Puppies play fighting

[wegianpickle]

Hello,
I purchased the premium program, and think it is fantastic. We have two 12 week old puppies from the same litter (brother and sister), they play pretty rough together as I know puppies do. My question is, at what point should I stop them? Is it healthier to allow them to play, or healthier to train them not to play in the snarling, snapping, dominating manner (which seems to be the only way they know to play together). I have no problem stopping them when they really get too rough.

Thanks

[KOPcaroline]

Hi wegianpickle,

This decision is mainly the owners individual decision to make. As you said, puppy fights are normal, and they can get especially rowdy between siblings. You should decide what is too much for you to deal with when they start fighting. The key is to call it off at the same signals everytime, whether its when they start throat growling, or when they start barking, or when they start nipping - you should stop it at the same time and seperate them every time.

My old flatmate and I got pups about a month apart, and it soon became obvious that my dog, Jackson, would be the dominant one, but this of course didnt stop them play fighting! We always called it off when they started barking at each other, which was usually before they started nipping and putting their teeth on each other heavily. But as I said, its really up to you as to what is too much. The main thing is to be consistant in your seperating and correcting them.

Have fun! Hope your pups settle down and you have heaps of fun with them

[wegianpickle]

Thanks Caroline,
Makes sense. Do you have any reccomendations for how long I should keep them separated?

[KOPcaroline]

No problem

We usually just kept our 2 apart for about 10 minutes, or til they were nice and calm again. Its usually enough, but if not, you can always seperate them again for another 10 minute stint