Dog Community

Large Puppy Tormenting Adult Pug

Posted : 8/20/2009 2:03:53 PM

Our pug is 3 years old. He is in good health and a great, even tempered dog. When we brought him home a puppy we had a 3 year old Lab. The pug and the lab became great friends. They would rough house all the time. The pug would hide and jump out on to the lab and play attack her. The lab would roll on to her back and let the pug jump on her. Or many times she would flip the pug over and grab him but the butt and gently swoosh him around the hard wood floor. Anyway, my point being they were very good friends and were very close.

The lab passed away this year. She was only 6 and died of lymphoma. The pug was very sad. About 6 months later we adopted a new puppy. She was 13 weeks when we brought her home. She has been in our house for a month now. She is a lab/plott hound mix (at least thats what her mom was) and is already 30 pounds. She's gonna be a big dog. We figured the pug would be happy to have another large dog pack member.

The pup seems to terrorize the pug. At first I figured the best thing to do was to just let them work out their differences and who is the dominant dog and all that. The problem is that the puppy wants to constantly play with the pug and she plays pretty rough. Not biting or viscious, just rough because she is so big. She pounces on him and when he tries to run, she bites his tail and holds him there and pulls him back in. When she approaches, the pugs tail uncurls and he gets stressed. If he can get away, he runs and hides under furniture. When they are in the same room the pug just stays up on the back of the couch trying to be far away from her - and us a lot of the time. And now he won't even go out side if she is around and he has started to go to the bathroom inside the house which he has NEVER done. I'm not sure this is a matter of letting them work out who is the dominant dog anymore. There have been a couple of times where the pug has had a bone and the puppy wanted it and the pug stood his ground and put the puppy in her place. But that has only happened twice. The rest of the time, the pug seems very stressed by the puppys play. Again, its not viscious at all, just large puppy rough housing. No one is hurt during it.

We aren't sure what to do now. I am thinking we may need to start playing referee and not letting the puppy play with the pug at all anymore. Where as before we though we were supposed to just letting them work things out. I feel bad because the pug was always so happy to play with the lab, they were very close. I thought having another big dog would be fun for him too.

Anyone have any advice?

BEVOLASVEGAS

Posted : 8/20/2009 2:17:27 PM

I would teach the puppy the "settle" command. As soon as she starts getting too rough, she, IMO, needs to be stopped & allowed time to settle down & regain her composure, as opposed to being allowed to continue to harass the pug.

winterwolfes

Posted : 8/20/2009 2:30:38 PM

That's along the lines of what we were thinking we needed to start to do. She has a good temperament, but she is very big and awkward so she is clumsy and just over all large and over bearing so nothing she does is really gentle yet. We think she may have some great dane in her based on some of her features. She could be a fairly big dog. She is very sweet and I was hoping the pug would take control the way he did with out lab after he grew up. But it hasn't been the case.

glenmar

Posted : 8/20/2009 4:06:07 PM

How old is the pup? Typically an older dog will give a pup "license" until about 4 months of age before putting her in her place.

I agree, a settle command is crucial.

winterwolfes

Posted : 8/20/2009 5:41:34 PM

The pup is 4 months. I thought that way about it at first too so we were letting them work it out which is what I figured would happen. But the pug is stressing out and doesn't even hang out with the family anymore. He just hides whenever the puppy is around with his tail completely uncurled and his body kind of cringing a bit and he is now going to the bathroom in the house. I think its too much for him and we are going to have to start settling the pup down and not letting her trap him the way she does. That what causes him to run and hide under furniture and then he won't come back out.

calliecritturs

Posted : 8/20/2009 6:15:38 PM

See the tables are turned -- young pugs have little concept of "enough". Tink harasses Luna BEYOND BELIEF. Luna takes it -- luna LOVES it ... Tink has even taught Billy to "play" some -- which is pretty astounding.

BUT I have absolutely no doubt that if Tink were a bit older and suddenly settled -- would she allow a bigger YOUNGER dog to do to HER what she has done to Luna? noooooooo way ....

I've seen Tink sail thru the house DRAGGING Luna by her ear all the way (basset beagle mix) literally with Luna's whole ear flap wadded up INSIDE the pug's mouth. Eventually the pug will settle -- and once they do they are major couch potatos. They just want to lie on a "pug pile" (i.e., a pile of humans, other dogs, or other pugs all simply breathing and cuddling) and that's their nirvana.

Unfortunately it would likely have been a better choice to have gotten an older dog. Not an "old" dog but not one so full of rambunctious play. Suddenly the pug doesn't know the rules AND this is just plain "different".

They will ultimately bond, but you're going to have to teach the pup to be respectful. Honestly? I'd also do something WITH the pug -- like some obedience classes or something to give the pug some quality time alone

winterwolfes

Posted : 8/20/2009 6:48:37 PM

Thank you so much for this post. You understand completely the situation and I think what you are saying is exactly it. Too funny you pug is named Tink, ours is Pluto :) Pluto has become over the last 8 months or a couch potato. I guess his potatoness just happened to coincide with the lab's death so we didn't notice it so much cause there was no other dog around to play with. He does still love to run with older dogs when he gets the chance. The "pug pile" is funny. We say that Pluto just goes around knowing that everyone just wants him in their lap.

thanks for this post.