Bridget D
Boxer Booster
This is my first Boxer Puppy, age 12 weeks.
I have had dogs my entire life, but always one at a time.
We decided to expand our family now and help integrate a new puppy into the household while our German Short Haired Pointer, Simon, male, eleven years old, is still in good health.
Bella is a female puppy and I am aware of how puppies play within a litter and begin dominance play, etc., however, Simon is an extremely patient big brother, and although he is an Alpha Male, he is very careful not to hurt Bella while playing. He will put her in her place on occassion if she causes him to yelp, but Bella seems to be relentless at times.
She goes at Simon like a Gremlin and grabs around his throat and twists. She doesn't seem to be applying a lot of bite pressure, we have already broken her of biting on our hands with any amount of pressure, but when she gets a hold of Simons fur, she twists, and I noticed today that Simon has a bruise where Bella grabbed and twisted.
Any ideas on how to get Bella to play a little bit more gently?
At this point, when she gets too rowdy, I have her take a break in her crate. While she is playing when I see her getting too feisty, I do intervene, sometimes distracting her with a toy will cool her jets, but other times it's like a little piranha going after big brother.
I don't want her to stop playing altogether, but I don't want her taking Simon's fur off either.
Any suggestions?
I have had dogs my entire life, but always one at a time.
We decided to expand our family now and help integrate a new puppy into the household while our German Short Haired Pointer, Simon, male, eleven years old, is still in good health.
Bella is a female puppy and I am aware of how puppies play within a litter and begin dominance play, etc., however, Simon is an extremely patient big brother, and although he is an Alpha Male, he is very careful not to hurt Bella while playing. He will put her in her place on occassion if she causes him to yelp, but Bella seems to be relentless at times.
She goes at Simon like a Gremlin and grabs around his throat and twists. She doesn't seem to be applying a lot of bite pressure, we have already broken her of biting on our hands with any amount of pressure, but when she gets a hold of Simons fur, she twists, and I noticed today that Simon has a bruise where Bella grabbed and twisted.
Any ideas on how to get Bella to play a little bit more gently?
At this point, when she gets too rowdy, I have her take a break in her crate. While she is playing when I see her getting too feisty, I do intervene, sometimes distracting her with a toy will cool her jets, but other times it's like a little piranha going after big brother.
I don't want her to stop playing altogether, but I don't want her taking Simon's fur off either.
Any suggestions?
