I recently set up a Mason pen and have 2 occupants.One is being rough (bullying) with the other. Any suggestions on keeping them distracted with something else othen then each other. Yes, there are bones and a chew toys as well, would a dog house be a good distraction for the one to go in?
Correct, I do have two dogs. I built a 10x12 run which is plenty of room. They spend time in the house and out of the run, they do not live in the run 24x7.
Sometimes you do need to give them a time out and just separate them. Teach them the 'leave it' command also. I have a 5 month old pup that beats up my older dogs but they love playing with her. If I think she's getting a bit much I take her by the scruff, say leave it, and pull her off and give her a chew toy. She's actually 'getting it' and goes to lay down somewhere.
Dog Bullying is a real pet peeve of mine in our dog pack. I believe it is up to the humans to supervise all dog behavior so that it doesn't get out of hand or that one dog is getting the brunt of the bullying. By allowing your dog to bully the other one, it's only reinforcing the bully's behavior that it's ok to act like this to other dogs.
For now, I would not leave your bully dog alone with the other dog and walk away. Let the 2 dogs play and interact with one another but be there to give a correction when the one dog starts bullying. "Leave It" are the words I use.
We use those 2 words alot with our little 1 yr old Mini Schnauzer who tries his best to stir the pot with our only male Labrador.
We also have our 8 yr old Momma Mia who won't defend herself with the young pups who are playing too rough with her . Mia is passive aggressive which can be tricky behavior to deal with. She will tolerate and tolerate puppies but I never leave young pups alone with her unsupervised. Passive aggressive dogs are very tolerant to other dogs but when they blow, they sometimes don't have the capacity to real their temper back in.
Under normal circumstances, a normal adult dog will give a quick snap at the young pup who is getting too rough in their play. This is their way of teaching the young pup to respect them. The young pup will normally stop the rough housing at this point.
You never mentioned the ages of your 2 dogs. How old is the bully and how old is the one getting bullied ?
