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Leaving Two Puppies Together One Day A Week


Katcha
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Looking for some general advice about when people recommend leaving puppies alone together. (If at all?) It is my dog and my brothers dog so I am not talking about all the time. We would hope to eventually do it perhaps once a week but not until we are happy they will get on well with each other.

A bit of background on the puppies. One is a female Staffy, 7 months and the other is a male Staffy x Boxer, 4 months. They are now roughly the same height but she is heavier/stockier. Initially he was more dominant but this didn't last long and now it is pretty even.

Currently they are very active together but do eventually take breaks from chasing and biting each other. They take turns and do seem to be happy together. Infrequently one has bitten too hard and they have let the other one know.They have spent up to 6 hours together under supervision. They have spent time together around 10 times, most of these for 2-3 hours and at both our houses- inside and outside. Although they take naps, it is not nearly as much as they do when they are each alone.

Would really appreciate any advice on this. I know there will be a range of opinions and open to hearing them all!

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Personally I wouldn't BUT my dogs are sports dogs so I like them to relax when I'm out and play awesome games with ME in training. I'm horribly risk averse too so my adults don't hang out together until I'm confident they will sleep the day away rather than wrestling and possibly getting injured. That said I put a lot of time and effort into my dogs and, when I leave the house it's like "thank goodness! Now we can get some sleep!!! :laugh:

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As a general rule, I would not recommend leaving puppy or adolescent dogs together unsupervised. They can do a great deal of damage to each other with absolutely no malice involved, just by exuberant play. Keep their play dates supervised until they are well and truly adult and have calmed down a little.

While they are young tire them out individually with 10 minutes of brain work a couple of times a day (sit, stay, come, walk quietly, etc etc and some trick training). Not only will your "clever" trained dog impress your friends, the training will also be a bonding experience.

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Thanks for the replies and advice everyone. It just seems like such a long time to wait until they are adults!! I can understand the benefits and risks though. It is a shame there isn't an adult dog around to regulate their play a bit - that is my understanding of it anyway. I have noticed they have calmed down more with each other with each progressive play date. Is that likely to continue?

Showdog- yes she has been sprayed. How does this influence things from your perspective? Thanks!

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Showdog- yes she has been sprayed. How does this influence things from your perspective? Thanks!

Only asked as she is at an age she could have come in season & not everyone realizes & as the other dog is a male bitches besides the obvious can be mated they can also turn into a hormonal time bomb in two young dogs testing the boundaries .

It just seems like such a long time to wait until they are adults!!

Not at all because there adults for a very long time but do it all wrong & they may not be friends ,you have two breeds that can often not understand personal space & gentle which can lead to non intended reaction

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Thanks for the reply persephone. We still haven't decided! In one month I will be back to full time so can't supervise the dogs if I were to take mine over to my brothers on a weekday. I guess it just about weighing up the risks of them injuring themselves vs the benefit of them enjoying each others company.

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My two dogs are only about 3 months different in age and have been left together ever since they were 4 and 7 months with no issues.

I wouldn't rush but as long as they get along well generally I wouldn't be against it if they were mine.

Edited by Dame Aussie
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I would leave them together, when i am done assessing the risk of a fight occurring between the two. and the outcome is low.

My pup arrives in 5 weeks. It will be left with my other dogs from the get go, i am very confident, no harm will come to pup from my 2 dogs.

Dogs fight, it is part of the repertoire of behaviours. It is a very very rare dog, that does not stop fighting, when the other dog gives up. Spend your next 2hrs of observing them, filming a dog play fight between the 2 dogs. And watch it repeatedly. All the 'that's enough' calming signals being sent, and how they are responded to.

In season. All bets are off, as stated earlier in this thread. Get that bitch desexed. Its a health intervention method that's beneficial for non breeding bitches. Prevents uterine and mammory cancers. worth it.

Bitches are called bitches for a reason! especially in season.

Edited by sporti
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My pup arrives in 5 weeks. It will be left with my other dogs from the get go, i am very confident, no harm will come to pup from my 2 dogs.

And I hope you're correct in that belief .

leaving a baby puppy unsupervised with two large dogs who enjoy fence running , and who play/spat roughly is not anything I'd recommended , or do. We have koolies- working dogs - and when we have puppies, they are in a pen unless we are there to supervise - it's just too risky with the size/weight difference :(

Are your dogs used to puppies? Sometimes dogs unused to little pups can be a bit harsh in corrections :(

I would also be concerned that whatever unwanted habits the adults have will be picked up very quickly by a puppy .

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sporti - be aware that it is possible that the two older dogs will fight over the puppy ie treat it as a "possession", as well as push and (unintentionally) injure the baby even if they are quite relaxed when together.

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sporti - be aware that it is possible that the two older dogs will fight over the puppy ie treat it as a "possession", as well as push and (unintentionally) injure the baby even if they are quite relaxed when together.

yes :( I have had this happen here - where one gets very snarky , and won't let the other near a youngster ...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Oops didn't see these other replies. Thanks Dame Aussie and Sport for your replies!

So far we haven't left them alone together. I think we might wait until they've both grown up a bit! They will still see each other supervised.

Thanks everyone. :)

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I had a 10 week old pup that came into work with it's entire mandible de-gloved - an innocent act that had occurred whilst playing with the older dog that like to tug and bite on the face of the puppy.

Not worth the risk IMO - but I dont let my dogs mingle at all :laugh:

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