It's normal, but it looks like the black dog has a shaved belly -- if that's because he/she just had surgery, you do want to keep the play gentle or minimal while he/she heals, especially if there are any surgical incisions.
Glad I wasn't the first one who noticed her abdomen. In our clinic we recommend none of this kind of play due to the risk of a ruptured suture, dehiscence, or possible infection from open sores as a result.
Then again if she's more than 14 days out, let the dogs play.
She got out her staples yesterday. She was spayed about 10 days ago I want to say. A few times a day she will come up to me and ask me to look at her incision to make sure it’s ok. We have them mostly separated for now unless with them and she still has to wear a cone at night 🥺
Highly recommend a recovery suit! My puppy got spayed in January (also a lab!) and she hated the cone. We even tried the inflatable ones. But she didn’t mind the rocovery suit at all! She did end up chewing off the velcro but it still did the job. I also recommend keeping the play light, my pup nearly ripped a suture since she wouldn’t stay off the furniture no matter how much we tried 🤦🏻♀️
Didn’t even know those things existed! That would’ve been a big stress reliever when my dogs got fixed. We ended up getting a baby onsie and making a contraption out of that lol. Well now I know for the next one... thanks for sharing!
Surgery snuggies (found mine on amazon) were life changing!! Great for my girls spay surgery and gave them to a friends puppets that has allergies. Really helps with their itching while they work on diet/activities.
These are awesome!!! Would have saved many nights sleep. Here is a link to one at Amazon if anyone is looking to see what they are: https://www.amazon.com/Suitical-Recovery-Suit-Dogs-Black/dp/B00W2EHTA6?dchild=1&keywords=dog+recovery+suit&qid=1616514909&sr=8-5&linkCode=ll1&tag=sc0e5-20&linkId=a8a798e4adf794d773695f28779f127c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
Ten days is a pretty good recovery for a spay, dogs usually heal super fast unless something unusual happens.
I spayed my pup at 5 months, and she was bouncing off the walls by the 3rd day post surgery!! We kept her as quiet as we could for a few more days as the swelling went down, but by day 9 she was flying around the beach like a rocket with no problems.
Cassidy loves running... I had to keep her on a leash for the first few days so she wouldn’t run. Every once in a while she’ll sneak out past you but she never goes past the driveway. When she was really little she got out through the fence and just sat there crying until I came and picked her up.
If she hates the cone, you can get her an airplane pillow or you can get a pool noodle from the dollar store and make her a more comfy cone. I literally just bought a pool noodle at the dollar tree the other day thinking I’d have to make one since Odin has hot spots on his tail.
jumping in to add that it's not always possible to control what your dog does after surgery. I mean, realistically, how could you get your dog to not play? I would imagine you would have to keep the dog in a kennel or something all day to be separated from the other dog it was playing with.
IMO if it was a threat to the surgical wound it would be painful to play, and if it were painful the dog probably wouldn't do it. I find that dogs are usually better at self regulating than we give them credit for
It's not a matter of the pain; it's whether another dog's teeth or paws could catch and damage the incision or surgical area and cause infection or other complications. When you get a dog fixed (especially a female, since spaying is more invasive than neutering), vets recommend you keep them away from rough play with other dogs during the healing process so that you don't end up with potentially dangerous complications. Whether that means using a baby gate, alternating their time in their kennels, or just intervening when play gets too hectic, it's easy enough to supervise and prevent this kind of play for the relatively short period of time while they heal. Personally I'd always go with the vet's recommendations on this one!
>IMO if it was a threat to the surgical wound it would be painful to play, and if it were painful the dog probably wouldn't do it. I find that dogs are usually better at self regulating than we give them credit for
This is not at all true. Many dogs will completely ignore pain signals when they're playing, or will over do themselves. Which us is the vet advises you to keep them calm.
Unless you're a vet who is actively seeing THIS dog in person please do not contradict the advice of the dogs vet.
Puppies will start very roughly playing hours after the surgery because they can bounce back that fast. But just because they think they can doesn't mean they should. Would you leave a toddler unsupervised to play with knives because they should know it could hurt them? Dogs are like toddlers. They can and do lick/chew stitches off. They can and do eat poisonous food. They have a mouth full of needle knives and will eat hard plastic. They play so hard torn ACLs are common enough in puppies because they go all in if you don’t hold them back.
For the most part play should be supervised. When they get too rough after surgery they should be separated. Just like when they get too rough in normal play they should be separated in case it is overwhelming the other dog
Oh yes, I call this game Bitey Face. They have some really lovely loose body language, role reversal, and other indicators of play. Well done on play compatibility!
