How to tell the difference between play fighting and real fighting?
The following might be indicators that the fighting is real and not just spirited play: Bared teeth Read More
How rough is too rough for dog play?
Rigoberto Zboncak
2025-06-03 03:13:10
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When dogs are romping happily together, their bodies are like limp noodles. Tails may wag in loose arcs, and mouths may hang open. When a dog becomes tense, his body stiffens. As far as the play itself, one thing to be wary of is speed and intensity. It is a lot easier for play to boil over into aggression when things are becoming fast and furious. Are the dogs racing around the park? The more dogs that are involved, the more potential danger. Also, the more vertical the play gets, especially where dogs are standing on their hind legs and mouth wrestling, the more potential for danger. Watch for actions dogs may take offense to, such as humping, hip bumping or slamming, and placing a head over another dog’s neck or shoulder area. If you notice a freeze or tense body language, stay alert and ready to intervene if necessary. If you notice that your dog is becoming overexcited or playing too roughly, or that other owners are becoming concerned, create an enforced break in the action by calling your dog to you.
Bradley Kertzmann
2025-05-23 10:45:24
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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, if the play seems one sided, it is time to step in and calm the situation down. Growling becomes low, long and ferocious sounding. Stiff posturing. Lip curling and glazed stares. Running away with tail tucked up. Distressed yelping. Lip licking, turning away, retreating. If play turns too rough, dogs can become mildly stressed. Therefore, it is a good idea to separate the dogs for a short while so that tension levels can drop. It is also important to be especially observant if the dogs at play of differing sizes. It may seem obvious, but a larger dog can quickly easily hurt a smaller dog, even in normal play.
Read also
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 gentl Read More
Yadira Muller
2025-05-23 06:33:56
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When we roughhouse with our dog, because we’re not dogs, we don’t master the rules of play and will often bring the excitement level out of control. Playtime with others takes the dogs to very high levels of energy, increasing the chances for things to turn bad. Some dogs however play too rough, in a hyper-aroused state. If we still chose to roughhouse with our dog, a few rules will help keep the situation under control: Put the behavior on cue and don’t encourage it when the dog initiates roughhousing without the cue. Don’t push the excitement level too high. Take short breaks and allow the dog to calm down on a regular basis. We’re teaching the dog that humans are fun playmates to wrestle with and jump on. The dog will not always know the difference and understand when it’s alright to play this way or when it’s not. Certain movements that we make or things that we say, that are similar to those used during roughhousing could trigger rough responses from the dog.