Why is my puppy so rough with my old dog? Is it dominance behavior?

Question

Koba is 6 nearly 7 months old and I have a male retriever nearly 17 years old koba is hurting him when they play how do i get him to stop or even play nice I think he might be trying to assert his dominance could I be right? Pet's info: Dog | Rottweiler | Male | unneutered

Rodrigo Roca, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, thank you for your question about Koba. It is possible that the behavior Koba is exhibiting is to exert his dominance or because he would like you're other dog to play with him but Koba is being to rough. In these types of situations it is usually necessary for the older dog to set boundaries for Koba - i.e. if Koba bites his ear your other dog barks/growls at Koba, letting him know that this behavior is not ok. If your older dog is not demonstrating any of this assertive behavior to help Koba set boundaries one thing you could try would be redirecting him. If he begins to play rough and you are concerned that he is hurting your other dog remove Koba from the situation. I would recommend disciplining him to let him know this behavior is not ok. Then after a few minutes you could give him something else to entertain him such as an interactive toy. Hope this helps, good luck!

Why is my puppy so rough with my old dog? Is it dominance behavior?

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