Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Dogs > worried about training my puppies correctly

worried about training my puppies correctly

19 9:44:55

Question
OK. I did the people thing and got two puppies from the same litter both males. Boxer and Sharpei mix they are 4 mos old. They have been neutered.  I am scared to death I will not train them correctly. My question is they rough house quite a bit should i allow this or when should I intervene? For instance when one has a bone the other comes over and gets it if I try to replace the bone they take it for about 10 seconds then turn to go for the other bone and they nibble %26 growl at eat other.  They have teeth marks from each other all over themselves. Should I stop this now? and how the heck do I do this?

Answer
Rough play is normal, but teeth marks aren't.  Are you obedience training them?  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.

When things get out of hand, put them both in a down stay and take the bones away for a while.