What would I do without CD forum to come on here to ask questions - haven't had to ask anything for ages and now with new puppy I need some opinions please so I handle things correctly.  I have had my pup for over a week now and he will be 9 weeks old tomorrow.  At last Meg (as many of you know is not the most confident of dogs) started to interact properly with the pup rather than just warn him off.  She play bowed and then a chase started all round the kitchen.  Puppy was running around the chair legs and hiding then running back at her for more.  They seemed to be playing nicely but Meg then pawed the pup - almost as if she was trying to turn him over on his back.  He was having none of it - he was having great fun! Then Meg started making mounting motions over him.  We took them out into the garden where there was less likelihood they would injure themselves.  This behaviour continued with Meg continually making mounting motions over him.  No way did she try to hurt him - but I interpret this as saying that she is trying to put him in his place - unsuccessfully.  Poor Meg in a way - but I was sort of hoping that a more confident dog would make her feel more secure - when she lets him take the lead.  Have I got this right do you think anyone??? The pup has been making all the approaches to Meg and has been getting closer and closer every day.  She hasn't accepted him to lie by her yet - she growls and warns him - then gives her place up and goes elsewhere.  He already rules the roost at 8 weeks. 

> She play bowed and then a chase started all round the kitchen.

A play bow can be used to signal that all behaviour that follows is play, or it can be used as a calming signal to show that they are no threat/are friendly. You have more to go on that tells you what is happening.

>They seemed to be playing nicely but Meg then pawed the pup

It sounds like Meg was playing and perhaps go a bit over-excited. Dogs hump during play (play is a way for them to practice ALL of thier life-skills :) ) especially if they get over-excited with playing.

This may be of interest.

> She hasn't accepted him to lie by her yet - she growls and warns him - then gives her place up and goes elsewhere.

When I brought Buster home as a pup, my elderly dog was disgusted by him (he had no confidance issues and was well-socialised). Buster would try to get into his bed to cuddle up with him, but oldie look horrified and would get out! I made sure oldie had his space and eventually they became best buiddies and oldie would allow Bust to sleep in his bed with him :)  Oldie would also hump the living daylights out of Buster if they had been playing hard. I would stop the play so oldie could calm down a notch.

It sounds very normal to me, the mounting behaviour is a dominating thing and that is how I would expect an adult to behave they have every right to expect some respect. It is very early days and I would say things are going well, back her up when she is behaving well and let them sort it out. The pup will push his luck and that is normal as well, he will take as many liabilities as she will allow and I personally think this is up to them to sort and we are best to keep out of it but just keep an eye to make sure things are not getting out of hand. Make sure she can escape and stop the play if it is getting too over excited.

Thanks for the link and for saying it is normal behaviour.  Meg has been really good so far - my OH was convinced she would do the pup harm - I know her better than that because I see her interacting with other dogs all the time.  She is a good girl really and I messed up somewhat when she was young.  It is so nice when people who know us say how well Meg has come on - her personality is shining more now the pup is here.  I am just hoping that they will share the back of the car in time because transportation is difficult at the moment because I don't have a small crate - seems a bit of a waste of money when he will only be in it for a couple of months. 

Sure everything is going fine, as I said make sure she, Meg, can get away when she has had enough preferably to somewhere quite and cosy but just another room will do fine. We used to put a board across the doorway that the adults and us could step or jump over but the pup can't changing it for a taller one as the pup grew until it was not needed.

I would imagine it will take a while before she wants to lie with him...my lab still won't allow the pup (now 8 months old) to lie with him, even though they are the best of friends! I make sure he has his own space so that he isn't constantly being moved from where he is sleeping and still seperate them for periods to give the older one some peace and quiet. Interestingly, when I introduced my puppy to my friends dogs the 3 bitches all turned the puppy over with their paws...they weren't nasty, just rolled him over, sniffed him, stood over him and then played. The two males never tried to do it. With regard to travelling, if you go training anywhere, it would be worth asking if anyone has a puppy cage you could borrow. I asked at our obedience class and had 3 or 4 offered!!! Saved me buying one :D

Meg has got plenty of room to go to if she needs space.  She is lying out on the lawn now in the sun - puppy is asleep in his pen.  We give the puppy time out when he starts getting too wound up - chewing things etc.  Meg can go to another room in the house - she does have her own favourite place to go to where the puppy isn't allowed. It is difficult when I want to do some training - because Meg comes along and is sitting there with eyes aglow surely saying - look at me I can sit, down etc where is my treat.  Got to talk quietly otherwise the other one comes running.

