u/JudgmentNo6376

I hope there's no statute of limitations for how many times I ask for advice on this sub!

My new little guy REALLY loves playing with other dogs. I've had puppy playdates for him, take him occasionally to the dog park, and I plan to take him to doggie daycare 1-2 x's/wk (it's at our vet and I trust them, and he got high praise for how well he did on his first visit.) Partly because I know he loves it and to tire him out, and partly to try and get him to get out his need for playing with other dogs so it doesn't get turned on my senior.

But, he really tests the boundaries with her. Ideally he wouldn't play with her at all, but I know that's asking too much, but I wish he would play more gently, and listen to her boundaries. She tells him no several times, but he won't stop, so I try and pull him off by pulling up and back on his leash, and if he stops for a second, doing some positive reinforcement, but he usually won't stop. (And, often if he's in a maniacal mood that makes him want to bite me too...) And she doesn't help, because she doesn't make any space away from him once I've removed him from her. If she were younger and less fragile I would let her take the lead. But she's had bilateral TPLO (3 years ago) and her legs are continually collapsing out from her while he tackles her and I'm really worried about her getting knee, hip, or back injury from it.

I've only had him for 2 weeks, and he is officially 6 months old today. I definitely see some progress with him (though he is a bit challenging), and honestly feel like I could make a lot more progress if he were my only dog. My biggest problem at the moment is protecting my senior dog from him. She tolerates him, but doesn't really "like" him. And I think the feeling is kind of mutual. I feel like I may make things worse the way I handle it, but I'm not sure how to handle it better. I usually take him on actual walks by himself because it's too much for me when he starts turning into a little a-hole to have them both. But we wander around my acre yard (forest) a lot throughout the day all together. (That way I'm closer to the house when things go awry).

My senior is a total velcro dog, and wants to be underfoot wherever we are. Partly because that has always been her personality, but also now because she knows we are using training treats like 24/7 and she wants complete fairness in treat giving.

I'm leaving my 6 month old pup for 4.5 hours in his crate today. Would you recommend giving a kong when he goes in, or after exercise when I get home and he's still antsy? Or both?? What works for you with crating your pups?

I just adopted a 5 1/2 month old Aussie a week ago. Our first full day home I did way too much with him thinking I needed to burn out puppy energy, and on our second walk he went full out maniacally biting me. I felt pretty helpless, and happy that he is a scrawny 25 pound puppy. (And my friend was walking my senior dog and eventually walking her in front of us made him want to follow her home.). Since then I got a crate which is great, enforcing naps, and only exercising closer to the house. He still goes full out piranha, but I feel like if we are in the house I can do reverse time outs, and if we are close to the house in the yard I can usually get him to redirect enough to get him inside (though sometimes it is a total struggle to get him inside while he's biting me), and I'm too scared to take him on actual walks at the moment. Redirecting is hard though, and usually he isn't interested in playing tug games with me unless it involves my arm or leg, he'll chase a ball or a frisbee for a few throws, then redirect that energy onto my flesh. He's mostly interested only in games that involve food, like chase the frozen peas, or kong or puzzles with food in them. On our yard walks he's all out on a search for moose poop or something else edible... All the articles I see are about play biting and nipping, but this is not that! I am glad to read some of the posts on here though that it sounds kind of "normal"??? in Aussie puppies and that it won't last forever or mean that he will be aggressive eventually?