Is this real or just puppy play??

Hi all,

I'm sure this question has been asked before but I need advice..

A friend of mine has a male puppy from the same litter as Steffi, they are 10 weeks old now... Today we had a puppy play date with Steffs brother and although he is 1 1/2 times her size she seemed to totally dominate him.. She was really aggressive growling, showing her teeth and biting him.. She even made him bleed a little.. He was so excited and was really playful and happy and she seemed just nasty towards him.. I felt terrible when poor Jett had a scratch on his face from her The only time this behaviour stopped was when they were both became tired and then she played nice and they fell asleep together..

I have socialised her quite a lot, her other brother visited 2 weeks ago and she reacted the same to him as she did today but I put that down to him being in her home.. I had a friend visit through the week with a 6 week old pup and although she played too rough as Lou Lou is still so tiny there was no growling or biting or aggression.. She often visits the adult staffy next door and she is always so well behaved and polite with her.. Is this normal for pups from the same litter to be like this or do I have an issue with my girl???

Tommy is very rough in general with play and they do play very rough in the litter but I have no experience of post separation meetings , will do soon though as Tommy will be meeting his sister and his mum and dad again next month when we are all doing a charity walk

Dave wrote:Tommy is very rough in general with play and they do play very rough in the litter but I have no experience of post separation meetings , will do soon though as Tommy will be meeting his sister and his mum and dad again next month when we are all doing a charity walk

Let me know how you go... I realise they play really rough but this seemed to me like aggression... Maybe I'm reading too much into it as Jett was just sooo layed back and easy going that it made Steff seem so over the top.. My computer is playing up at the moment but you will laugh when I can post the pics.. He is sooo much bigger than her she was like a minature next to him but she was definately Alpha.. He was just such a big sook

maybe he was picked on in the litter so getting his own back

Hmm Maybe... She is the "runt" she is by far the smallest, but like me I suppose she tiny with massive attitude

Dave wrote:maybe he was picked on in the litter so getting his own back

Sorry "She " , and yes there is also little person syndrome to think about in all of this

Sorry "She " , and yes there is also little person syndrome to think about in all of this [/quote]

Well that is something I do have experience with

When we went to visit Percy in the rescue centre before bringing him home, he had real issues with his brother who was still waiting to be rehomed, he played really nicely with his two sisters, but was quite rough towards his brother. Since we've had him he's socialised and played well with every dog we have ever met, big and small. I guess he just didn't like his brother very much.

We're meeting back up in oct for a charity walk at the rescue centre so will see how they get on being a bit older etc

X

Just try to keep her well socialised with other dogs of all sizes and ages, I'm sure she will be OK.

I can't tell you how many times Loki's made me bleed from all of the biting even though he's playing. I imagine it can be the same when puppies play. I mean, those teeth are very sharp. I don't know, but I don't see why a puppy would be overly-aggressive towards a puppy that you say was calm and playful.

Sometimes littermates just don't get along. As long as you keep socializing her with other dogs I wouldn't worry.

What was she like in the litter? Size means very little to siblings. Dempsey was by far the smallest in the litter, but he was the toughest.

Caryll wrote:What was she like in the litter? Size means very little to siblings. Dempsey was by far the smallest in the litter, but he was the toughest.

Everytime i went to visit her (which was often) she was really lovely, but with hindsight she was pretty dominant, over the food and she liked to be left alone a lot more than the other pups, they would all be huddled together and she would be on her own.. Maybe she just does not like her brothers

She gets her 2nd shots this Friday so I will be able to walk her and socialise a lot more in a couple of weeks.. Fingers crossed with her puppy training this dosen't happen with any other dogs..

This is Steff with her brother Jett (moo cow) She is half his size but twice the attitude...

Wow, they look so different. Great pictures though

ANattyRat wrote:Wow, they look so different. Great pictures though

I know.. It's hard to believe they are siblings hey... There were 6 in the litter and 2 were very similiar and the rest were all completely different.. But they were all soooo cute..





Not a very good pic..