Think you are doing fine, know what you mean about training, I used to give the pup 5 or 10 minuets then pop the pup in the pen and give the adults as short burst of basic training, daft but I don't like them to think they are missing out particularly when there are titbits or praise going for doing it right.

Sure I have told this story before so bear with me - the first pup I had with an adult, he was about 2 years, the pup was in her pen and ran to the paper in the corner and squatted and I praised her - later the pen was open and she did it again, ran to the paper for a pee and I praised - a few moments later the 2 year old rushed in from the garden and peed on the paper, I yelled at him and then realised just how unfair I was being, so no more paper in the puppy pen they go out like the rest of them or they make a mess.

> Interestingly, when I introduced my puppy to my friends dogs the 3 bitches all turned the puppy over with their paws...they weren't nasty, just rolled him over, sniffed him, stood over him and then played. The two males never tried to do it.

That's fascinating.
I wonder if this was a maternal thing, or a way of showing that they would protect the puppy? Or to let him know he could trust them? Had any of the bitches had pups themselves?

My male neutered lad has stood over a friend to protect her... we were in a large crowd of people in an open space, and she needed to sit for a while (aching legs from an old injury) so she sat down on the grass with her legs stretched out in front, and my dog first stood, then laid across them keeping his eyes on the crowd to make sure nobody accidentally stepped on her. At least, that's very much how his behaviour seemed to us.

If she is normally a little shy or unsure, then the mounting can be an extension of that.  It's a way to relieve stress, it's also a kind of fall-back behaviour for a lot of unsure dogs as it's something they know how to do - sort of "I'm not sure if I'm doing this right/how to do this, but I know how to do that!".  A sort of calming signal, in a way.  It's certainly not always a dominance thing - very rarely actually, IME.

When Linc first got here, he spent the first few days trying madly to hump everyone - it was all nerves.

That is interesting Nikita - Meg is nearly 8 and has been a single dog all her life with us - she has never had anyone to play with before.  We have been on walks with the dog club and dogs who know each other are all playing and she has been on the outside being a 'johnny no-mates' or perhaps a jillnomates in this case :-)  Suddenly she has a companion.  Yesterday she starts to play with him - he has been working away at her since he arrived - even checking her out for milk a couple of times it looked like.  This evening it all kicked off again.  I have family staying and when Meg initiated play I had to crate pup to cool the situation because I was cooking.  Later when the pup started initiating play I took them both outside for a good romp.  It seems to have settled down to a pattern now - pup chases Meg and Meg turns around - pup flattens to floor, then barks or runs away from Meg - she runs after him - he flattens and she paws him or 'mounts' him.  He is rolling over on his back to expose his belly without her turning him over now.  Meg is having difficulty calming herself I think - this is all to new for her. New to me too - never had more than one dog at a time before. 

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">That's fascinating. <br />I wonder if this was a maternal thing, or a way of showing that they would protect the puppy? Or to let him know he could trust them? Had any of the bitches had pups themselves?

It was interesting, especially as we introduced them all seperately before adding an extra dog until we had the whole lot together...so it wasnt 'copied' behaviour. All of the bitches are spayed, none has had a litter. They are however, litter sisters, so I can only assume its something they learnt with their own mother?

> play if it is getting too over excited

This is what is happening now - they are settling into this pattern of play - seems to start late afternoon - I think it shouldn't go on for too long - over exertion for the puppy - however he won't let up - I had to put my foot down and seperate them tonight - I just think it had gone on too long and neither was taking any notice of me.  I finally got their attention and put the puppy in his pen for time out.  I think 20 minutes is more than enough they are both getting too wound up, I want them to get on but I want the puppy to bond with me not Meg!!