, you need to teach an attention-grabbing cue. The easiest way is to grab a handful of food and say a word, such as "enough", then throw the food at your feet. Do this at first when the dogs aren't playing so they start to learn that the word "enough" means there will be treats by your feet. Soon, you'll be able to say "enough" when they're playing and they'll break it off to come to see what's by your feet. If you think your boy needs a break, then by all means use crates, pens or baby gates to keep them apart for a while to allow them to calm down, but nothing in your post sounds like anything out of the ordinary or unexpected.
Thanks for the quick response. And yea I was never going to re home her, I was just worried. But she has gotten much better and he is learning to stick up for himself a bit. He is already crate trained and she is in the process so that will help settle them down when I need to. Definitely just overreacted. I feel much better about the situation today. Thanks again for the reply.
Great advice from snowbunny, and I just wanted to welcome you and your two to the forum! Or is it three dogs with the chihuahua? Anyway, we all know that young pups can be quite a trial, so anytime you want to come on here and vent a bit, please feel free!
She will get better as she grows up. Cooper 2-1/2 and Tilly 11-1/2 still play bitey face and tug some times. Cooper will still bite Tilly's back legs occasionally but they like each other and get along great. They often sleep on the same dog bed in the day time.
