How to tell the difference between play biting and aggressive biting?
It’s totally normal for dogs to play-bite, bark, chase, swipe, and lunge, as long as it’s in a gentle and friendly manner. But sometimes growling, biting, jumping, barking, etc. can shift from playful to aggressive. When dogs play, it often takes the form of play fighting, play biting and wrestling....Read More
How to tell if dogs are play fighting or actually fighting?
If they have a big, silly, open-mouthed grin, that’s already a good start. Often, their movements will be exaggerated: bouncy movements, and even exaggerated growling. Dogs may do the “play bow” when playing, where their front end is down, and back end is in the air. Sometimes, dogs trying to...Read More
What does aggressive play look like?
Dogs do this by testing one another's dominance and subservience, mostly through play and general interaction. They wrestle, tug, mouth, pounce, play bite, and even softly growl and yelp. A dog can threaten or attack another dog with the message of, "I'm boss. You must respect me." Threats normally precede...Read More
How rough is too rough for dog play?
Normal play between dogs will involve a lot of rough and tumbling, often high pitched ‘yips’, growls and snarls. Play fighting may involve leg nipping, neck pulling and lots of tumbling from both dogs – and if you watch carefully dogs will take turns at being ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. However,...Read More
Is my cat angry or playing?
When cats are playing, their bodies are usually relaxed, they may roll around on the ground, and their movements are smooth. Cats may produce chirping or trilling noises when they are playing, which are cheerful noises indicating that they are having fun. Many cats hold their ears forward, upright, or...Read More
How to tell the difference between play growling and aggressive growling?
When dogs play, it often takes the form of play fighting, play biting and wrestling. Although it can be fun and harmless, sometimes this can intensify into unsafe and serious scraps if you do not observe your dog closely. Growling – Sometimes dogs will growl during play, but these growls...Read More
What is cute aggression biting?
I’ve felt this urge before and I’m sure I’ll feel it again, when a glimpse of their bare skin ignited a wild, feral impulse within me: I had to bite it. For the record, I never want to actually hurt my partner, it’s more that I just want to softly...Read More
What does aggressiveness look like?
Aggressive is doing what is in your own best interest without regard for the rights, needs, and feelings or desires of others. An assertive individual is not afraid to express their opinions, whereas an aggressive individual’s statements come across as attacks. People who are being assertive have no intention of...Read More
How can I tell if my cats are just playing or actually fighting?
Playing together is considered one sign of a positive relationship, but the behaviours displayed when playing can be difficult to interpret as friendly as they can be very similar to those seen when cats fight and it can be difficult to tell the difference. These behaviours include staring, pouncing and...Read More
How do you stop your dog from greeting every dog?
Getting your puppy to stop the above behavior requires a full-court press approach to training. There are several commands that your pup needs to learn before having successful on-walk greetings, such as sit, down, stay, off and leave it, but perhaps one of the most important commands is settle. Settle,...Read More
What is the 3 second rule dog greeting?
I encourage people to practice the 3-Second Rule when they meet a new dog.
Engage for no more than 3 seconds, then withdraw your attention.
By doing this, you are asking the dog if he is comfortable.
If he wants more, he’ll stay.
If he’s not comfortable, he’ll move away....Read More
How do you greet a dog safely?
ALWAYS ASK THE OWNER Some dogs may be nervous, over-excited, or in training. Whether the dog is off or on-lead, it’s important that you ask the owner for permission first. If you see a dog tied up outside a shop with no owner in sight, then it’s best to leave...Read More
Should I let my dog greet other dogs on walks?
There are about a hundred reasons that I could list that about why your dog should not say hi to other dogs on leash, I could even advise you to never allow this. What we should all aim for are appropriate on-leash greetings with other dogs. For some dogs, it...Read More
Should you let your dog greet other dogs?
You will exchange hellos and chats with people you know but not perfect strangers. So why do some dogs feel the need to do this, mine does for sure, he thinks it’s perfectly acceptable that he should meet every dog and get the opportunity to play with them - or...Read More
How to get your dog to greet people calmly?
For many dogs, meeting new people can be all too exciting. This can sometimes manifest in jumping up, licking, mouthing or general hyperactive behaviour. Lots of dogs simply don’t know how to deal with people in this situation, so ideally we want to teach our dogs to greet new people...Read More