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more photos of cooper

2K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  Charleysmom 
#1 ·
cooper's first time meeting another hav....
 

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#2 ·
today we met with a trainer who helped to introduce cooper and tyler. tyler is about 4 yo and the two fo them did great. at first, cooper was dominating tyler and then I learned to touch his neck with two fingers which made him back off. of course I had to do it over and over again but cooper is pretty smart and will get the hang of it soon I hope. the two dogs sniffed each other up and down and later in the day, tyler actually gave cooper a kiss on the nose. just one lick. I wish I was there to see it. tyler actually showed cooper how to walk on the leash. it was so much fun. cooper did a lot of running today as well and then konked out for hours. and no whining in the xpen when I wasn't paying attention to him. Yay!!! the trainer was great and we'll be meeting again next week.
 
#4 ·
Hi Lori, little puppies do not "dominate" adult dogs. The whole point of allowing a puppy to play with a well socialized adult dog is that the DOG should tell the puppy when "enough is enough", not the people.

I am a bit concerned because the "dominant" language, plus the "touch with two fingers on the neck" sounds way too much like Cesar Milan stuff. I would strongly suggest that you check some other training places and see if you can find a place that focuses on positive training practices and offers puppy kindergarten classes with lots of off leash puppy play time.
 
#6 ·
thanks Karen. I had no idea! I have never seen Ceasar Milan. The trainer used the word dominant as follows: Cooper kept jumping up to Tyler's neck. He said they bite the neck to show who's boss. Also the trainer said that Cooper is an Alpha. he said though with the right training he doesn't have to be an Alpha with me.

Today Cooper also met another sweet dog Gracie. They did pretty well together although Cooper humped Gracie (a 5 year old dog). Cooper went onto Gracie's hind and did a couple of humps!!! It's so surprising to me. I didn't know a little puppy would do that. Anyway, I will call Pam later and talk to her about it.

And thank you for the heads up regarding the trainer. I would never have known. he's a very gentle guy. But I will look into other options.
 
#12 ·
thanks Karen. I had no idea! I have never seen Ceasar Milan. The trainer used the word dominant as follows: Cooper kept jumping up to Tyler's neck. He said they bite the neck to show who's boss. Also the trainer said that Cooper is an Alpha. he said though with the right training he doesn't have to be an Alpha with me.
For my pup (who is as non-dominant as possible and a beta dog in every interaction), going for the neck/tail/legs is just how he often plays. Whether its wrestling with our cat or playing with his BFFs at the dog park, there's a lot of vampire-like playing from both sides or mutual tail chasing. Dogs playing can seem rough, but they self-correct/teach each other. My little guy will put up with a lot of crazy wrestling or hair pulling but will NOT stand for someone trying to hump him - he shuts that down quickly (think dog equivalent of a shh!). If tails are wagging, I never disrupt play.

Usually it becomes clear when one dog is uncomfortable with direction of play - tail goes down, tries to hide behind a person and running away or the other dog is getting really worked up or in the tired/cranky/snappy energy state. I don't know if your area has it, but 'puppy play sessions' were invaluable. Our trainer was excellent about moderating the puppy play, and it was useful for us pup parents to learn what is and isn't acceptable. My Hav was super-shy the first 3-4 sessions of weekly puppy play sessions and watched the playtime safely from an expen. By week 5, he was in the middle of the everything.
 
#14 ·
thanks Karen. I've spoken to Pam about this and she said exactly what you said. Plus, that one dog may be a leader in one situation and not in another. With Tyler, Cooper was the leader and with Gracie and especially Tully he was not. As a matter of fact, when we were walking, Gracie was in the lead most of the way and Cooper had to run practically to keep up. I'm so glad to hear that this is all normal behavior and that the dogs for the most part will correct each other. Twenty years ago when I got Molly, we were in an apartment in NYC and she never got to know other dogs. So there's a big learning curve here which is great.

Cooper is doing great today. We wereout on the front lawn running and running and running. We played and he chased me. He's a puckered out little baby now.
 
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