Lab puppy pulling other pet dog's ears

[Calla]

Hi all,

I have an 8 month old lab and 3 American Cocker Spaniels. The lab (Quinn/female) has a great and different relationship with each of them. Quinn respects the oldest male Cocker (annoys him but understands when corrected by Cocker) and the youngest male Cocker (3 yrs old) is Quinn's playmate/snuggle bud/wrestler/best friend. My question is in regards to the middle female Cocker (5 yrs old). They get along GREAT and hang out outside together as both are obsessed with playing ball and will snuggle/sleep together BUT when Quinn is excited or just happy to see her cocker sister (Maya) she licks her face (with enthusiasm!!) which is kinda okay but she will also pull her long Cocker ears (and will drag her a bit). Maya DOES NOT like this, nor do I. Maya will correct her and pin Quinn's head to the ground but this just makes Quinn even happier, thinking it's a fun game. Maya is 24 lbs....Quinn is 65 lbs so not a lot of correcting by the cocker can be accomplished.

I KNOW its typical puppy behavior and I'm hoping she will grow out of it soon but thought others may have some tips/advice. I am generally very, very lucky that I have 4 dogs that get along so very well and this is a minor lil thing but it sure would be nice if it would stop :-) and I don't want any future problems to develop in their relationship because of this (ie Cocker feeling intimidated)

Thanks so much for any thoughts,
Janet, Riley, Maya, Sam & Quinn

[SunDance]

I'd be using "leave it"...I use that for a lot of things. It sure worked well for us with our cats...."leave it...no kitty". "Leave it...no ears!" Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

[Labradorks]

You might put a drag leash on her and before she gets to the point where she is over-threshold (if you can get there in time), grab a hold of the leash with a treat on her nose, guiding her (possibly partially pulling with the leash), telling her to leave it and once she is away from the other dog, praise and treat.

This will take awhile, especially if she has been doing it for sometime. Old habits are hard to break. Be patient but above all, be consistent.

[arentspowell]

My dachshund does this to my lab, actually. She bites at her ears and her legs. I allow the ear biting as I don't think Lily is biting down hard. Daisy lays down sometimes and mouths back at her in a playful way. Daisy usually walks away when she's had enough. I only intervene with a NO when Lily starts biting at Daisy's legs and trying to shake them like a toy.

[Snowshoe]

This is tough because your Cocker is so small and Quinn does not seem to respect being told off. My dog would do the same thing as Maya but we have had a neighbour's dog, about the same size and weight as Oban, take repeated pinnings till she got the message to NOT run full tilt into his face in his own yard or down the trail. She still does it to other dogs though and some of them won't tell her off at all. Maybe Quinn will "get it" but I think till she does, since she could hurt Maya, you will have to intervene to prevent it happening. Teaching LEAVE IT will help but you will need close supervision so you'll know when to say it.

[Jodysh]

We are having a similar issue with Gambit (9.5 weeks) and the big fat senior wiener. He seems to be focused on Hershey. Hershey has gotten after him a few times to let him know he crossed the line. But it doesn't seem to matter. The other wiener (my mom and dad's dog) and my Mal (doodle) both have gotten after him as well, but they will also play with him. Hershey will not play with him. He wants no part of it. I wondered if that could be the reason Gambit still wants to be a pest to Hershey.

We keep a lead on him in the house most of the time. Maybe we'll have to start keeping treats close by so we can try the above technique with 'leave it'.

[Doreen Davis]

Leave it and I'd try the dragging leash thing too.