By Kate Jackson
Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting experience: a time of great fun and loads of enjoyment in your life. It is easy to forget how fragile puppies are, especially as they begin to romp and play. Puppies have soft bones and soft skulls, with soft spots just like human babies. Their skulls harden as they grow, becoming as hard as that of an adult dog in about 6 months. Smaller breed puppies are more fragile than large breed pups: a 16 week old Great Dane puppy is by no means tough, but he is more resilient than a 16 week old Chihuahua.
Puppies need to learn "doggie etiquette" and social skills from adult dogs. There is no better way to teach a puppy “Canine Communication” than by another canine. Adult dogs teach pups through play and corrections (communication about what they don't want), using their mouths. Dogs can get rough in their play, and one playful bite to the wrong area can be devastating.
Think of your pup’s skull as if it had the strength of a Faberge egg's shell. You wouldn’t let your dog play tug with a precious Faberge egg, would you?
First, match your pup with an adult dog of a similar weight and size for play sessions. A much larger dog may inadvertently hurt a pup while playing or correcting. Accidents happen quickly and cannot be undone, even under close supervision. This is more likely to happen with a large discrepancy in size. Find a friend or neighbor that has a well-behaved adult dog to play with your pup.
If you have a bigger dog in your family, allow them to interact with the puppy under calm and quiet circumstances, closely supervised. Don’t allow play with your small puppy until she reaches 6 months of age. Playtime will come when your puppy is older and more resilient. |
If you provide your puppy playtime with dogs of a similar size as she grows, she will learn a good set of social skills and manners that will make her a more appropriate friend to your big dog when she is ready. As an added bonus, her good social skills will lessen the chance that she will be corrected by your big dog, or of inappropriate play, making for a safer relationship.
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