20/08/2026
Given the opportunity, Quill will put Dutch’s entire head in his mouth!!
I have two choices here: leave them to it, or intervene.
And whilst in some situations letting dogs work things out can be perfectly safe, there’s only 1kg difference between them now and Dutch is… socially awkward.
We’ve noticed she gets stuck in a bit of a pattern:
freeze → snarl → snap → zoomies.
And this is where the “zoomies = play” assumption can get us into trouble.
In this situation, the zoomies aren’t play. They’re a stress outlet. Dutch is trying to deal with some BIG feelings, and quite frankly, it’s not very nice for her.
It’s not great for Quill either.
Because if he repeatedly ignores Dutch’s very clear “back off” signals, and eventually she runs off into zoomies, he can learn that ignoring another dog’s communication eventually results in something he finds incredibly fun.
I absolutely do NOT want him learning that.
So we intervene. We teach an interrupter.
And one of my biggest tips for teaching an interrupter is this:
TEACH IT AWAY FROM THE MOMENT.
Don’t wait until your puppy is already 100% invested in doing the thing you want to stop and then expect your interrupter to magically work.
Teach it when nothing exciting is happening. Make it ridiculously easy. Build value in it. Practise it until it’s automatic.
Then you can start using it when you actually need it.
Because with Quill, I don’t want to be constantly telling him off for being a puppy. I want to teach him what to do instead ❤️
