My housemate has a male staffy who is about 3 (neutered) and on Tuesday we ended up with a staffy pup who had been found in a bin in rags and covered with filth (I spotted some idiots checking the bins behind the house before dumping something in next doors which was fairly empty and then legging it so I went to investigate). She also has scarring on her ears and head which shows mistreatment. End result was my housemate asking me could she keep it and I agreed as long as it was checked by the vet and she cleaned up after her. The vet said the puppy was fine, but needed worming and jabs etc, and was between 8 and 12 weeks old.
She's a lovely little thing, but the problem is from the second she was introduced to the male she's been trying to latch onto his male bits. I'm guessing this is down to her not being weaned properly, but the problem is she won't stop doing it. It's starting to confuse the male because if she does it and we go to chastise her, he thinks he's done wrong even though we're not telling him off. He's actually started discouraging her himself, but if he moves out the way she'll find a way to get him with no warning and then lock on so when he tries to move he just drags her behind him and can't get her to let go. To be fair to him, he's been extremely tolerant and hasn't snapped at her even though she does have a habit of biting his cheeks (although last night when she tried he just splatted her with his paw and gave her a look as if to say "try it now") and generally annoying him.
We've tried separating them and putting her in a different room, but the end result is her yapping and whining which starts him pacing and yapping at us because he wants to check she's OK due to him being pretty protective of her (he'll follow her around in alert posture). The usual of a light tap on her nose doesn't even seem to be discouraging her either. She just kind of gives us the sorrowful look and then tries again. She's even tried burrowing under him when he's laying down to try and get at him which means he ends up having to move around, which we can tell is annoying him if he's trying to sleep.
She's got a bowl of food and water which are kept constantly full so it's not a case of her not getting access to food. I asked my mum who used to breed dogs has she ever heard of it and she said she'd never come across it, but did agree it could be a sign of being weaned to early or improperly.
Is there anyway we can deter the pup from doing this? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
**EDIT**
Of a night time or if there's no one in the house they are separated and my housemate is keeping her in her room when she goes to bed, so she's not able to do it then. It just seems the minute she gets up the puppy makes a beeline for the male and starts trying to latch on again.
She's a lovely little thing, but the problem is from the second she was introduced to the male she's been trying to latch onto his male bits. I'm guessing this is down to her not being weaned properly, but the problem is she won't stop doing it. It's starting to confuse the male because if she does it and we go to chastise her, he thinks he's done wrong even though we're not telling him off. He's actually started discouraging her himself, but if he moves out the way she'll find a way to get him with no warning and then lock on so when he tries to move he just drags her behind him and can't get her to let go. To be fair to him, he's been extremely tolerant and hasn't snapped at her even though she does have a habit of biting his cheeks (although last night when she tried he just splatted her with his paw and gave her a look as if to say "try it now") and generally annoying him.
We've tried separating them and putting her in a different room, but the end result is her yapping and whining which starts him pacing and yapping at us because he wants to check she's OK due to him being pretty protective of her (he'll follow her around in alert posture). The usual of a light tap on her nose doesn't even seem to be discouraging her either. She just kind of gives us the sorrowful look and then tries again. She's even tried burrowing under him when he's laying down to try and get at him which means he ends up having to move around, which we can tell is annoying him if he's trying to sleep.
She's got a bowl of food and water which are kept constantly full so it's not a case of her not getting access to food. I asked my mum who used to breed dogs has she ever heard of it and she said she'd never come across it, but did agree it could be a sign of being weaned to early or improperly.
Is there anyway we can deter the pup from doing this? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
**EDIT**
Of a night time or if there's no one in the house they are separated and my housemate is keeping her in her room when she goes to bed, so she's not able to do it then. It just seems the minute she gets up the puppy makes a beeline for the male and starts trying to latch on again.
