Cross Breeds

How can I stop one of my puppies from constantly beating up on the other?

I have two puppies from the same litter, both females and they are about four months old. The smaller one is constantly picking on her bigger sister. I understand that it is how puppies play but it starts to become a problem because the smaller one causes the other to yelp in pain and still doesn't stop after that. She was a calm puppy before but she is now starting to growl and snap at myself and my family. Is she just trying to establish dominance? My father isn't very understanding and says if it doesn't stop we will have to get rid of her, but I don't want that. Does anyone have any advice on how to stop her behavior?

Public Comments

1. you can gently pinch her ear but get dowm to her level and at the same time tell her "no"
2. IT FEELS THREATIN BECAUSE ITS SO SMALL. TRY PUTTING HER IN ANOTHER ROOM WHEN SHE DOES THAT TO LET HER KNOW THAT ITS NOT OK.
3. Spray here with a mist from a spray bottle every time she miss behaves and tell her no. Don't beat her, but don't back down.
4. The dog trainer on "It's me or the dog" says when this first begins immediatly take the dog trying to establish dominance into another room f (for about 1 min or so) this removes her from the situation and each time she starts to show dominance put her in another room. I say this because you asked how to stop it. Personally I believe dogs will work out their own problems. My dogs hated each other for a month and a half and were constantly growling etc and one day they got over it and are best friends. They have to just work out who can be dominant on their own or they are just playing rough. My dogs occasionally unintentionally hurt each other while wrestling. Your dad needs to get over it.
5. They are establishing a pecking order. I have 2 & the Mommy, they are 5 months old now. They were doing the same thing I just kept on top of the situation & never let one get the best of the other. Now when they start to get a little carried away I can snap my fingers & they stop
6. well i have a puppy and a older dog...and the puppy likes to play rough with the older dog which is smaller now but anyway... when the puppy starts to snap or do whatever you dont want her too i suggest that you take her away from everyone keep her alone shes a dog so the last thing she wants is for her best friends and family to be ignoring her and for herself to be alone so do that and it should improve...umm as for the snapping at you and stuff i think that you are right in a way, she is a puppy so when you tell her no and stuff like that she doesnt exactly understand yet so she thinks your playing with her. i suggest that you make her sit if she knows how to whenever you are giving her something ESPECIALLY her food this will make her remember that you are the boss and that she has to listen to you. im 14 so im trying to learn how to train my dogs and im doing that for my puppy and she is 100% better behavior wise now! hope you dont have to give your dog up
7. If she is now starting to growl at you and your family she is trying to become more dominant over you. She needs to learn that you and your family are higher than her in the pecking order. Like someone else suggested, you can use the spray bottle everytime she growls at you or another member of the family, giving a firm NO at the same time. If plain water doesn't work, try adding vinegar to the water. Some basic obedience training will also help in showing her that you are the boss.
8. This is exactly why I will never place 2 pups at the same time in the same home. This is what they do and it likely will not end for a very long time. If they are not spayed at an earlier age it could also lead to major fights when they reach maturity and the bigger one gets tired of being beat up. I wish people would put more thought into getting puppies and realize that ONE is a big enough of a handful. This IS one of the many reasons animal shelters get filled up daily. People get 2 cute puppies and then a few months later dump one because the dogs are acting totally normal! People PLEASE think before you impulse buy a dog or any living animal for that matter. It's a LOT of work, time, training and patience and money that most people can't handle correctly. Hire a trainer, take the pups to obedience classes ONE at a time or have someone else go with one of the pups. You are going to have to work very hard with obedience or this will not have a happy ending for one or both of the dogs.