[johnboy]

My sister went with me when I picked out my spoo Lucy. She fell in love with one while there. The breeder told my sister that someone had backed out and that puppy was available also. Now that puppy is at my sister's house.

At first this seemed like a god send. We could get the sisters together every afternoon to let them play together and get their energy out. Now I am beginning to think they are getting too rough with each other and may not be good long term. I noticed they get into a hyped up frenzy. I imagine their rough housing is a dominace thing but I want a sweet dog.

So what are your thoughts? Am I creating monsters?

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

It sounds like your starting to think too much of a good thing can be no bueno. I think your on the right track.

It's good in small doses... They'll need time apart. Not together all the time... like a 1 hour playdate on the weekend. There's a lot of parallels between being furparents and child parents. If you think back in elementry and you got together with your best friend for a sleep-over on the weekend. It was just for one day, not the whole week. It drove one set of parents bonkers and gave the other parents a break.

My friend Max and I were terrible when we played together. Max had ADHD lol. Our parents were always telling us to settle down in the car. Huge messes. Just going from zero to 100 all the time. Someone was always getting hurt, as boys do. Things were broken all the time. Tried to pull all-nighters.

You gotta try and regulate them as puppies. Same idea.

 

[reraven123]

Play sessions should also be training sessions. Both pups should be called away from each other periodically, have a short treat/play session with Mom and then sent back in. You are working to be able to have the pup come when called, not have to go and physically remove them from each other. When they get too rough, call them both away, settle them down and then let them play some more. Not too long--keep the sessions short, because pups get tired easily. This makes them get crazy and unable to hear you or learn anything.

The point is to interrupt them when they get too rough, and also to prevent them from getting too wrapped up in each other and remind them that they always need to pay attention to Mom, even when they're excited and having fun.

 

[cowpony]

I agree that it is good to interrupt them when they start getting over-amped.

My boys Pogo and Snarky were littermates. I spent a lot of time training them separately and then together. I would start by teaching each dog a trick separately. After they were pretty good at the trick, usually a few days, I would bring them together and make them take turns doing the trick. Snarky would have to sit & wait while Pogo shook paws and got his treat. Pogo would then have to sit & wait while Snarky shook paws and got his treat. Neither dog got to do his trick until both dogs were sitting focused on me.

These paired training sessions taught them several useful things, including

• Reduced competition for treats, because each dog knew how to earn a treat. The treat came from performing his trick correctly on my command, not from sucker punching a sibling
• Focus on me instead of being distracted by a sibling
• Wait patiently; your turn will come

 

[PeggyTheParti]

How old are the puppies? Our puppy play sessions were supervised by our trainer, with each owner also watching their own pup. When things got intense, we separated them for a quick breather (often just 30 seconds or so) then released them again. If things continued to escalate, game over/nap time. Puppies get tired very fast (even if it doesn’t seem like it) and their impulse control goes down to zero.

For the first 6 months, I’d say they were only playing for about 20 minutes at a time. Eventually it was 30 minutes. Then 45. Now, at 20 months old, Peggy plays for an hour. Anything beyond that and it goes downhill.

 

[johnboy]

How old are the puppies? Our puppy play sessions were supervised by our trainer, with each owner also watching their own pup. When things got intense, we separated them for a quick breather (often just 30 seconds or so) then released them again. If things continued to escalate, game over/nap time. Puppies get tired very fast (even if it doesn’t seem like it) and their impulse control goes down to zero.

For the first 6 months, I’d say they were only playing for about 20 minutes at a time. Eventually it was 30 minutes. Then 45. Now, at 20 months old, Peggy plays for an hour. Anything beyond that and it goes downhill.

Yes we were allowing them to play to long, 1 to 2 hours. I'm glad I asked.