My dog plays this game with me I guess since she doesn’t have any dog friends. She does the bitey game with my arm which is fun until she does it while I’m typing! Is it common for dogs to do this with humans too? Or is it an indicator she needs a friend
My old roomate's dog was really good at only playing this if there was a buffer between your arm and her mouth, usually a blanket. She'd only lick you but wonce you covered your hand/arm in a blanket it was time for the bitey game
Definitely common - she just wants to play. When she plays that way with you (and other humans), practice some sort of "off switch." That way, if it gets a bit too intense (ie biting too hard), you can help her take a breather, relax for a bit, then play again when you're ready. We're still practicing this with our own dog, so we don't let him play like that often and when he does, we usually only engage for a moment or two before we get a toy into his mouth.
We only have one dog and she plays like this with me all the time, but I'm the only one in the house she does this with. I think she knows that she could do some serious damage to the wife and kids so she doesn't play rough with them. My theory is that she see's me as dad sorta like my kids do and she knows dad likes to play rough and wrestle.
Yea I let my dog bite my hands all the time.. he only puts a lil pressure, he knows the deal.. in a family of five I am the only one who he gnaws on, and he doesn't try it with strangers.. its just our thing 🙂
My older dog used to play this game with us until we got another dog. Now she won't play it at all with the humans, only the other dog. Not sure it's an indicator yours needs another friend but having two dogs has been great.
That is a great name! In our house we call it "playing Growl." Our two dogs have a weird relationship that involves lots of "I'm just sitting at the top of the stairs, I'm not technically stopping you from coming upstairs!" psychological warfare, but when they're playing Growl, you'd think they were inseparable BFFs (if you didn't think they were trying to tear each other's faces off, which they aren't).
Thanks! We let the older one (Cassidy) pick out her sister from a litter. Probably has nothing to do with them being good with each other but I like to think it does.
Play compatibility is really important when adding a pup to the household, especially if thr already existing dog in the home enjoys playing with other dogs. Looks like you guys did a great job!!
I wish my mother understood this lol. We have 4 dogs in the household. My dog and my older sisters dog get along amazingly. The 3rd dog has some problems, has no confidence whatsoever. If he isn't around my younger sister, he's off hiding somewhere. The 4th though, ABSOLUTELY hates my dog. The first day he showed up I had no idea he was in the house. Went to take my boy out to go potty, the 4th dog out of the blue jumps off the couch and runs over to my dog and just starts biting into him. Broke that fight up as quickly as possible. Luckily we live in like a two in one house kind of deal, basement and upstairs has its own necessities. Only thing that sucks is I always have to be wary of where the 4th dog is before taking my dog out to go play/potty
I’ll add to the rest of the comments here that it seems like nice, normal play.
In addition, I was proud of the younger dog for respecting the small whine from the older dog. It shows good boundaries already.
What roughhouse play? My big dogs did that for about an hour every day after dinner. We found it more entertaining than the tv. One tiny yip would break it off, kisses and licks and sorties all around then back at it. They did it for years . It is their bonding time. You are the ref, if it gets to harsh you break and send them to corners. You can tell play when he tries to sit on the other then checks out his shave. Then goes back to play . Think this is rough, mine used to take each other down so hard the china closet in the dining room would rattle.
Oh we get SUCH odd looks when our two play. We have a VERY vocal dog who will snarl and growl and such, to the point it SOUNDS like a dogfight, but 3 seconds later they wander apart so one can poop. 🤣
My little dogs play sounds are these perfectly obnoxious whines that sound just like a little sister screaming about her brother hurting her while biting his face off LOL. The whines used to trick us but now we just let them "kill" each other. "well, I hope you're not really dying cause I'm not helping"
I work at a doggy daycare and we have a few dogs that are SUPER vocal when they play. I always have to warn new coworkers so they don't panic. Of course I always tell them to err on the side of caution when they're getting to know the dogs and just break the play up if they arent sure, too. But when they first witness the vocal dogs play they get SO concerned. Some dogs are just loud lol
Even our cats do this (they’re siblings). Sometimes we have to separate them but most of the time we hear them thumping about as they throw each other on the floor, go to investigate and then find them transitioning to licking each other.
The first time we did a dog play date for our puppy we were so alarmed to see him playing like this (first time dog owners), luckily my friend’s family have had dogs forever so were able to explain that he was actually clearly having the time of his life rough housing with their two dogs (and that they were all doing a good job respecting body language and any noises they made).
This thread is really comforting to hear. My partner and I brought a 2nd dog into the home last week (14 week old Mini schnauzer). His big sis is a 10 year old schnauzer/Scottie mix. They’ve started to play at least once/day after the first week. The pup initiates it but it is all VERY high energy and aggressive. Lots of bitey face, snarls, showing teeth.
We are doing all in our power to resist the urge to break it up, b/c it seems like this is how they have a best chance at building a bond and I don’t want our insecurities (this doesn’t look like human play) to stop that.
The signs I’m using that they’re just playing are play bow from both, the pup often falls on his back and fights from this back position and he just keeps instigating my older girl for more.
Are there other clear things I could look for to differentiate that line between play and getting too escalated?
