rough play- how to stop?
 

Hello. I'm new to YorkieTalk and would appreciate any advice/help offered.

I got two puppies from the same breeder in February. A morkie we named MavRik, and a yorkie we named Kyoti. The woman put them together to play to see if they got along before she sent them. They got along fine and have been together ever since. In fact they've become prit near inseparable.
They're almost 8 months old now, Kyoti being 2 weeks older than MavRik. The problem comes when they start playing together. MavRik got bigger than expected and is now about 3 times bigger than Kyoti. This would be fine, if MavRik didn't get so rough. He starts jumping on Kyoti, pinning him to the floor, and running him over. He even starts biting the back legs of my one other dog, who is bigger than him. When he starts getting too rough, I tell him "No" and put him in a "time out" where I make him sit down until he appears to be calmer. He calms down for awhile but pretty soon he's back to being too rough.
I understand that he's still a puppy and has lots of energy to expend, but I'm afraid that he's going to hurt Kyoti. I also recently got a 4 month old puppy from the same breeder, who is smaller than Kyoti and has an open fontanelle, and I'm very scared that he's going to seriously hurt her. I keep her in a separate area or else I hold on to MavRik while she's out with them.
Should I continue telling him "No" and making him sit until he calms down or is there a better way to get him to be gentler?
Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

Definitely keep the pup with the open font separated from the other dogs at all times.

My boys play wrestle often and for the first year they were together, it would occasionally get out of hand because the older one would get fed up with the younger one who didn't know when to quit. It always looked and sounded scarier than what it really was, but I have the advantage of my boys being similar in size. They also run right over each when playing fetch.

With one dog 3 times the size of the other, you do have to exercise caution, supervise and call time outs. I would separate them when you cannot supervise.

Are they neutered? If not, that will escalate your problems.

Whether or not things improve with age depends on the individual dogs. My younger guy has mellowed and has learned when to back off.

When they're not being supervised, my pups go in their play pens. MavRik and Kyoti share one while my pup with the open font has her own. Each pen has their food/water, a bed, their toys, and a piddle area. MavRik doesn't get rough with Kyoti while they're in their pen so I've let them stay together. It seems he only gets rough when I let them out.

Their was only a couple ounces difference when I got them but now MavRik is a little under 9 lbs while Kyoti is just shy of 3 so it can be a little scary to watch them play sometimes. I plan on getting them neutered soon, and hopefully he will mellow out a bit afterwards. I have another yorkie who's 12 yrs old and he seems to know not to mess with her lol

Do you think it would help if I let MavRik run off some of his steam before I let Kyoti out too? Or should I just continue with the time outs? Thanks.

Little Yorkies can get along just fine with bigger ones. Lots of people here have 2 or more that are vastly different in size.

Do you mean let MavRik out of the pen first? That may send the wrong message to both of the dogs and create more trouble. If you are talking about outside time, that may be a good idea. Lots of safe exercise (walks, fetch) to wear him out would be helpful.

I would work on training MavRik to understand key words and phrases like "slow down" or "not so rough." He should know basic commands like sit, stay, and down. Basic training will help calm him and open him to your direction. Use time outs as the last resort when he doesn't respond. The key is to make sure MavRik knows which behavior is not desirable.

Also, make sure little Kyoti has a place to get away from MavRik if he wants to. With older, bigger dogs, most people suggest a couch. I can't think of any suggestions right now for a smaller dog to escape the larger dog.

I have 4 Yorkies, Tessie is 12 lbs, Calvin 11 lbs, Hobbes 16 lbs, and Sassy 8 lbs. Hobbes likes to bully the other dogs especially Calvin, they are from the same mom and dad just different litters. Hobbes has never seriously injured him but if he gets too rough we also put him in time out, usually on the porch (weather permitting) he know what this means. They are both neutered so this has helped. Hobbes is really very loving. Sassy is their sister from a different litter, and she is the wildest, she loves to snap at them and is especially mean to Tessie, is suppose to be the alpha dog. I have started separating her ( in laundry room) when she gets to wild. She will be spayed on June 14, praying this will calm her down but she is still a puppy ( 8 months old) I think what you are doing should help with time. Have you tried puppy classes this helped with Tessie.

My yorkie puppy is now bigger than our young toy poodle. Yorkie is around 7 pounds (7 months) while the poodle is 5 pounds. They play really rough together. The yorkie is notorious for grabbing flappy poodle ears and hanging on for dear life. She does this to both of my poodles, actually. Our boy is 9 pounds (10 years).

We try to keep an eye on the playing and just use our usual Uh-Uh or OOPS for behavior we deem too wild. The same word we use for missing the mark in training. It took a while for everyone to catch on, but they have.

Every time we leave the house - even for a bit - I put the puppy in her pen so everyone is safe when there is no supervision.

I have noticed, as the puppy has grown, that the bigger, older dog has become a better suited playmate. The small one loved her at first, but now that the yorkie is bigger, the small one gets overwhelmed and - trying to slow or stop the play - ends up hurting the puppy, making her yelp. That puts a stop or gives a break.

Our older, 9# guy can blow her off or stop her without hurting her - he's not overwhelmed. So I've encouraged them to play more and the others to play less.