Question:I have two 7 week old pups. from the same litter one male and one female.(they're both being spayed/nuetered and NO i'm not breeding them) They "play" very rough and I can't tell if they're fighting or playing. They bite at each other pull, yank, scratch, kick, etc. I usually stop them when one of them starts growling or whining. Should I just leave them alone? Are they playing even though they're growling?
Also, I was told that we had to establish a ranking with our pups. for example-I would be top ranking, then one dog would be 2nd and the other would be 3rd. Is this true? If so, why?
Answers:
They are pack animals and need a social ranking. Maybe they're trying to establish this? I think, unless they're going full-on, someone's-going-to-get-injured fighting, you should back off. (And dogs will "play" growl-- don't worry about it.)
You definitely need to be the alpha dog. One way is to keep the animals off furniture. They need to know that their place is "beneath" you. I have friends whose dog thinks he's the head of the house... they can't have this dog around guests because if you look him in the eye, he'll attack you! He sleeps in their bed and growls at them if they disturb him. You don't want to end up where they are.
Spaying/ neutering is a good first step. Keep them off the furniture and your bed. Make them "work" for priviledges. For example, before feeding them, give them a command. "Sit." Before taking them out, make them sit. Don't feed them table scraps.
When one dog seems to be more dominant over the other, you should feed that dog (the dominant one) first, pet it more in front of the other dog, etc. It may not seem fair, but this is how dogs operate. They can't be equals. If one dog thinks its place is above the other, and the other accepts this, you need to acknowledge it in order to keep the peace between them. This way they'll be secure in where their order is and won't be always trying to one-up each other.
playing
thats how they play
they r just establishing their ranking like u were told. let them go i would say because later in life wen they get bigger it might b a little more...well nasty...
if they get really visious break it up by my neighbors have two puppies and i take care of them everyday and they look like there killing each other but really there not
Yes, you'll have to establish ranking with the puppies. Chances are one of them will be more dominant. It's the way it'd be in nature and it just carries over.
It sounds like they're fighting if they start growling or whining. I think your doing the right thing by leaving them alone untill they start whinig/growling. In a week or 2 they should have more or less stopped.
As far as the ranking, i think that's stupid, i don't think you should like one better than the other. As far as the other, i believe they are just playing, but you do have to show them boundaries, as in when they are getting too rough, and teach them they CAN play, but only this hard, and you decide how far you want them to go.
don't worry puppies always play it seems very rough but that is how they play. puppies fight 2 show which one is more dominate. so it is best that u just leave them alone.
The are playing around...but if it gets to where one of them gets hurt.. obviously *common sense lol* break them up... I HOPE I HELPED! ♥cookiedugh♥
They are playing, and yes, you should be the leader. Dogs are pack animals, and packs have dominant and submissive dogs within the pack, hence the term "pack leader".
They are playing, like you I seperate them when I hear one of them whinning, otherwise I just leave them alone.
If they duck their heads and keep their hind ends in the air every once in a while they are playing. Either way, playing or fighting, your actions speak volumes to the dogs about their order in the pack. If when you break up the dogs (if you choose too) you must be sure to grant the dogs attention in the proper amounts and order. The "winner" of the play should be seen as more dominant and get the lions share of attention. Most times humans have the tendency to give extra attention to the loser, and punish or ignore the "bully". This is a wrong action and will only promote stronger violence between the dogs. The dominant one just tried to prove his dominance and if you give more attention to the weaker dog it will be seen that you view the weaker as the more dominant. The next logical step to the dog (pack logic not human logic) is that he did not prove his merit satisfactorily to the pack leader- you. The next time he will be rougher and rougher until you praise him more than you praise the weaker dog. Your praise is the sought after currency and is proof of dominance. Eventually if you keep rewarding the weaker one you will be paying his vet bills and blaming the stronger dog for the outcome of your actions. Dog logic may not seem logical to us, but it does not have to seem logical to be the way the dog world works.
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