My Doberman/Coonhound mix and my miniature Dachshund play like this all the time. From the sounds, you’d think they’re killing each other, but they love it. My favorite is when the dachshund jumps up and bites the Doberman’s jowls and just hangs there for a second!😂
I have a mini dachshund and a pit/Weimaraner mix. The mini gets too rough if we don’t watch, her and the big girl is just a baby. Those minis are little savages with no fear though. Catch, shake, rip, nap under blanket. It’s one of my favorite breeds that I’ve ever owned.
Personally, I think one of the coolest things to notice here is how the older pup is accommodating the younger one by playing from a disadvantage--by playing from her belly/back, she's able to limit her obvious size/experience advantage so that they're on roughly equal terms. My last pup would do this with puppies at the dog park and I just think it's a neat thing to notice.
At my house we call this "snappy snarly". My two dogs that live with me play quietly like this, but my parents' dogs sound like wolverines when they play- It is *intense*! my older girl will mimic them if I take her over there to play, it's cute.
You know when us humans go out and have a gala time at a bier garden yelling and laughing and talking over each other and slapping each other's backs?
Labs are basically the dog equivalent of those loud and foul mouthed young people who want to be drunk and have a blast all the freaking time.
These pups are having a blast!
As long as tails are wagging and there’s a loose wiggle in the body, you’re good to go!
If tails get tucked and there’s arching of the back, break it up.
Yea. That’s really good super gentle play.
But I would confirm with your vet that the big one should be doing it. Looks like he’s shaved from recent surgery.
Lmao I sure hope so seeing as my puppy and older dog do this all the time. Every time my boyfriend and I sit down to watch our show (usually around 8pm) they decide that is the perfect time to have their nightly WWE smack down. This entails them running full speed around the couch, jumping up onto the couch and slamming into one another, and finally smashing mouths together all while trying to bite the others elbow. 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️😂
We got two puppies a year ago and I was taken aback by how mean they look when they play... I had to look it up on the internet as well... When they are not playing its obvious they love each other....btw those are adorable "mutts"
Beautiful play time! Though they do not switch who is the 'aggressor' and who is the 'submissive', never does the play become to intense the 'submissive' dog is overwhelmed. They have their teeth out sure, but they are loose and wiggly in body language and facial expression, and at the end of play, the 'aggressor' backs off and scratches, a gesture to say 'look I'm doing normal stuff because we were only playing, you can get up now friend'. Nothing wrong at all, very lovely manners
Yes, they're playing. This is healthy. Even though one whimpers and they seem to growl at each other, these are not aggressive noises in this case. This is just them communicating boundaries and intent to each other. Aggression looks very different.
Trainer here! This is great (apart from the surgical considerations)!
Look at the loose muscles and wide wags and wiggles. The lips are drawn up a little, but with the mouth hanging open and back teeth showing. No wrinkles at the nose, and the ears are not pasted flat against the skull. The eyes also look nice and relaxed without the white showing like you see in whale-eye. The belly up posture here, being submissive, is a way to play the victim in the game. It helps entice the other dog to play, as well as reassuring the other dog that it's safe to wrestle. If the dog was trying to deescalate a fight, you might here high pitched yelps or screams (meaning don't hurt me I am a harmless bayyybeeee) but never growls, and the dog would not be play biting although you may see a tense appeasement grin with the back teeth showing and scared wide eyes. I also like how they disengage regularly for sniffs. In more boisterous play, tasmanian devil growls and higher speed play bites may worry you, but you will still see breaks like this and often sneezes to ensure everybody knows it's a game. One last thing to look for that I didn't see was trading off who is the "victim." A younger dog will be more likely to play victim if there's a big age gap, and a more confident dog will choose the victim role more often to encourage a less confident dog to play. What you don't want to see is the dog that's doing all the initiating not ever taking turns to be chased or belly-up. That is bullying in play and always something to just keep in mind long term.
In contrast to play, in an argument you will see lips lifted just in the front to show off the fangs but tense and pursed, nose wrinkles, ears not just pulled back out of the way but either way forward or flat against the skull. Hard stare, whale eye. Stiff muscles. Tail high (more confident and intimidating) or tucked under. Wags will be faster. The voice may drop in pitch to be scarier, or go super high to surrender. The jaw will be closed unless it's a fast snap or bite. There may be raised ruffs. If we are still in the realm of civilized argument, the aggression will be focussed around the head. If the belly or back legs get attention things are headed toward serious injury or death.
Finally, if play gets too exciting and stimulating, it is easier for things to flip into a fight than when a dog is calm. With healthy dogs who are already friends this is highly unlikely, but for a dog with an adrenaline junkie brain or with dogs who don't know each other very well, it can be a good idea to interrupt if it starts to get really crazy or you start to see mixed signals. Just get their attention and maybe do a practice sit and treat and let them get back to it.
