[R-Teddy]

Originally Posted by Maximo

I know you aren't talking about a St Bernard vs a tiny puppy, but your puppy is still significantly smaller and her bones are still developing, more fragile. Even my barely 6 pound ridiculously skinny Teddy was at risk going up at against his 9 pound brother. Some wrestling is fine when she grows, as long as there isn't back biting. My boys do shadow boxing or karate kid stuff that is funny, but when they get out of hand, I settle them down.

When your pup is old enough to go for walks or maybe run around in a yard, things will get easier burning off all the energy.

The advantage I had was that my older Max was the one who needed breaks and he could escape Teddy by simply taking refuge on the couch. When you see your puppy needs a break, I would separate the dogs with a baby gate or xpen.

Teaching -- if she is nipping at you or her brother, say "no bite." When she is doing it to her brother, you can touch her on her shoulders, near the nape of the neck when you say it. When she is nipping at you, you can make a yelping sound like a puppy would. If she is going for your hands, fold your hands across your chest, taking away the targets.

Read the part about "Installing Bite Inhibition": Teaching Bite Inhibition - Whole Dog Journal Article

Things are going to get harder in this department as she begins to teethe. Give her things to chew on. I used soft toys and made sure Max didn't rip the stuffing out.

Work on general obedience training like sit, down, stay, come. Puppies tend to learn fast and like to do this kind of "work." When my boys get bored and start wrestling and things get out of hand, I redirect them to performing tricks for a single piece of kibble. This kind of training also helped my boys form a bond with each other.

Work on playing fetch together. That is another great way to bond and learn socialization skills.

Having a daily routine of activities at about the same time each day also has a calming effect. Sleeping time, meal time, little play sessions or training sessions. Talk to your dogs while you are doing your daily things too. I talk to my boys a lot and they follow me around like they are involved in whatever I am doing.

YouTube is full of dog training videos. Great resource.

These are great suggestions, thank you. a lot of what you say you do with your boys an suggest doing are things I already do with my 14 month old and have done since I got him at 10 weeks old. o its really nothing new. Glad to know im doing it right......lol

Zeus's favorite game is fetch and Athena watches. she watches everything he does and often mimics him. I talk to him all the time to with a my daily activities. he, like yours follows me around everywhere, even in the bathroom. lol. I do also have several pet an baby gates that I take full advantage of. they get separated whenever needed. also to keep her in the safe rooms, not wandering around the house. If I didnt she would be sure to get stepped on by someone, between her being so small, dark in color, and them not knowing shes there. This way everyone knows what room she is always in an is careful there. I also have tons of toys of all different types and textures for her to chew on. she is already getting some of her back teeth, and we can see the front ones, but they aren't poked through yet.

Again thank you for the tips and link. I will give it a look at right away.