Puppy advice.

[Carrotcruncher1]

I have a cockapoo pup who is nearly 9 months old, and is generally an absolute superstar, but there are a couple of things she does that are proving challenging! As soon as any animal appears on the TV, she growls and barks, which makes it somewhat difficult to watch wildlife documentaries! I have tries rewarding in the brief periods she is quiet, and putting her in her crate if she keeps reacting, but if anything, the problem is getting worse. Also, although she is generally good with other dogs, my best friend has an older dog, and when we go to visit them, my girl just constantly wants to play with the older dog, and literally wont leave her alone for however long we are there, unless I put her on a lead, and then she whines. It means I cant see as much of my friend as Id like, as it just becomes exhausting for all concerned! Id be grateful for any advice anyone has on either issue.

Don’t watch stuff with dogs on?
And don’t take her when you visit your friend!

With the TV you'll need to work on desensitising her but it won't be easy to do alone. I would get a trainer who can figure out exactly what's triggering her so you can come up with a solution.

With your friend I just wouldn't take her over there - it's not fair on the older dog:

My dog watches TV and will bark at certain animals.

I just get him to sit with me and I give him a re-assuring pat. He is a gurd dog breed and a very nervous dog. So I know what causes this. He usually does calm down once I have acknowledged the danger!

I would just stop taking her to your friends. There is some outdated advice to just leave them to it and the older dog will discipline the younger dog, which is generally bollocks.
Some dogs are far more conflict averse than others, it can lead to the younger dog getting seriously hurt and it’s just so stressful for the older dog.

Just don’t watch wildlife documentaries when she’s in the room and leave her at home when you’re visiting your friend? Both aren’t essential parts of life! She’s a young pup, of course she’s going to want to play. More socialisation with older dogs will likely help this. At the beginning we were socialising our golden retriever (10 months old) solely with puppies. It was an ex guide dog trainer who said to socialise her more with ‘proper’ dogs as that’s where they learn their social skills and cues. Only having them around equally playful puppies wrongly teaches them that every dog wants to play