I think my 5 1/2 month old dog is going to be a bully he wont leave my 22 month old bitch alone her ears are constantly wet where he keeps mouthing and snapping at her, I thought it was just play but yesterday she'd clearly had enough and she snapped at him but he just carried on regardless.I'm sure someone has encountered this before,should I just rescue her everytime or should I let them sort it out themselves.I've never had a dog before just bitches so maybe that makes a difference. I would be very grateful for any assistance.
Ange

This is normal, the dog will try and the bitch will tell him she has a headache, leave them to it.

Hi Ange,
I'm having the same problem with my 8 month old Cairn terrier and ANY dog with floppy ears (male or female). What breed is yours?
Andi

I'd step in, the same as I would with any dog who hasn't learnt. a) your teaching your bitch that when a dog does something she doesn't like, the quickest way to stop them is to snap, and b) that the dog can do whatever he likes to the long suffering bitch and you won't do anything about it - and he could well start to stick two fingers up at you too :(

I HAVE to step in. I can't stand bullying, be it animal or human but how do you train it out of a dog though because I know for a fact my dog will only stop if the other dog stops him. My mother in law and sister in law both have golden retrievers and my Cairn bites their ears constantly when they are together. We have to keep them apart or  eventually (because both dogs are very long suffering) there would be a horrible fight I'm sure. Hamish has a huge black lab as a friend. When Hamish first went for the labs ears the other dog just held him down on his back for about 30 secs. No growling or venom just strength. INSTANT respect and the pair of them have got on like a house on fire ever since. It's a shame all dogs don't react in the same way.

There was a discussion about something similar on another thread....about a Great Dane pup and other dogs. I've had the same problem with my Doberman pup and my other dogs. I do step in because he harasses the sh#* out of the others. First there's my Chihuahuas. He has learned to be gentle and most of the time they can tell him to back off if they don't feel like playing, but if he's persistant, I very firmly insist that he leaves them... and he then backs off and finds something else to do. Then there's my 13 year old Lab. She doesn't have the strength or energy anymore to ward him off so yes, I step in and help her. The yr. old pup just wants to play...no aggression at all, but it is possible that when he's older, if he hasn't learned that I don't go for that rough stuff and the dogs scuffle about it, he could snap back at them and I just can't have that. So, I'm conditioning him to listen to me....not just the other dogs. After all, besides their little pack between them, there's another sort of pack where I am the chair person. LOL.

I leave it up to dogs to figure out their own order of things as much as possible. Often two dogs of similar size will figure it out who's who and go on their merry way. But if one is continually being harrassed after it has ALREADY CONCEDED that the other can be the big guy on campus... and does not have the stamina to keep up with the pestering, then I step in and say, "OK...now it's my turn. I'm the big guy on campus and neither one of you are this time around."

Thank you for your replies. Andi they are both golden retrievers.Still no change but I have started to separate them every time he starts on her. Some very good points were made, things I hadn't considered, your point Digger has really given me something to think about.Once again thankyou.
Ange

Hi Ange,
    My pup is coming up for 6 months and does the same to our older collie - she then snaps at him, but he takes no notice.  I will step in and tell him off, and he then stops - but when I turn my back he starts up again!  So I've found the best thing to do is periods of separation - then I'll leave them together if for example the puppy has been out for a walk and is not so 'frisky' - less likely to bother the older dog then, as he'll usually lie down quietly for a while.
  Hilda

Well said Digger but I think it goes further than this.

If the bitch has already accepted that her owner is the leader and, before the arrival of this pup, obeyed and respected her owner, how will this affect their relationship?

I think it will damage it as the bitch will feel let down by her owner who is failing to protect her when she needs it most.  If she can't feel her own home is a safe haven it's a poor do.

I wouldn't leave them to it.  Step up to the line and call the shot yourself.  I've said it before and I haven't read anything else to make me change my mind - when we take in a dog we take two other things as given:

a)   a responsibility to our dogs
b)  a responsibility for our dogs

If we are to be good leaders we have to lead from the front and show them how we expect them to behave on one hand and protect them from bad behaviour on the other.

Sam has improved so much over the last couple of days, I now just separate them as soon as he starts on her. He is sneaky though he picks up toys to take to her and then he drops them and plays with her ears instead, he is getting the message though.

Ahh, my pup does that to the plant; picks up a toy, takes it over to sit near the plant to play with in then chews the plant when he thinks no one is looking :D :D