Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 2/22/2008

Question
Dear Alan,

I hope you can help us with some advice.  We have a neutered male 7-month old standard poodle puppy that we've had since he was 2 months old named Cosmo.  I've been working with Cosmo on basic training for the past 3 months and we've been through obedience classes.  He's a happy and very "barky" puppy who weighs around 42 pounds.

Last week, we purchased a 2 month old female standard poodle puppy named Heidi.  She's very smart, frisky, mouthy, afraid of nothing, a tease, and a thief.  She weighs about 11 pounds.

Fearing our Cosmo might overwhelm her, we've kept them apart using swing gates in our kitchen doorways and keeping her in a large comfortable crate.  I've been walking the puppies separately and feeding them separately.

Here's the situation I'd like your opinion about:  when the puppies interact with each other through the gates, Cosmo uses his play "bark" at her constantly and tries to mouth her through the bars.  At times he shows his teeth and paws at her.  Heidi snaps and paws at him.  I cannot determine if they are trying to play, getting frustrated with the barriers between them, or hate each other.  I'm scared to death to let them get together until Heidi obtains more size.  I want them to be best friends and our best friends.  Do you have a "gut" feel for what could be going on and how long do you think that I should keep them apart?  This situation is exhausting and has taken the fun out of having puppies!  Both dogs are from highly reputable breeders and are healthy and beautiful.

I'd be SO grateful for your feedback.  Thank you so much for the valuable service you are providing.


Answer
Dear Gail,
Thanks for the question. Do you have any reason to believe that Cosmo will hurt her? Has he ever been around other puppies? Keeping them isolated from each other must be tiring!

Barking and pawing through the cage is most likely frustration or play behavior, but I have no way of knowing without being there. Even then nothing is absolute. Dogs are animals and animals can be unpredictable.

See if your trainer will come over to supervise the meeting. Once they start interacting, here are some guidelines for recognizing healthy play.

When puppies or dogs play, they "trade roles". Dog A will chase Dog B and then Dog B will chase Dog A. The same goes for mugging. Dog A will be on top and then Dog B will be on top. If one dog is constantly hiding or trying to escape, the play is out of hand.

It's best to randomly interrupt the play, even if they are playing nicely, and ask for a few sits or downs. This helps to teach them about self control. Teaching your dog to go from an excited state to a relaxed state is a good idea!

Thanks for writing. Have fun with your puppies!

Alan J Turner
http://howsbentley.com
http://animalnewsnetwork.org

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