I brought home my second husky, an 8 week old pup we named Tino (named after Valentino Rossi) this past weekend. I've been sleeping downstairs on the couch to take him out every few hours at night so haven't gotten a lot of sleep, but otherwise things are going well for the most part.

The only concern I have so far is my three-year-old husky, Cochise (who I brought home when he was 8 weeks old as well), is playing too roughly with him. I don't think there is any ill will intended, but it requires Tino to be right by my side when we're playing outside. If I'm not standing right on top of him, Cochise will run over and mouth his back or back of the neck - not clamping down but applying enough pressure to cause a yelp. Either that or rolling Tino if he starts running around. It's not constant, but is happening a lot more than I would like.

The lady I got both dogs from suggested keeping a lead on Cochise (still allowing him to run freely) in these situations while we're playing to give a tug whenever this happens, which I plan to start doing. Verbal commands only help some times - usually once he's already engaged in the behavior, so I'm open to any other suggestions. I guess an alternative would be to have seperate play times with them outside until Tino matures some more, which I don't like the sound of, but beats the current situation.

Anyone else experience this? Is this something Cochise will drop on his own once the newness wears off? For what it's worth, Cochise has a sweet temperment towards people and other dogs.

The other question I have is his eyes are green right now. The breeder believes they will stay the same color or possibly lighten into a golden color, which she said are not very common colors for huskies, so it makes me curious - at what age does a dogs eye color become permenant?

Thanks in advance for any help. Will post a few photos when I'm on my home computer.

Congrats on the new puppy. Have you always played rough with Cochise? Or does he usually do that with other dogs, If so this may be why he is playing that way. I know my Libby get teritorial around me and other dogs then gets too rough, she gets pulled back and cant play until she is nice. I have to use the nice command and for the most part she is good. It could just be jealousy over your attention. You may have to try a few things. Good Luck.

i have never had a puppy, but this sounds like what i see at our husky meet ups when people bring young huskies to play, the older ones do do this. does Cochise back off when Tino yelps? Cochise needs to back off when this happens to learn that he can not bite, Tino may also be scared and yelping because of that and not from the mouthing, huskies mouth and the neck area is the main "nipping" area of play. Tino will get a bit larger and i don't think you will have this issue very long. you just need to be out there when they are playing and making sure Cochise knows what is ok and what is to rough right now. cant wait to see pics

Cheyenne, Mishka, and Mickey do this to Rodeo. In the beginning he would yelp but more of a scared yelp than hurt. I pulled the dogs away but didn't do more than that. Now... Oh jeez you should see the way they throw Rodeo to the ground... But he gets up and comes back for more so I don't step in unless they're starting to gang up on him. Give them time to get comfortable with each other and just keep an eye on them and pull your older one away when the pup yelps (if he isn't backing off.) You don't want to push the puppy to the point of the tucked tail/ears back/lips raised/teeth showing... but as long as your older Husky is listening to the pup and you're there to calm things down when they get too hectic... All will work out.

libbybell74 wrote:

Have you always played rough with Cochise? Or does he usually do that with other dogs, If so this may be why he is playing that way.

No, I don't think I would describe my playing with him as being rough. One of the reasons I got a second was to get him a full-time playmate. I realize when we stop that kind of play he would be content to keep going another hour. He goes hard at it when playing with other dogs but never escalates beyond that.

jbealer wrote:

does Cochise back off when Tino yelps? Cochise needs to back off when this happens to learn that he can not bite, Tino may also be scared and yelping because of that and not from the mouthing,

Not for sure if he's backing off because of the yelp or me telling him to stop but he doesn't continue to stay on top of him. Usually just a few nips/mouthing, stops, waits for the puppy to make a move and repeats it. And now that you mention it, I can see where some of the noises may be more out of fear than pain. [img][/img]

you got a white puppy! awww

ScaldedDog wrote:

Not for sure if he's backing off because of the yelp or me telling him to stop but he doesn't continue to stay on top of him. Usually just a few nips/mouthing, stops, waits for the puppy to make a move and repeats it. And now that you mention it, I can see where some of the noises may be more out of fear than pain.

that just sounds like husky play to me just keep on him like you have been and soon enough Tino will be able to hold his own. he is a cutie

In a couple months Tino will dish out as good as he receives now.

Our neighbors have a husky puppy that Appa makes yelp almost non-stop. There's a different yelp when Appa gets too rough as opposed to the 99% of the time scared yelp. The yelping is starting to lessen now, but the little pup ALWAYS comes back for more. I'd say it's normal play, and it's just not used to a big dog coming at it. As long as nobody is hurt I'd say let 'em at it.

EDIT
I thought I'd include a video of it. This was towards the end while winding down. Normally Appa just keeps Meeka pinned with his head while she yelps. You notice as soon as he lets her up she goes for him. This was while she was still more scared, now she full on launches and lands on his face.

Totally normal in my opinion. Mya did the same to Kody, but Kody could take her from when he was 12 weeks old and brought him home. This was maybe a week into having him...

Thanks to you both for the video clips - helpful to see and hear. My situation is a lot like the first shot regarding the size difference and clumsiness of Tino.
I'll continue to keep a close eye on them but there's some peace of mind knowing this is nothing out of the ordinary. Just not wanting him to get hurt or develop any fearful/aggressive behaviors.

When they play at our house it's really hilarious. We have dark tile floors, and you can see wet spots wherever Appa drops Meeka. She's more of a sponge for his drool than anything when they play. There was one time he literally drug her across the kitchen by the scruff of the neck and plopped her on his bed, like, "let's play over here now." She takes it in stride and comes back for more. Like I said earlier, the sounds change when she's no longer having fun, and Appa tends to understand and give her a breather.