Teaching puppy to place nice

[thomas2717]

Hello Everyone:

How do you teach a puppy to place nice? Our 4 month old Sonya, is very confident about the dog park. She plays well with most dogs although she is very "Vocal" in her play. When it comes to dogs or puppies smaller than her she tends to bark a lot & sort of growl at them .. and it is clear that few of the smaller ones don't wanna play with her. She does not bite or nip them but chases them .. We try and divert her attention to other playmates. Also we notice that her barking is mostly during playtime (at house she is very calm and quiet - )

Any advice on teaching Sonya to play nice?



Sonya playing with a bulldog:

[BanaerEskies]

first off, eskies play ruff and are very vocal.

If you can find someone with a dog that naturally teaches puppies how to play, that is the easiest way to train them, but obviously the hardest thing to find unless you just happen upon them.  You could ask your teacher at puppy kindergarten she may have or know of someone.  If she goes to doggie daycare they usually know which dogs they have that do this. 

you can also just end game when you are unhappy with the behaviour.  I use "too bad"  and remove the dog from the situation.  They quickly learn what triggers my behaviour.  For my dogs I don't allow excessive growling.  I can just say "no growl" and they will wrestle quietly.  The are all 3+ years old though, so it took some time to get there.  Just be consist on what you will and will not allow. 

you can also sit close by while they are playing and praise the type of play you like and stop the type of play you do not.  Tell her "be gentle"  when you like what she is doing so that you will build that into a command.

Edited to add: the dog park kind of complicates it as she is playing with a variety of dogs who have a variety of styles of play.  Also, other people may not like your definition of acceptable and your interference in the play of their dog while you are training your dog.  I don't do dog parks...ever.  You just don't know that all dogs are safe to be around your dog...both healthwise and behaviourally.

[thomas2717]

Thank You Banner_Eskies! We have been giving her timeouts!

We were very against taking her to dog parks, but Sonya was very shy when she initially came to us (at around 11 weeks). We took her to puppy socialization classes and she wouldn't play with anyone. When we were walking in our lake park, we found the dog park which has 2 parks for smaller (<25) & larger dogs. We kept her to the smaller one - which has anywhere between 3 - 6 dogs during evening hours. We keep an eye on her the entire time. The dog park helped her tremendously to gain confidence but it seems that she is also taking it as an advantage on the smaller ones ... sigh .. 

I will .. The trainer at puppy socialization class did have her dog (a 5 yr old Cocker Spaniel) which she uses as an enforcer to teach puppies to play nice - I will inquire with her & our day care if they could help me find a suitable paw friend for sonya 


Thank You

[NalaAndQuinnsMom]

I agree with every Nancy has just said.  I differ with her in only one aspect...I do like dog parks.  I enjoy doing some socializing there and for the most part my experience has been a good one but I might just be lucky.  There are people there whom I don't like and there are dogs there I don't like and we either leave when those people or dogs come in or we just walk right past the park if they are already in there.  

As Nancy said, Eskies play very rough and are very vocal which can often give the impression of them not playing nice.  People are often very shocked when mine are playing and wrestling because they look and sound like they are killing each other...it is an extremely rare case that I have to step in and separate Nala and Quinn.  They also LOVE LOVE LOVE to play chase...with each other and with other dogs.  Quinn tries often to engage other dogs in this game so she will bark at them and chase them because she wants them to chase her.  It is totally innocent and I don't step in because she will eventually back off if the other dog isn't interested and in the rare case she doesn't then I step in.  

I would like to point out that there are differences in growls and barks.  You have to remember that this is one way they communicate...not all growling is bad and neither is all barking.  Nala always growls at me but it is the tone of the growl and her body language that tell me she is playing or trying to tell me something (like, HEY, I want some attention mom!).  I don't worry about her growling at me because A.) I know in what context she's doing it, and B.) I am the boss and she recognizes that and doesn't challenge me on it.  

My advice would be to sit back and observe the situation.  You will start to notice the difference between good and bad barking and good and bad growling...it is all about tone and body language.  For example, high pitched barking usually means they are saying hello, like when you come home, or during playtime, so it's good, and in some cases it can mean they are nervous which is bad but you will see a distinct difference in body language between these two scenarios.  Bad signs to look for are stiff tail, tail between legs, baring teeth with lips drawn back and tense(baring some teeth during play is normal), snarling (totally different than growling), ears back or pricked forward, and narrowed eyes...in fact eyes can be the best indicator.  Here's a pretty good website on body language...http://www.pawsacrossamerica.com/interpret.html

Lastly, there is no parallel to having their behavior controlled on command...like Nancy said, "No growl, too bad, be gentle, no bite, etc."