# Small dog annoys large dog



## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

I have two dogs: one a 4 1/2 yr. rescued standard size dog (60 lbs.) who was a kennel dog and a small size, 20 lb dog. The smaller 1 1/2 yr. old dog, Doodle, when she wants to play will bark at the larger (Sydney) dog until she plays and the annoying part is that Doodle & Sydney "mouth" each other back and forth and sometimes get so carried away that they have ripped and chewed the slipcover and a blanket I have on my couches. Doodle puts her front paws on Sydney and walks around w/her as she is mouthing her. She will also walk on the couches along w/Sydney mouthing her as she is walking by them. How can I get Doodle to stop this behavior? I have started putting her back in the crate as I did when she was a pup. She, of course, will stop if I she's in her crate or if I "yell" at her to "leave it" but that is just a temporary fix. It's so annoying (to me, more than Sydney). They both get along wonderfully well - they play together, sleep together, eat together. AND, Doodle also starts this behavior when I give Sydney attention. Jealousy, perhaps?

Let me just say both of my dogs are part poodles and I was told poodles are higher strung. I was told that Doodle being 1 1/2 yrs. old and part poodle will grow out of her "puppyish" behavior by 3 yrs. old. I never heard that before but then I've never owned a dog that was part poodle. I also was told by a trainer that if Sydney didn't like it she would let Doodle know in not uncertain terms. 

One of my concerns is that Doodle is now mouthing one of my cats (a small 10lb. rescued Persian) and I'm concerned that she may hurt him. My other two cats are 16 and 20 lbs and are almost the same size as Doodle and they ignore her. I'm usually around to stop the behavior w/the cat but sometimes I'm not and my Persian is such a gentle cat I don't want him to become aggressive or shy because of this. Maybe I'm overreacting!?!?


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

ChattyCathy said:


> Doodle, when she wants to play will bark at the larger (Sydney) dog until she plays and the annoying part is that Doodle & Sydney "mouth" each other back and forth .....


Everything you describe is normal puppy/dog play. Don't worry about it. The less you intefere, the happier everyone will be, including you.



> She, of course, will stop if I she's in her crate or if I "yell" at her to "leave it" but that is just a temporary fix.


Then don't yell. It's not changing anything.



> It's so annoying (to me, more than Sydney).


Exactly. Sidney will let her know when he is tired of it.



> They both get along wonderfully well - they play together, sleep together, eat together. AND, Doodle also starts this behavior when I give Sydney attention. Jealousy, perhaps?


Just normal dog stuff. You are creating a problem in your mind where no problem exists. Both dogs are happy and enjoying life together. Enjoy it with them. Enjoy watching them interact.



> Let me just say both of my dogs are part poodles and I was told poodles are higher strung. I was told that Doodle being 1 1/2 yrs. old and part poodle will grow out of her "puppyish" behavior by 3 yrs. old.


Being part poodle has nothing to do with any of this and yes she will grow out of it somewhere around 3 years old. Someday when they are both too old to play and they have a difficult time walking and moving and can't see good nor hear good, you will long for these days to be back. Enjoy it with them.



> I also was told by a trainer that if Sydney didn't like it she would let Doodle know in not uncertain terms.


Exactly correct.



> One of my concerns is that Doodle is now mouthing one of my cats (a small 10lb. rescued Persian) and I'm concerned that she may hurt him. My other two cats are 16 and 20 lbs and are almost the same size as Doodle and they ignore her. I'm usually around to stop the behavior w/the cat but sometimes I'm not and my Persian is such a gentle cat I don't want him to become aggressive or shy because of this. Maybe I'm overreacting!?!?


Most definately you are overreacting. If Doodle hasn't hurt the cat by now, she won't. I have 2 Great Danes and 2 cats. Its the cats responsibility to avoid the dogs when necessary. They have escape plans from anywhere in the house. They usually run under or behind furnature but occasionally will jump up on a table or something out of reach of the dogs. Other times a dog and a cat will lie together or they will touch noses or other things that friends do. I just stay out of it and let them handle it.

The cats can read the dogs and know when to avoid them and when to play with them. The less you intefere with any of them in their relationships the better things will be.


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## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

Thanks so much! Your comments puts me more at ease. I'll just leave them alone!:biggrin:


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> Most definately you are overreacting. If Doodle hasn't hurt the cat by now, she won't. I have 2 Great Danes and 2 cats. Its the cats responsibility to avoid the dogs when necessary. They have escape plans from anywhere in the house. They usually run under or behind furnature but occasionally will jump up on a table or something out of reach of the dogs. Other times a dog and a cat will lie together or they will touch noses or other things that friends do. I just stay out of it and let them handle it.
> 
> The cats can read the dogs and know when to avoid them and when to play with them. The less you intefere with any of them in their relationships the better things will be.


Cats with claws will make it known right from the beginning who's boss of the house! I have 6 big dogs and take in foster cats, as well as 4 permanant cats. The dogs learned long ago when to leave the cats alone. Hissing and a swat on the nose with a paw full of claws is usually all it takes to tell the dogs to back off. I let them fight their own battles and the cats win every time. I had one foster cat that had a litter of kittens, she'd sit in the middle of the living room and hissed and growled at any dog that came within 6 feet of her. I have an Anatolian/Chow/Akita mix that would run upstairs to avoid being in the same room with that cat. So much for having high prey drive, cats should fear her, instead she fears the cats! 


Yes, dogs will play rough with each other and even though it looks and sounds bad to us sometimes, we can usually tell the difference between rough play and a real fight.


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## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

Wow! You sure have a big animal household. Must be fun to watch them all interact w/each other. Thanks for your advice.

My cats are front declawed. But I noticed that the brother and sister cat know when to walk by or slink by the dogs or when to avoid them. Thanks so much for your input... then I'll just let the rescue cat learn the same as the others did. Now that you mention it, rarely do the cats hiss at all! Which is a good thing!!!!! Never thought of it that way.

It's good to know I was just overreacting. :biggrin:


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