I would like to know when my 41/2 month old puppy will stop pestering the life out of my 7 yrd old bitch.  The puppy is a very laid back little boy (Normally) but when I let him out in the garden with the older one he just doesnt leave her alone for a minute.  He hangs on her neck and ears constantly and goes underneath her belly and also nips her ankles.  I must admit she is quite tolerant bless her, they also bare all their teeth at one another, mouths wide open, in fact the other day their teeth got caught up, accidently.  They look like 2 dogs from hell when they are playing, I suppose this is normal.....but I darent leave them alone for a minute, just in case the eldest one does lose her temper. she does growl at him occasionally but he doesnt take a blind bit of notice.  Unfortunately the ONLY time she gets really annoyed is when I let him in the lounge with her in the evening, she wants to rest then but he is still up for playing, I take him in on his lead and he is really good on his down stays EXCEPT when kizzy is around, so he ends up going back in the kitchen which doesnt bother him in the slightlest although I would like to have them both together in the evenings. We have had him since 9 weeks and he has been like this with her since day 1. When we are out though he is fine with other dogs and seems to respect them, wish he would learn a little respect for Kizzy.  Just wondering when or if he will grow out of this.

Has it never occured to you to intervene? If you can clearly see that he is to much for your other dogs, then you step in and you tell him NO and stop him. You may have to tell him a couple of times, but the sooner he finds out what the word NO means, the better! :) Not all dogs/bitches will tell a puppy off.

He is being a puppy & she is being an adult Adult dogs are far more tolerant on the whole with puppies than their owners.

I give my GSD bitch timeouts when my puppy is put to bed, she has told him off once when he dived on her when she was asleep & she nipped him & yes he learnt his lesson & if she's asleep no longer pounces on her

She may eventually tell him off but if you want to give her timeouts then do so either send him to bed(or crate etc)In this way you will be reinforcing her as the senior dog

I ALWAYS intervene, otherwise he would be at her constantly. I bring her indoors away from him, but when Kizzy wants to go out and sometimes she does want to play, that is when he starts, I was hoping that she would put him in his place but she does look to me to stop him, which is exactly what I do......until the next time and it starts all over again.

If Kizzy won't intervene herself - and this is a lesson far better taught by another dog than by a human - it would be better if you put him away from her, rather than, as you say, bringing her in and curtailing her fun outside. I wonder if she'd take charge if she couldn't see that you were there? Would she tell him off if you were watching from a hidden vantage point?

My GSD is 10 years old & plays & puts up with all that your bitch is putting up with. By taking my dog away from her I am giving her some time to recharge her batteries & also telling her she is the"top"dog. Interesting she often goes & plays with the cavaliers when Roy is in his bed, thus giving them some attention

I think a lot of owners see too much in an older dog & puppy interacting & think the older dog puts up with too much, but it is this that teaches the puppy how to interact with other dogs. My GSD was not socialized with other dogs(she's a rescue)& isn't very good with big dogs her own size, however she was with her mum & litter mates until 10 weeks & is wonderful with puppies. However she will put the small dogs & puppies in their places with a firm paw, yet allows them a lot of, what is to humans totally unacceptable(chewing ears, play biting necks etc), behaviour. My puppy doesn't & never has nips or chewed on people even in rough play He came to me from his mum aged 13 weeks(she's a very Alpha bitch BTW)& obviously she had taught him his bite inhibism, something my GSD has carried on, he allowed to go so far & then she walks away & ignores him & if he persists he is told off.

Why not let them into the garden & watch from a window, as JG suggests, you may be surprised & your bitch could just tell him off if you are not there to intervene ! Just a thought

Another thought are they the same breed or like mine a much bigger adult & puppy who will never reach her size ?

Thanks MM, they are both GSD.  I will give it a try and perhaps hide so that she cant see me, that seems a good idea because she is always looking at me to see my reaction and perhaps afraid to tell him off when I am watching. I must admit that he got out of play biting very quickly and hardly ever mouths when he does it is very softly so I know he doesnt hurt her and it is more annoying to her than anything else.

My Yankee tells my Cav puppy off, has even rolled her over and growled once or twice, but my Cav adult never does, he just yaps to tell us that she's biting his ears again! We step in whenever we spot her making an attack, but so far she hasn't learned that No means always, not just that time! :-D

Hi Kizzy
I have recently had exactly the same problem, introducing a male GSD pup to my nearly 3 year old bitch. He is now nearly 7 months old, and he is not a constant pain with her now (not to say he isn't a pain some of the time).

I intervened when I could see she had had enough, and I taught him the word 'away' which meant he was to leave her alone. Because he's such a foodie, this wasn't hard to do, and when I say away now, he immediately arrives in front of me for a treat. Of course he goes straight back to her afterwards, so we have a lot of awaying going on, but he is learning well, and also maturing so he doesn't feel such a continuous need to be jumping on her.
They spend quality time apart, when my girl is off with my husband doing agility, he's at training class, and we also walk them separately on occasions to ensure his confidence without her around, and to give her special time. She also comes up for a nap on the bed with me some afternoons, and he stays downstairs.
Also, if you have other adults in the household, I found that my husband and I could run mini training sessions with them at the same time, helping to get their focus on us, and less on each other, only little fun sessions, but it all helps. The one thing I personally would not do, would be to continually separate them, as I feel that this heightens the excitement level of the pup whenever he sees the other one, so he will be continually stimulated to be excited when he sees her. Just a personal feeling. It is better if you gain control of the games and he learnes to leave her and settle in the same room as you and Kizzy, gradually then there will be natural play times and chill times, which if they are anything like mine they will enjoy hugely. I know that they are all different, but this was my approach and it has worked very well. They both know that if I say 'that's enough' they both stop (sometimes she's as bad as he is) and relax.
My bitch also doesn't really tell my boy off as often as I would like, but has done more since he has grown, and I do think that you should, as others have said, let her be 'alone' with him, out of your watchful eye, and she may take more control.
I felt it imperative to gain control, as already at less than 7 months he is two inches taller than she is - BUT - she is still the boss, and I have reinforced that in all ways.
Don't worry, I'm sure it will work out, and they will have great fun together.
Kat

Thanks Chinablue for your reply.  Today I did try hiding when they were out in the garden together just to see if Kizzy would put him in his place...but no, when she had enough she ran to the back door with Kody still hanigng on her ears!!! So last evening I shouted at the puppy to LEAVE at first he took no notice at all but eventually he did back off (The first time ever) maybe he was getting tired, but it worked.  I sometimes think KIzzy is a bit old in the tooth for a new puppy, wish I had got one earlier, she has never really interacted with other dogs in fact she always gives dogs a wide berth when we meet one on our walks, although is NEVER aggressive, I still take her training even now as it is good for her to be with other dogs. so I suppose it could have been much worse for the puppy, as I say it has been a bit of a "Culture shock" for her after all this time having a "Little brat" around Hee Hee, I am sure that is how she sees him, I am trying your advice and trying to let them be together a bit more in the hope that Kody will calm down with her, I cant wait for the time when they are both relaxed in the lounge!!