Pup making older dogs jowls sore

Hi having looked through a lot of great info on here I think I am doing more or less everything right so far. I have a 2 year old staffy bitch and we recently bought a new pup now 9 weeks old. They get on great and love to play and for the most time play is absolutely normal however just now and then a we have to calm them down with a time out session which again is no probs and I see as absolutely normal. One problem I do have and am looking for any advice is that the pup does tend to nip and hang on to my older dogs jowls (I hope that is the right spelling and name if not I mean her top lips that hang down ) . This has caused little sores about the size of 20p pieces, they are not deep and only grazes and I have spoken with the vet who advised I use suddo cream which we do and does help stop any infection.
I know play is play and in all fairness my older dog returns the favour by very gently mouthing the pups face and yes of course there is the occasional yelp but nothing I am concerned about.
What I am worried about is trying to constantly intervene and saying NO to this biting when I see it happen as I am worried my new puppy will see me as saying NO to actual good play with the older dog. I have introduced toys and rope which work well and I can intervene by encouraging a game of tug instead of mouthing and nipping games on each other but this is very limited in effect and they soon engage again in the mouthing and nipping. In all fairness both dogs are as bad as each other and I am just wondering if anyone has any advice or is it something that will just pass as time goes on. Like I mentioned I do see it as harmless dog fun and it is never nasty or anything like that and my older dog is in no way distressed by anything in fact the opposite. Any guidance or advice very welcome. Thanks

i know i can understand your worry but i think the pup will be fine have you got some puppy toys for the pup to chew on?

I think the older bitch will tell the pup if it goes too far. The pup'll calm down a lot over the next few months & the hanging on will lessen & then probably stop. Just keep an eye on things to make sure your bitch isn't suffering too much!

Thanks guys for the replies and I was thinking along your lines but just nice to hear someone else say the same really. As for puppy toys anyone would think Santa had come early for the pup as there are more toys than poop's if you get my meaning lol.

If the pup goes to far the older one will put it i its place but you have to also, playing is great don't get me wrong but there is a limit. I allow my dogs and pups to play upto a level five anything over and it could cause trouble if it is not controled like an unwanted snap of the older dog and with big jaws like staffy, you don't want or need that. one of the pups i have, used to do the same thing when she was the same age as your pup with her mums ears and cheeks but after corrections she grew out of it.

MissRogue wrote:If the pup goes to far the older one will put it i its place but you have to also, playing is great don't get me wrong but there is a limit. I allow my dogs and pups to play upto a level five anything over and it could cause trouble if it is not controled like an unwanted snap of the older dog and with big jaws like staffy, you don't want or need that. one of the pups i have, used to do the same thing when she was the same age as your pup with her mums ears and cheeks but after corrections she grew out of it.

missrogue how far is a level5??????
and do your pups have a staffy bite coz as iv said before a friend has a staffy jr cross and he hasnt got anywere near the grip of a staff

Thanks missrouge not sure about levels you mentioned but understand what your saying. I do a simple time out session when needed. For example they will be playing tug with a rope and then the rope gets set aside and play fight begins and usually ends up with pup having a nip then running away a few feet and both dogs going down on front paws, pup then runs at my older dog and the fun begins and continues like this. However on occasions you can hear pup getting more and more wound up and a fun growl turns into a snarl at which point I pick her up and let things calm down for 30 seconds and this seems to do the job. Also if I hear pup squeal as I did yesterday as everyone has said here so far i think it was my older dog saying enough was enough. I am if I see pup holding onto my older dogs cheeks stop this by taking her off and giving a firm NO and I have to say she does respond well LOL however the little monkey then goes on to nip at my older dogs legs. She's not daft.
It seems the pup is quite a fast learner as she does react well to the NO command already and I cant believe it but after just two days of house training she has got the concept already and only wants to go outside for her duties. I wonder if the old saying of "to clever for there own good" will rear in the coming months lol. Thanks for the reply however

stevec wrote: I wonder if the old saying of "to clever for there own good" will rear in the coming months lol. Thanks for the reply however

Hahahaha! That sounds very staffy!

The only thing I'd add to everything that's been said is don't leave them unattended. As your pup grows he will become more confident & may resent the older dog 'putting him in his place'. That's when you'll need to get in there with a very firm command. It may not happen, but you never know.

Good luck! He sounds as though he'll learn fast!

lol it made me chuckle when i saw this, My Ty had soooo many puncture marks all over him when we first got kaos at 11 wks. All over his head legs etc but they didnt last long and as soon as pup got his big teeth it was fine. And yes if pup goes to far then older dog will let him no, and as pup gets older the older dog will put up with less. xx