# What is normal adult dog/puppy interaction?



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

So when Shasta and Thor are playing, Shasta will sometimes knock him clean over with her paw. Occasionally it makes him yelp, but usually it does not. He doesn't seem afraid of her at all (although he is definitely more respectful of her than he was at first). On the contrary, he acts as though he thinks he could take her. 

Anyway, my question is, is this pawing that Shasta does something I should be concerned about, or is it just a normal way an adult dog will interact with a puppy? She doesn't seem to want to hurt him, because obviously she could, but she's not very patient with him either.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't think its something to worry about. As the pup gets older they will probably play a lot rougher, that is how they play


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Here's a video of Stark and Zeffie the first month she was home.

A few things I personally DO NOT allow are holding the puppy down either with paws or mouth (even if gently) and jumping on the puppy. I think I "correct" Stark once or twice in this video for the neck grabbing of the puppy.

Now that Zefra is bigger I allow them to dictate their play. The only time I step in is when *I* am tired of watching or listening to the shinannagans.. lol.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Here's a better video of Stark getting too worked up with the new puppy.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I wonder if there is such a thing as normal due to the fact that adults can have so many different personalities and so can puppies. So you have a wide variety of interactions. Recently, my (almost) 3 year old interacted with a 4 month old puppy. The puppy was bold and always moving forward, not in a bad way but just kind of pushy. My female is only good with non-threatening dogs, so she was all teeth and warning and hackles. She would never bite but she didn't like the boldness of the puppy. This is just one interaction. Who is to say what is 'normal'? You are probably looking for how 2 GSDs with 'good' solid temperaments would be.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Elisabeth, thanks for the videos. If Thor were as big as Zefra is in the videos, I wouldn't be stressing over it, but he's still a little baby (9 weeks old). They are a good point of reference, though.

PaddyD, Shasta is a tense dog that has a hard time settling, so while she's sweet and generally friendly, I think there's a possibility of an overreaction. I've never seen an adult dog of any breed, much less a rowdy breed like GSDs, interact with a puppy before so I just don't know what to expect at all.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Yeah, Zeffie came home a little older.

I would just make sure to monitor play, I think it's good for the ADULT dog to understand and be taught by the puppy too on how to interact with others that are smaller and "weaker" than them. Not to say that the puppy should take a beating, by any means, but you get my point.

I would just step in, distract both and then allow play again. You could also give Shasta a verbal "oops!" correction type noise/word to let her know that you and puppy did not like that behaviour. Not a "correction/correction" but hey, not that hard!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I brought Karlo home just shy of 8 weeks to a household with two adult females(spayed) One of those(Onyx) is a dog aggressive girl and a bully. Karlo had her wrapped around his paw from the beginning, and it continues to this day....he can do no wrong in her eyes(or mine) :wub:
I don't have video, but here are some pics of the developing relationship: 
1st day home:
























































Kacie was fine with Karlo as well, but she wasn't as smitten with him(maybe because Onyx kept her away from him?)
Kacie and Karlo have a great relationship and play well together, Onyx and Kacie do not have such a connection.
Good that you have opposite sexes, I think Shasta and Thor will be best buds!


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

elisabeth_00117 said:


> I would just make sure to monitor play, I think it's good for the ADULT dog to understand and be taught by the puppy too on how to interact with others that are smaller and "weaker" than them. Not to say that the puppy should take a beating, by any means, but you get my point.


Shasta has adjusted her behavior in the 9 days Thor has been with us. She's a little more tolerant and a little less rough, probably in response to his yelps as much as our verbal corrections. She does seem to like him...she gets distressed when he cries, she tries to monitor/correct his behavior and when he's in his crate, she likes to lay near him. I do find all that encouraging, but, yeah, I'm a worrier. It's no wonder Shasta is a tense dog.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I actually started a thread about a similar question/issue not too long ago. My parents recently got a little Havanese puppy (about 5 pounds) and Lucy (70+ pounds) was trying to constantly paw the little bugger at first. This was an obvious play pawing, no aggression, but still very rough for a little puppy, nonetheless. The Havanese would react the same way as your little guy... he would yelp, but immediately go back for more. Because of the size difference, it was an obvious concern for me. 

Here's the thread: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-behavior/181230-gsd-swatting-little-havanese-puppy.html

Basically, I just kept a VERY watchful eye on them when interacting. Never left them alone for even a second. When it looked like it was about to get too rough, I immediately picked up the puppy. I wouldn't even chance it to see what would happen. You really have to know and learn the signs the adult dog gives off before he actually throws that paw. They're there, you just need to figure them out. You'll learn to read the signs as you watch the interact over time. If I happen to miss it and the puppy does get pawed, I'm right there for an immediate correction.

It's been about 4 weeks, which is a relatively short time in the long run, and the pawing has really been cut down a lot. They're not always together since it's my parents dog and not mine, but Lucy has really learned that pawing is a no-no. It really just took that short adjustment period getting to know their boundaries or while I set those boundaries. 

