to rowdy around a older dog

Question
My mother has a ten year old Rott and I have a 11 month old German Shepherd. I have had him since he he was 8 weeks old. My mother and I are close so we always have our dogs when we visit each other. The problem is that every since the day they met, "Chopper" my GSD, always has to be in "Bruisers" face...literally. Chopper has to have his snout in Bruisers mouth constantly. Its like he is obsessed with Bruiser. I think they love each other. My mother thinks he is showing his dominance. I had him fixed when he was 6 months old. Its got to the point where my mother doesnt want him to come around anymore. Now when I take him there I keep him on a leash so he cant be in Bruisers face, but Bruiser comes at him also and I'm always in the middle of two huge dogs that just want to play with each other. Can this behavior be reversed? This is the only socialization Chopper gets since we live 10 miles from civilization.

Answer
Most 10 year olds don't like rough play.  If Bruiser starts playing with Chopper, I would let them.  When our Aster was 10, she still played some with our puppies.  If Bruiser seems to tire of it before Chopper, go ahead and leash him and give Bruiser a break.  When we sit our friend's 6 year old, I put our puppies on a tie down when he seems to tire of them.  

I am not sure how to convince your mother it is OK for them to play.  

It might moderate things a little if you were clearly in charge.  Neutering him was a good idea.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm