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  1. #1
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    Getting year old lab to play nice with puppy-help!

    Magnus is our friends' 13 month old English lab. He's a huge tank of love, and we had great hopes that he'll be a good playmate for Stormy. He's pretty big, but the vet encouraged us to get the two together as soon as we could. We did this morning, and, well...

    Magnus was WILD to play with her. He's played with puppies and small dogs occasionally, but his last playtime was with a big shepherd mix and they played rough. Unfortunately, Magnus seemed to think that was how to approach Stormy, who is smaller than his head. He would lunge at her and play nip. Magnus was being held by his owner and DH had Stormy so contact was never made. When we put her down, Stormy was more interested in exploring Magnus's yard, but every now and then, she'd come close-ish to him and bark at him- which totally cowed him!

    So, not what we'd hoped for. Magnus's owner had exercised him previously to our arrival, but he was still way over-excited. I would love ideas on how to make this relationship work. They both desperately *want* to play, and Magnus is the only dog we know that is fully vaccinated and friendly.

    Right now my thought is to just keep introducing them in short bursts to desensitize Magnus. In six months to a year Stormy will be big enough that this won't be such a worry, but are there things/strategies we can do in the meantime?
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
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  2. #2
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    Our Brutus was 10 when we got Hershey and they were in love at first sight. Bru was mellow, though....we never had to worry about them being together even when things sounded and looked fierce. I think you're on the right track for desensitizing....your priority is to keep Stormy safe. But once that happens (with certainty), you really won't necessarily have to be concerned with the size difference:

    -copyofbrutusandhersheyjpg-jpg

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Well... I'd probably not let my tiny puppy play with a 13 month old Labrador. At least, not the *typical* 13 month old Labrador. And, I'm surprised your vet encouraged it! Most of my friends' vets say don't let your tiny puppy play with a Labrador (assuming they go to dog parks where there's lots of Labs and a free-for-all situation). We laugh about it and my boys are pretty good, but they are also five and eight, and have way more training than the typical dog. Most of the issues are when the boys get going and just run over the puppy. I watch them like a hawk and BEFORE they get to the point where they are going to run over everything in their path, I call them in for cookies.

    But, if you really want this to work out, I'd start with leash walking side-by-side and work on bringing them back from playing or visiting with food, just to practice stopping play if things are getting or are going to get wacky. They teach this in STAR puppy, if you are going to do that. And, I'd do it with a leash on while walking to start. My dogs react to "HEY!" (or sometimes, "JESUS! ENOUGH!" by stopping and coming to me for a cookie and then we walk to the cookie jar, they each get a cookie and the situation is deflated. I utilize this when they are getting rough (or particularly annoying). Make sure your friend is working with her dog with other dogs. If she allows him to get crazy with other dogs (dog parks, doggy daycare, etc.) and has different expectations for when he plays with your puppy, that's not going to work and it's not fair to the dog.

    Once you're comfortable on leash and the dogs can break from play, try going to a big field type area and walk together off leash. If you just stand there, the dogs will wrestle and play, but if you walk, there may be some playing and chasing, but also sniffing and something else to focus on besides each other. So maybe this is a field, a nature trail, a beach area. Keep the big dog on a long line if you think you can handle it without someone getting tangled up and hurt, so that you can pull them apart or pull him back. The worst is when a big dog starts chasing a puppy and the big dog is not reading the puppy well and the puppy runs someplace unsafe (street, parking lot, etc.).

    Another thing, is having the two together in your home without playing but with a barrier. So, both in crates next to each other with Kongs. This way, they become acclimated to one another but not focused on one another. If you do this long enough, by the time you let them out they should not be too over the top. But, if they won't eat and are just barking trying to get to each other, you have an overarousal issue, so put crates across the room from eachother and slowly move them closer.

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  5. #4
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    You know, we’ve been wondering about the vet’s advice here. Luckily, we found a local puppy play group today and Stormy had a FANTASTIC time with a pit mix puppy. I think we’ll stick to the puppy group for now and try with Magnus again when she’s a little bigger and more confident around other dogs.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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  7. #5
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    I've been lucky with Sophie and her interactions with both Bruce and Brooks when they were babies. She seem to instinctively know they were babies, and despite how much the puppies would torture her, especially Brooks, she knew just how hard she could play with them. Now when the pups got older, 4-5 months, it was game on and Sophie rules the roost. She could/can easily put Bruce and Brooks on there heads.

    I would agree with starting to walk them together on leash, letting them sniff and interact with them under your control. I think if you could do this several times per week Stormy and Magnus would know each other quite well by the time she's big enough to play with him off leash.

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  9. #6
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Labradorks' suggestions sound good to me, too. When we brought Henry home we weren't certain how Lark was going to be, she's generally OK around small dogs but hadn't been around young puppies. The whole being in adjacent crates and viewing each other across a baby gate until some of the novelty had worn off was how we approached things. Henry wanted to jump on Lark and bite and play but after a few minutes, she'd be pinning him down for longer than seemed necessary. Now that he's 4 1/2 months old and 40+ pounds, they are better matched and he isn't quite the tender morsel he was when he was younger. That puppy play group sounds great.

  10. #7
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    Excellent news: It took 2 more months and some cautious introductions, but Stormy and Magnus are now fast friends. They play chase and wrestle and yes, Stormy dominates him, lol.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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  12. #8
    Senior Dog SamsonsMom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kimbersmom View Post
    Excellent news: It took 2 more months and some cautious introductions, but Stormy and Magnus are now fast friends. They play chase and wrestle and yes, Stormy dominates him, lol.
    Awesome update!

  13. #9
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    Pictures please
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