My advice is to just keep a watchful eye at all times. Don't leave it to chance... you need to be as proactive as possible. Shasta will learn, it just takes a little time and patience.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Jane, we are not quite to the point of your first (adorable) photo. But we're getting closer. I think it's a good idea Shasta can never have puppies. I'd be afraid she'd trample them out of sheer awkwardness.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Paul, thanks for that link. I'm reading through the comments now.

Thor is pretty big for 9 weeks, so hopefully he'll be big enough in a few weeks that I won't be so worried about Shasta hurting him.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

As long as adults aren't being mean or aggressive (hackles, pinning puppy, etc.) I let them kind of go at it, as it is imperative for the adult to teach the baby respect, in dog language, that only the puppy can understand. This helps puppy to be a better k9 citizen as a teen and adult. 

Undo roughness would simply be stopped. Don't overcorrect the adult, or you will make her nervous and stressed. She's doing what's normal to her. Simply remove puppy and put them together later, etc.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

msvette2u said:


> Undo roughness would simply be stopped. Don't overcorrect the adult, or you will make her nervous and stressed. She's doing what's normal to her. Simply remove puppy and put them together later, etc.


Thanks, that makes sense. God knows we don't need to make her any more stressed! She's naturally pretty nervous.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

What you might try is leashing the puppy, so when he starts playing too rough, you can pull him out and calm him down some.
Allowing your girl to see you're in control and have the puppy under control may help her relax some.
Right now she's probably afraid she'll "mess up" and get in trouble for playing with him.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

I got Sasha (at two years old) just a month or two before my cousin got a lab pup named Roxy. When he first brought Roxy over at 9-10weeks I didn't allow Sasha to play with Roxy at all.(This was due in part because I didn't know Sasha that well yet and simply didn't know how she'd react and didn't want to test it on my cousin's new little girl) She was allowed to smell her, and what not, but she was always on a leash or the pup was up in someone's arms. When she got a little older (probably about 15 weeks or so) they were allowed to interact off leash, but it was highly supervised. The thing I found interesting is that Sasha had very little interest in the pup. She would allow Roxy to bite on her for a little while and then she would just walk away. They would play a little, but Sasha was always very gentle, and when she'd had enough of sharp puppy teeth on her face she would walk away and ignore the pup. Once Roxy got a little older Sasha was a little more rough and I had to watch for neck grabbing and what not. I didn't allow any of that until Roxy was about 50-60lbs or so. I wanted to make sure that they were on more equal footing before any rough play was allowed. Now that Roxy is a year and Sasha is three they play hardcore, and I only step in when I'm tired of listening to it (or if we're inside and they start knocking stuff over). Funny thing is, now Roxy is the big dog Lol!


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

In my experience, female older dogs sometimes take the puppies under their wings and act quite motherly to them. A friend of mine has a great dane that is 2 years older than my boy, when we first got Rooney we brought him over there and his whole body could practically fit in her mouth. She let him do pretty much anything to her. She was very calm, very gentle, very relaxed, but would swipe him with a paw once in a while if he was doing something she didn't like.

Fast forward a year...he's now completely in love with her, and definitely doesn't look at her as a mom.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I've stated before that Hondo and Lonestar play very rough. Lonestar is a very aggressive player, that never quits. Their play is always supervised. 

Their interaction is really very interesting. I've learned alot about Hondo's threshold, and also the fact that I have to be careful with Lonestar as he doesn't know when to stop. 

75% of the play, Hondo will remain in the sitting/laying down position. They bite eachother, roll over each other, grab faces, ears, legs, tails, lips etc. Both dogs will have scratch marks on them. Hondo is more vocal then Lonestar when playing. Hondo will always use his paws. He'll hold Lonestar down, smack him, trip him up etc. Rarely to you hear Lonestar yelp. Hondo's growling, may get whiney at times (like Lonestar has him in a lip lock) and I'll step in. 

When the game starts getting too rough, Hondo will stand up. Lonestar will go under Hondo and grab legs, tails etc. Sometimes Hondo will lay down on him, and the game continues. But if Hondo starts to walk away, I call the game off. That is Hondo saying he's had enough. It's Lonestar I have to control. I always keep a squeaker toy, when Hondo signals he's done I'll redirect Lonestar with the toy. 

Sometimes during play, Lonestar will get the zoomies and run and dive bomb Hondo. If Hondo remains on the ground playing, I'll leave them alone. If Hondo gets up, lowers his head and stands in the stalking position, I call the game off. Hondo is getting serious. He's had enough. It's important to know that this position REALLY gets Lonestar going. Left unsupervised, Lonestar is going to be taught a lesson by Hondo. 

There are times during their play that Lonestar will grab a toy and they'll play together with the toy. There are even times when Hondo grabs a toy and they'll chase eachother with the toy.

Lonestar is nearly 5 months old now. He's played this way since he was 8 weeks old. The biggest difference I can see now is Lonestar isn't playing as rough with Hondo now. He is learning bit inhibition from Hondo. Also, when Hondo signals he's had enough, Lonestar will dive bomb me, knowing that he doesn't have to stop playing, he just has to stop playing with Hondo. 

