[haileyandgabby]

We have a 13 month old German Shepherd Dog, whose name is Hailey. she is a very enthusiastic girl. One of those dogs that's just happy around the clock, and LOVES dogs & people. This weekend we got an 8 week old Australian Shepherd who is generally a submissive quiet puppy that wants to be hugged and pet very often. Hailey continuely runs over to the puppy and grooms her with her mouth in a bite type motion-but not a bite at all (if you have a dog that does this, you'll understand what I mean). The puppy will then get annoyed after a bit and nip at Hailey, which makes Hailey think it's a game but the other puppy certainly doesn't enjoy it. (65 lb dog & a 5 lb dog, at the moment)

The puppy will follow Hailey around sometimes, and even exchanges kissies, but this problem really concerns us & we'd like to fix it within the next 2 weeks. If not, we'll have to return the puppy to the breeder, we can't have her living in an enviroment where she dislikes a member of the family.


I'm welcome to any & all suggestions-In most new ppuy scenerios, it's the older dog annoyed by the young one though, which is why I am so baffled.

[micki]

When they kiss who is licking who's mouth. Submissive dogs lick the dominant ones mouth.
Some puppies can be more dominant and will try to see where they fit.
And maybe the pup is just tired of the older dog's attentions you might have to continue to intervene until the pup is larger.

[haileyandgabby]

Thank you for commenting!

When kissing, both are actually licking each other, either taking turns or at the same time. If this helps, there is no toy/food/treat etc. aggression against each other or humans, it just happens as the older tries to either herd the puppy or groom it.

[micki]

Maybe you will just have to watch them until the pup grows and you can see who is dominant.