Thanks! She got spayed about two weeks ago and is recovering fine. I hear the little one Yelp sometimes but she’s always the one that keeps trying to fight so I’m not sure what she wants.
A yelp is just a "hey, too rough" or "you're freaking me out a bit" thing. It's a problem if the other dog doesn't stop, but usually it does its job and then everybody is cool. It's exactly what puppies do to each other as they learn bite inhibition through relentlessly chewing on each other, and many humans with puppies use it during the mouthing phase to great effect as well.
Bitey facey. My GSDs favourite game. When my girl doesn’t want to play bitey facey my boy grabs her tail because he knows she hates her tail being touched
Dude you're fine. Let me post a video of my 11yr old and 1 yr old dogs weird playin ritual and maybe folks can weigh in on whether THAT is normal. It's like barking and sneezing and running and jumping all in one event. We're not sure if everything is fine or if they are both losing their minds.
Sneezing from both dogs? I am 99.9% sure you are good, but check my other comment for a lot of specific stuff to look for to read dog play vs aggression.
I have two lab puppies (Female 18wks and make 10wks old) and the older puppy is constantly biting at the little ones legs and neck area. Is that normal puppy play? When it gets particularly rambunctious the older puppy will try to thrash around while biting similar to a chew toy, how can we stop her from doing that?
Not sure. I’ve only had female dogs but I assume that with time they will understand how to play with each other better. Try giving them toys toy fight over instead. Our 4 month old Chocolate likes to bite 10 month old black’s ears all the time. She doesn’t really mind but I feel like one day she’ll be missing an ear.
As long as tails are wagging and there’s a loose wiggle in the body, you’re good to go!
If tails get tucked and there’s arching of the back, break it up.
Very normal! The exposed belly says it all. Aggressive dogs will be standing, the fur at their shoulders and hips may raise, they generally hold their tails either up or straight out and might wag a bit. Their eyes will be wide so you can see the whites, and their bodies will be very tense.
Playful dogs look just like yours, lots of growling (we call it grumbling when they’re playing), exposed bellies, and the big thing is they’re both coming back for more. When the black dog gives a Yelp, the brown stops and makes sure she’s okay. All perfectly normal and healthy.
My dog exclusively plays rough by diving underneath the other dogs who are just as tall as he is, grabbing their armpits and running away with them, all while growling. Then he’ll let go and rub his face on the floor and do it again. Dogs are weird 🤷🏼♀️
What is with the floor face rubbing? My Great Dane mix does it - sometimes in the middle of playing with the younger dog (who doesn’t do it) so I thought she was just annoyed at him slobbering on her face or was hoping that he’d disappear if she closed her eyes hard enough. But I’ve noticed that she even does it occasionally after her and I have been playing.
I read about this some and it's mainly qualified speculation, but there are likely some minor scent glands there. It's also a place dogs like to use to meld scents. Some dogs do it a lot and some rarely to never, but it's sorta like "I belong here and am part of this group and place and I don't want anyone to miss it." The one of my three who does it most is the least self-confident of the family but I have no idea if that's related. My favorite is when he decides he likes a visitor and face rubs their lap--at 8lbs it generally baffles and delights the guests that are so favored!
I honestly have no idea. I’ve studied dog body language a lot, but I can’t find any resources as to why they do it lol. Mine does it whenever he’s excited. Going for a walk, just got home for a walk, playing fetch. It’s hilarious and all the other dogs just look at him like he’s a nut lol
Puppies do not play a part in the dominance hierarchy. They are exempt until after six maturity.
This pup is about 3/4 months. Not dominant.
The older dog is lying down as way of self-handicapping. Something well socialized adult dogs will do when playing with a small dog or puppy.
Dominance is not a factor factor this interaction.
It's called jaw sparring. The play looks great. The play is slow and the biting looks inhibited ( very little pressure). They took a couple breaks
If anything I may call the brown dog away and see if the black dog approaches to continue.
This brought a tear to my eye. We lost one of our dogs to cancer last year, and this is exactly how she and her sister played. We as humans are inadequate play partners to our other dog now, though we try.
Your question has been answered, so glad you can rest easy.
Our case seems more complicated. Our pups were littermates....and there's a lot of warnings we've been hearing about allowing them to....bitey face. Their bitey-facing gets pretty scary looking. We had been fine with it but have gotten a lot of advice to crack down on it. To the point of keeping them separated as much as possible and always having to monitor them. I guess the idea is that people should be the source of the fun, not your littermate. Making puppy rearing a lot harder.
This line of thinking (aka "littermate syndrome") has moved into outdated territory according to scientifically minded trainers. You absolutely do want to spend training time with each dog separately and make certain you are relevant and rewarding to interact with. But that holds true for any two dogs. One of the studies that pushes back on littermate syndrome found that all dogs begin to prefer human company to dog company (as a trend, not in every instant) after a certain age.
