What does healthy puppy play look like?
The first sign of healthy play is something called role-reversal. Role reversal means that there is Read More
How rough is too rough for puppy play?
Presley Larson
2025-07-14 23:08:50
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For me, I just know when it's lighthearted play. If there's a lot of rough housing, running and crashing into each other, that's too much for me. If there is throwing a paw over the back, holding a head over the other's neck, stalking, I stop that immediately. You should see a healthy amount of give and take. One dog chases for a little, then turns and allows the other dog to chase. If one dog seems to be running away with their tail down the majority of the time, then it is time to step in and give the more shy dog a break from the other one. If you see the dogs growling and going face-to-face, it's usually more fighting than playing. I would err on the side of caution if you're uncomfortable with the energy.
Brenna Frami
2025-07-07 04:18:23
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If 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. When a dog is allowed to play with humans like they would with rambunctious dogs, we take the chance that the dog may react in the same way with other people. We’re teaching the dog that humans are fun playmates to wrestle with and jump on. 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.
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Dean Hintz
2025-07-02 23:55:21
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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. Here a few behaviours to watch for that may indicate things are getting a little too heated. 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.
Eloy Maggio
2025-06-22 05:39:35
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With puppies, this is rarely aggressive behavior in which the intent is to do harm. You must also teach your puppy to be gentle with hands, and that nipping results in unpleasant consequences for her. Teach your puppy that nipping turns off any attention and social interaction with you. After a nip, look your puppy right in the eye, and yell, “Ouch!” as though you’ve been mortally wounded, then ignore her. At first, you may need to pet or scratch your puppy for short periods of time, since the longer she’s petted, the more likely she is to get excited and start to nip. Nipping and mouthing hands can also be discouraged by loosely holding your puppy’s lower jaw between your thumb and forefinger after she’s taken your hand in her mouth. If she closes her mouth on your hand again, repeat the procedure. Remember that any of these three methods will probably not be effective unless you work hard to teach your puppy the right behavior by offering her an acceptable chew toy. Attempts to tap, slap or hit your puppy in the face for nipping or jumping up are almost guaranteed to backfire.
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How rough should puppies play?
If we roughhouse with our dog, because we’re not dogs, we don’t master the rules of play and will of Read More
What does aggressive puppy play look like?
It’s totally normal for dogs to play-bite, bark, chase, swipe, and lunge, as long as it’s in a gentl Read More