Also, interestingly enough, at lunch when I turn them all out in the back yard, nobody plays. They are out there for about an hour and they do their business, follow eachother around, Lonestar may race around with his Kong etc. but they don't play together. They only play rough now when we are outside out on the porch. (Sometimes Lonestar tries to in the house, but we're working on that.) So something I'm doing is working!


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

martemchik said:


> In my experience, female older dogs sometimes take the puppies under their wings and act quite motherly to them. A friend of mine has a great dane that is 2 years older than my boy, when we first got Rooney we brought him over there and his whole body could practically fit in her mouth. She let him do pretty much anything to her. She was very calm, very gentle, very relaxed, but would swipe him with a paw once in a while if he was doing something she didn't like.


Same exact experience here. I swear Lucy thinks she's this puppy's mother. She just sits there and takes his abuse. He jumps, crawls, and does everything possible to her and she just sits there in a down position without even blinking an eye. She might nudge him off or roll him over for a quick sniff, but that's it. Very motherly.

OP... give it a little time. You're still in the adjustment period if you haven't even had the puppy for two weeks. I'm sure it will work itself out.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Shasta and Thor are doing okay. I still think Shasta plays too rough for such as young puppy, but he totally asks for it; he really thinks he can take her. We did have an unfortunate humping incident, which royally pissed Shasta off and she swatted him a pretty good one...but she didn't really hurt him, and he backed off.

I do have one additional question. Shasta pokes at Thor pretty firmly with her nose. She almost looks like she's rooting around looking for something. Is this some kind of mother dog behavior? Or any thoughts on what she might be doing?


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

paulag1955 said:


> Shasta and Thor are doing okay. I still think Shasta plays too rough for such as young puppy, but he totally asks for it; he really thinks he can take her. We did have an unfortunate humping incident, which royally pissed Shasta off and she swatted him a pretty good one...but she didn't really hurt him, and he backed off.


Nothing wrong with a good correction from the adult dog. That kind of stuff will happen from time to time until the puppy learns his boundaries.



paulag1955 said:


> I do have one additional question. Shasta pokes at Thor pretty firmly with her nose. She almost looks like she's rooting around looking for something. Is this some kind of mother dog behavior? Or any thoughts on what she might be doing?


Lucy does the same exact thing with the Hav puppy all the time. She just kind of nudges him with her nose when he's laying in front of her. Most of the time it's just to get a good sniff and just nudge him around. I also think it's a way to play with the puppy while still attempting to be gentle with him. 

Either way, I'm pretty sure it's normal and acceptable behavior as long as the puppy's ok with it too.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Paul, thanks for sticking with me, here!

Yesterday was a pretty good day with the dogs. Shasta still plays rough, but not _as_ rough and Thor eggs her on. There is a lot of chasing and tug between the two of them. Shasta is getting to be more tolerant of it when he climbs on her or bites at her. Although This morning she did freak out just a bit when he tried to chew on her leg like a bone....


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## Pandarama (May 8, 2013)

Hello. This is my first forum and hopefully I'm doing it right.
I have a 3 year old GSD whiskey and a new 10 month old puppy browser. Now they get along really well, except for play time. Whiskey will grab browser by the neck and pin him. I really need some advice on how to stop this. Whiskey DOES NOT bite him, it's like a soft bite. I'm not so worried about browser getting hurt, he thinks he can rake whiskey too!  I want to stop this or correct this behaviour because when I take my dogs to the dog park whiskey will (as I call it) "mouth" another dogs neck and pin them too. Now as I said I'm not worried about him biting, I'm worried about the dogs reaction as well as their owners. We all know other dogs will have problems with whiskey thinking he can dominate them and I don't want him to get hurt or other dogs for that matter. If so I could just stop going to the dog park, but it's not good for socialization for whiskey or browser. Please help!!!!


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## Pandarama (May 8, 2013)

*"Mouthing" and pinning other dogs.*

Hello. This is my first forum and hopefully I'm doing it right.
I have a 3 year old GSD whiskey and a new 10 month old puppy browser. Now they get along really well, except for play time. Whiskey will grab browser by the neck and pin him. I really need some advice on how to stop this. Whiskey DOES NOT bite him, it's like a soft bite. I'm not so worried about browser getting hurt, he thinks he can rake whiskey too!  I want to stop this or correct this behaviour because when I take my dogs to the dog park whiskey will (as I call it) "mouth" another dogs neck and pin them too. Now as I said I'm not worried about him biting, I'm worried about the dogs reaction as well as their owners. We all know other dogs will have problems with whiskey thinking he can dominate them and I don't want him to get hurt or other dogs for that matter. If so I could just stop going to the dog park, but it's not good for socialization for whiskey or browser. Please help!!!!


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## shilorio (Mar 21, 2010)

A lot of dogs i have noticed are agressive towards pups. Many dogs have tryed atacking my puppies, and even my dog has tryed this. i never understood why..


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