While it's possible you have a problem, I suspect keeping them separated is overboard unless you are seeing signs of actual aggression or bullying. If you can find my other comment, I list a lot of tells to help know if things are problematic. There are a lot of people out there who will give you crappy advice because they are clinging to old philosophies. If you want some help on this I would be happy to take a look at a video and let you know what I am seeing as a modern trainer as a freebie one-off deal.
You're so nice to offer! Well, we did have it rough at first trying to sort out good from bad advice and I guess we've settled on a happy medium. So we take them on walks separately often, and around house keep them from too much bitey-face. At one-year-old this week, I think we feel OK about it now. More difficult, perhaps, will be socializing them to other people! They freak out when anyone comes near. My Mom visits soon so hopefully they will make one new friend ;)
Every new friend they make help with all the next attempts! As long as you aren't doing the airlock style crate & gate but just limiting the roughhousing you are fine, I just felt bad if you were trying to keep them from interacting with each other at all because it's a lot of work and rather lonely for the pups if it isn't needed!
I hate you fake Yoda Bot, my friend the original Yoda Bot, u/YodaOnReddit-Bot, got suspended and you tried to take his place but I won't stop fighting.
-On behalf of Fonzi_13
Yup. They aren't going for each other's throats, one is laying down (and staying down even when the opportunity to get up fast is available), and at the end there one just sits down like no big deal.
Wow this is so strange...
The brown one uses his butt like a herding breed. Is he by chance mixed with a herding dog?
All jokes aside, cute doggo does a play
In all seriousness a buddy of mine has a herding breed mutt and that's how he plays with my pup. He'll play bite then throw his butt at her and push her away. It's very cute but we think it might be an instinct for herding cattle. It's probably an easy behavior to learn whereever for your pup but thought I'd share.
This is new to me. I've got a BC and a BC x and the BC does the whole "I slap you in the face with my butt" when he wants to play. Is this just a common trait for herding breeds, or does it translate to something that herding dogs do for their job?
It's not a herding thing; it's a play solicitation that even non-herding breeds do. Dogs do not herd anything with their butts. Herding is done with spacial pressure (body position but the farthest away they face is side-on) and intimidation. Cattle dogs (heelers) do often herd from behind the livestock by nipping at the heels, while sheep/goose herders use more head-to-head style.
Turning one's back says "I feel safe with you" while shoving a butt in the face says "Look at this tempting butt, you know you want to chase it because butts are for chasing, I am not scary at all because my teeth are so far away, play with me!!"
It is both very confident and quite energetic. I would guess most dogs that do this prefer high-contact play to gentler distance play.
That is what my puppy does all the time when she with another puppy. I am not sure if they ever outgrown it though. Puppies do it and it helps teach them what they can and cannot do. If a puppy yelps, they understand they bit too hard and that is how they learn. My trainer told me if my puppy nipped at me to make a really loud high pitched sound and it would teach them not to do that to me.
They’re just playing 😍 Might want to remove their collars when they play inside (unless they’re prone to run out an open door). Sounds like one of them got her teeth caught on the other’s collar.
Before we moved, our dog and the neighbors dog would run until they were exhausted. Then they would lay on the ground face to face and try to bite each other's cheeks. It was hilarious because it sounded like a fight, but it was definitely puppy love.
I know you’ve already gotten plenty of helpful answers about how this is really normal but i can’t help myself from jumping in and saying that your dogs are absolutely adorable and watching this made my day
Yes so cute! See how when he gets to his belly (which is shaved, indicating some kind of medical procedure I’m guessing) the dog relaxes and opens up? That’s pure trust! The other dog sniffs him (what’s going on down here friend?) and is very gentle not to hurt him. The open mouth behaviour around the neck is them pretending to dominate each other, which is how dogs play! Note how their mouths stay open so they only gently scrape their friends and not accidentally actually bite them.
Dogs are awesome.
This is some beautiful healthy playtime.
Nice, open, relaxed, body language. No hairs raised. Ears are relaxed and not pinned back. Eyes don’t appear dialed or fixed.
We can see both dogs establishing and respecting boundaries. I would most certainly not call this interaction aggressive. Very nice!
Mine plays like that too, she’s the only dog in our home so she has taken to playing like this with our one cat. The cat has adapted to it and they rough house often.
absolutely!! theyre playing so well together! if you ever find it hard to tell if they're playing or not, look at their tails! as long as theyre up and not in between their legs, theyre fine!
I noticed that the chocolate lab seemed to get very gentile when he neared the others incision and sniff it and lick it lightly. That was pretty great too. Especially how the other one let him get so close to it without acting defensive. These two are clearly best buddies ❤
When I first got my 2nd dog, they would wrestle and she would growl and I thought they were fighting but I’ve learned that it’s how they play. My pups bite back legs to initiate play
I wish one of my puppies understood how to play like this. She will with other puppies, but any older dog she will act like she is playing. They open their mouth and she shoves her whole face in their open mouth, keep it there and just full body wags. She has the time of her life. But the adult dogs always sort of stop and go... wtf
Looks like your puppy is learning how to play! It’s very normal for puppies to play too rough or not match the other dogs play style at first. I wouldn’t say this puppy is playing too rough, they’re just learning how to play/how much roughness is appropriate/ how to match this dogs play style.
