Member

Posts: 75
From:
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 10-31-2003 03:12 PM         

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Hi,

My friend brought over her Neo mastiff/Staffy cross to play with my puppy and was horrified when her puppy (half the size of my puppy) started growling and refusing to back off when my (totally nutso hyper) pup was playing with her. (My dog kept jumping over her like some kinda circus dog.) By the way, her 8 week old pup was whipping my 6 month old puppy's butt! (My puppy is very submissive to start with.)

My friend took her pup away and was completely stressed out. If this was a different breed of puppy I would not have given it a thought, but my friend started to make me nervous too. So, I held her puppy in a lying position so my dog could sniff his belly and then the mastiff/staffy cross licked my dog's nose. It all seemed pretty innocent to me...but I don't know.

Should you stop staffy pups from playing rough? Do they often growl and get very 'into' rough-housing? Is this something it is okay to allow or should it never be allowed?

I think my friend and I both had visions of the dog behaving like this when he weighs 100 lbs!

Help!

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Member

Posts: 44
From:TX, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-31-2003 04:18 PM         

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Lots of pups get rough when they play, I dont think you should make it a breed thing.

Is this the first time her pup has played w/ other strange dogs? Sometimes it takes more then once for a dog to play good with other dogs, they dont really know eachother.

On the other hand Bandogs can be dominant, it doesnt matter what age they are. Once it establishes dominance and the other submits they will probably be just fine.
Sometimes it doenst matter what breed it is, it may just be a more dominant dog OR just be playing. Some pups play rough and are outgoing while others are docile or even submissive. I wouldnt worry so much about them playing unless the other pup is really being beat up on and not enjoying it. The pup is pobably just rambuncsious (sp?) and not being aggressive though.
Just supervise them when together and use your own judgement.
Another thing is the bandog pup is only 8 weeks while your dog is 6 months, so he may have felt a little intimidated.
I really can't say which one of the above ways he was acting because i wasn't there.
A lot of bandogs are alrite with other dogs most their lives, they were created with the idea in mind to be better fighting dogs than pits but that just didnt pan out. Many werent too dog aggressive and ones that were quit against pits and didnt want to fight. But they can play very rough.

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Posts: 75
From:
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 11-05-2003 10:10 PM         

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That's a relief! I figured it was just puppy play. But, boy was that puppy intense!

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Posts: 353
From:
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 11-05-2003 11:37 PM         

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Lucky, most bull breed dogs love to roughhouse, sometimes more so than some other breeds. I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as your pup isn't afraid, or giving signs that she's had enough. Most dogs will let another dog know when they've had enough of their harassing them, but often they will let pups get away with more. I would hazard a guess that it was just rough puppy play, and that when your girl has ahd enough, she'll let him know. ABout the growling, etc, we had a JRTxpit bull foster a few years back, and she and Goo (pit bull) would tear back and forth through the house for hours, hanging off each others' legs and the skin on their faces, growling it up, all in play. It never turned into anything more than that, though I would imagine it would have freaked out anyone who had never seen them playing before. Yet, Goo also has the discretion to know when she needs to be more gentle... she used to play with the cat, and though they would roughhouse, she was never actually "rough", never put her mouth on him, etc. She also plays nicely with our 10 lb Dachshund, though sometimes the dachsie does something to make her mad, ending the game for a while. I think most dogs are capable of this discretion, but it does take time and "practice" (maybe trial and error is a better way to put it) for them to develop it.

You might want to teach them a "break" command, just so if things get too intense, or one pup is getting too rough, you can stop them to have a little cool down period (In our house, it's more the tone I use that settles them down, but you can use one specific word if that's easier... I've used "enough", "stop", "that's it", and "HEY!" all at various times, so really, anything you want to use works once they understand the concept). Is the other pup female? If so, be cautious with the playdates as she matures, same sex pairs can have more problems than male/female ones, and you may be more likely to have problems if either or both aren't fixed, as then hormones enter into play during heat cycles, false pregos, etc. Supervision now, closer supervision when she reaches about 6 months old, and if you ever feel like she starting to turn the "play" into a contest (this may not happen at all, but if it does, it'll likely be between the ages of 8 months and 3 yrs), it may be time to stop the playdates, or keep them more closely controlled. Some things to watch for as she matures are stiffening up with an "I'm BOSS!" expression on their face, dominance postures (head over the other dog's neck/shoulders being a biggie), hackles up, and one or both dogs not backing down when the other corrects them for being too rough. Watch them together now, when they're young, so you know what's "normal" for them, and can tell if something is out of the norm, possibly indicating a potential problem. It sounds to me like your first impression was right, and they're just playing, and having a good time

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Posts: 17
From:
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 11-06-2003 05:52 AM         

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Pitties ply rough. A friend brought his year old male over to meet my puppy Justice(5 1/2 months) And they played for 2 hours.

[This message has been edited by justice82003 (edited 11-06-2003).]

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