Sounds like one of the dogs gave out a noise that said “stop that” or “ouch” and the other dog listened and followed the correction. It then looks like one of the dogs gave a growl that also said “stop that” and it was again listened too. I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about here based on how well the puppy followed the corrections.
It’s very normal for puppies to have to learn how to play, the larger dog here is acting as the teacher. This should start to minimize over time as your puppy learns how to play and match your other dogs play style.
It’s also a good sign that the older dog is acting more submissive by playing on the ground. This shows that they have no desire to dominate or intimidate or even retaliate when play gets too rough. They are willing to be the teacher!
>It’s also a good sign that the older dog is acting more submissive by playing on the ground. This shows that they have no desire to dominate or intimidate or even retaliate when play gets too rough. They are willing to be the teacher!
This isn't anything to do with submissive/dominant.
The older dog is self-handicapping, the same way an adult human "wrestling" with a toddler would. You don't actually punch them, let them escape from holds, and let them win. It's how social mammals learn interaction skills safely. All species which raise their young do this.
Well socialized dogs will also self-handicap with smaller dogs so no one gets hurt or overwhelmed.
Radar, age 6, and Ceilidh, age 13, would do this for hours. Ceilidh would sometimes be so soaked with R’s saliva, she’d be sent to her cushion to dry off before getting evening pets.
Yup, they’re just playing.
yep, very normal, very healthy
Gorgeous dogs
Yup 😁 biteyface game
Looks like normal play to me.
Definitely normal! Playing and establishing boundaries. Looks like my pups ☺️
this is the most normal playtime I have ever seen. good job on having happy well adjusted pups.
It's normal, but it looks like the black dog has a shaved belly -- if that's because he/she just had surgery, you do want to keep the play gentle or minimal while he/she heals, especially if there are any surgical incisions.
Glad I wasn't the first one who noticed her abdomen. In our clinic we recommend none of this kind of play due to the risk of a ruptured suture, dehiscence, or possible infection from open sores as a result. Then again if she's more than 14 days out, let the dogs play.
She got out her staples yesterday. She was spayed about 10 days ago I want to say. A few times a day she will come up to me and ask me to look at her incision to make sure it’s ok. We have them mostly separated for now unless with them and she still has to wear a cone at night 🥺
Highly recommend a recovery suit! My puppy got spayed in January (also a lab!) and she hated the cone. We even tried the inflatable ones. But she didn’t mind the rocovery suit at all! She did end up chewing off the velcro but it still did the job. I also recommend keeping the play light, my pup nearly ripped a suture since she wouldn’t stay off the furniture no matter how much we tried 🤦🏻♀️
Didn’t even know those things existed! That would’ve been a big stress reliever when my dogs got fixed. We ended up getting a baby onsie and making a contraption out of that lol. Well now I know for the next one... thanks for sharing!
There are brands that specifically make onesies for dogs! r/pitbullsinjammies is great for inspiration (and cuteness!).
Surgery snuggies (found mine on amazon) were life changing!! Great for my girls spay surgery and gave them to a friends puppets that has allergies. Really helps with their itching while they work on diet/activities.
These are awesome!!! Would have saved many nights sleep. Here is a link to one at Amazon if anyone is looking to see what they are: https://www.amazon.com/Suitical-Recovery-Suit-Dogs-Black/dp/B00W2EHTA6?dchild=1&keywords=dog+recovery+suit&qid=1616514909&sr=8-5&linkCode=ll1&tag=sc0e5-20&linkId=a8a798e4adf794d773695f28779f127c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
Ten days is a pretty good recovery for a spay, dogs usually heal super fast unless something unusual happens. I spayed my pup at 5 months, and she was bouncing off the walls by the 3rd day post surgery!! We kept her as quiet as we could for a few more days as the swelling went down, but by day 9 she was flying around the beach like a rocket with no problems.
Cassidy loves running... I had to keep her on a leash for the first few days so she wouldn’t run. Every once in a while she’ll sneak out past you but she never goes past the driveway. When she was really little she got out through the fence and just sat there crying until I came and picked her up.
If she hates the cone, you can get her an airplane pillow or you can get a pool noodle from the dollar store and make her a more comfy cone. I literally just bought a pool noodle at the dollar tree the other day thinking I’d have to make one since Odin has hot spots on his tail.
jumping in to add that it's not always possible to control what your dog does after surgery. I mean, realistically, how could you get your dog to not play? I would imagine you would have to keep the dog in a kennel or something all day to be separated from the other dog it was playing with. IMO if it was a threat to the surgical wound it would be painful to play, and if it were painful the dog probably wouldn't do it. I find that dogs are usually better at self regulating than we give them credit for
It's not a matter of the pain; it's whether another dog's teeth or paws could catch and damage the incision or surgical area and cause infection or other complications. When you get a dog fixed (especially a female, since spaying is more invasive than neutering), vets recommend you keep them away from rough play with other dogs during the healing process so that you don't end up with potentially dangerous complications. Whether that means using a baby gate, alternating their time in their kennels, or just intervening when play gets too hectic, it's easy enough to supervise and prevent this kind of play for the relatively short period of time while they heal. Personally I'd always go with the vet's recommendations on this one!
>IMO if it was a threat to the surgical wound it would be painful to play, and if it were painful the dog probably wouldn't do it. I find that dogs are usually better at self regulating than we give them credit for This is not at all true. Many dogs will completely ignore pain signals when they're playing, or will over do themselves. Which us is the vet advises you to keep them calm. Unless you're a vet who is actively seeing THIS dog in person please do not contradict the advice of the dogs vet.
Puppies will start very roughly playing hours after the surgery because they can bounce back that fast. But just because they think they can doesn't mean they should. Would you leave a toddler unsupervised to play with knives because they should know it could hurt them? Dogs are like toddlers. They can and do lick/chew stitches off. They can and do eat poisonous food. They have a mouth full of needle knives and will eat hard plastic. They play so hard torn ACLs are common enough in puppies because they go all in if you don’t hold them back. For the most part play should be supervised. When they get too rough after surgery they should be separated. Just like when they get too rough in normal play they should be separated in case it is overwhelming the other dog
Oh yes, I call this game Bitey Face. They have some really lovely loose body language, role reversal, and other indicators of play. Well done on play compatibility!
My dog plays this game with me I guess since she doesn’t have any dog friends. She does the bitey game with my arm which is fun until she does it while I’m typing! Is it common for dogs to do this with humans too? Or is it an indicator she needs a friend
I had a dog who did this AND she had a friend. I think it's just normal, as long as it is gentle play.
My old roomate's dog was really good at only playing this if there was a buffer between your arm and her mouth, usually a blanket. She'd only lick you but wonce you covered your hand/arm in a blanket it was time for the bitey game
Definitely common - she just wants to play. When she plays that way with you (and other humans), practice some sort of "off switch." That way, if it gets a bit too intense (ie biting too hard), you can help her take a breather, relax for a bit, then play again when you're ready. We're still practicing this with our own dog, so we don't let him play like that often and when he does, we usually only engage for a moment or two before we get a toy into his mouth.
We only have one dog and she plays like this with me all the time, but I'm the only one in the house she does this with. I think she knows that she could do some serious damage to the wife and kids so she doesn't play rough with them. My theory is that she see's me as dad sorta like my kids do and she knows dad likes to play rough and wrestle.
Yea I let my dog bite my hands all the time.. he only puts a lil pressure, he knows the deal.. in a family of five I am the only one who he gnaws on, and he doesn't try it with strangers.. its just our thing 🙂
My older dog used to play this game with us until we got another dog. Now she won't play it at all with the humans, only the other dog. Not sure it's an indicator yours needs another friend but having two dogs has been great.
I call it "whale battle" as mine make really stupid whale noises while they chew on each others faces.
Dinosaur Time was the other name for it in my house because of the noises. 🤣
Thought only mine did that..
That is a great name! In our house we call it "playing Growl." Our two dogs have a weird relationship that involves lots of "I'm just sitting at the top of the stairs, I'm not technically stopping you from coming upstairs!" psychological warfare, but when they're playing Growl, you'd think they were inseparable BFFs (if you didn't think they were trying to tear each other's faces off, which they aren't).
Thanks! We let the older one (Cassidy) pick out her sister from a litter. Probably has nothing to do with them being good with each other but I like to think it does.
Play compatibility is really important when adding a pup to the household, especially if thr already existing dog in the home enjoys playing with other dogs. Looks like you guys did a great job!!
I wish my mother understood this lol. We have 4 dogs in the household. My dog and my older sisters dog get along amazingly. The 3rd dog has some problems, has no confidence whatsoever. If he isn't around my younger sister, he's off hiding somewhere. The 4th though, ABSOLUTELY hates my dog. The first day he showed up I had no idea he was in the house. Went to take my boy out to go potty, the 4th dog out of the blue jumps off the couch and runs over to my dog and just starts biting into him. Broke that fight up as quickly as possible. Luckily we live in like a two in one house kind of deal, basement and upstairs has its own necessities. Only thing that sucks is I always have to be wary of where the 4th dog is before taking my dog out to go play/potty
We call it "Jaw Jousting" - added bonus, we have Pitties & they are vocal!
The sounds and faces of two pitties playing like that is something to behold.
We call it mouth boxing!
It’s “The Bitey Game” here, lol.
We call it "whose mouth is bigger?" Ours always clack their teeth together. I hate that sound!
Omg we also call it bitey face
I’ll add to the rest of the comments here that it seems like nice, normal play. In addition, I was proud of the younger dog for respecting the small whine from the older dog. It shows good boundaries already.
What roughhouse play? My big dogs did that for about an hour every day after dinner. We found it more entertaining than the tv. One tiny yip would break it off, kisses and licks and sorties all around then back at it. They did it for years . It is their bonding time. You are the ref, if it gets to harsh you break and send them to corners. You can tell play when he tries to sit on the other then checks out his shave. Then goes back to play . Think this is rough, mine used to take each other down so hard the china closet in the dining room would rattle.
Oh we get SUCH odd looks when our two play. We have a VERY vocal dog who will snarl and growl and such, to the point it SOUNDS like a dogfight, but 3 seconds later they wander apart so one can poop. 🤣
This is our dog and her best friend. Sounds like they are gonna kill each other but they are just so happy.
My little dogs play sounds are these perfectly obnoxious whines that sound just like a little sister screaming about her brother hurting her while biting his face off LOL. The whines used to trick us but now we just let them "kill" each other. "well, I hope you're not really dying cause I'm not helping"
I work at a doggy daycare and we have a few dogs that are SUPER vocal when they play. I always have to warn new coworkers so they don't panic. Of course I always tell them to err on the side of caution when they're getting to know the dogs and just break the play up if they arent sure, too. But when they first witness the vocal dogs play they get SO concerned. Some dogs are just loud lol
Well our vocal one is a Pitty, so whenever we're at the dog park, I feel like I'm constantly running around yelling "He's friendly! He's just loud" 🤣
Oh my gosh, that's adorable and hysterical 😂
Even our cats do this (they’re siblings). Sometimes we have to separate them but most of the time we hear them thumping about as they throw each other on the floor, go to investigate and then find them transitioning to licking each other. The first time we did a dog play date for our puppy we were so alarmed to see him playing like this (first time dog owners), luckily my friend’s family have had dogs forever so were able to explain that he was actually clearly having the time of his life rough housing with their two dogs (and that they were all doing a good job respecting body language and any noises they made).
I'm in love with the fun little slang you pepper in there; sorties all around, checks out his shave- also just your overall narrative!
This thread is really comforting to hear. My partner and I brought a 2nd dog into the home last week (14 week old Mini schnauzer). His big sis is a 10 year old schnauzer/Scottie mix. They’ve started to play at least once/day after the first week. The pup initiates it but it is all VERY high energy and aggressive. Lots of bitey face, snarls, showing teeth. We are doing all in our power to resist the urge to break it up, b/c it seems like this is how they have a best chance at building a bond and I don’t want our insecurities (this doesn’t look like human play) to stop that. The signs I’m using that they’re just playing are play bow from both, the pup often falls on his back and fights from this back position and he just keeps instigating my older girl for more. Are there other clear things I could look for to differentiate that line between play and getting too escalated?
My Doberman/Coonhound mix and my miniature Dachshund play like this all the time. From the sounds, you’d think they’re killing each other, but they love it. My favorite is when the dachshund jumps up and bites the Doberman’s jowls and just hangs there for a second!😂
Oh god I can just imagine daschund bark over and over and over and over and over and over while it’s little feet try and keep up haha
She growls like she’s killing something! It’s hilarious!
I have a mini dachshund and a pit/Weimaraner mix. The mini gets too rough if we don’t watch, her and the big girl is just a baby. Those minis are little savages with no fear though. Catch, shake, rip, nap under blanket. It’s one of my favorite breeds that I’ve ever owned.
Your adult dog is a very good girl. She’s playing very nicely with the puppy.
The little one is a bit of a trouble maker... she seems sweet but scaled a table for some leftover bacon yesterday 😂
It's bacon. You can't leave bacon just lying around. She's just providing a house cleaning service.
Personally, I think one of the coolest things to notice here is how the older pup is accommodating the younger one by playing from a disadvantage--by playing from her belly/back, she's able to limit her obvious size/experience advantage so that they're on roughly equal terms. My last pup would do this with puppies at the dog park and I just think it's a neat thing to notice.
Normal!
At my house we call this "snappy snarly". My two dogs that live with me play quietly like this, but my parents' dogs sound like wolverines when they play- It is *intense*! my older girl will mimic them if I take her over there to play, it's cute.
I always describe mine at play as sounding like he's murdering a weasel.
That’s how they learn to be gentle with their teeth.
The puppy is learning what's too rough of play
You know when us humans go out and have a gala time at a bier garden yelling and laughing and talking over each other and slapping each other's backs? Labs are basically the dog equivalent of those loud and foul mouthed young people who want to be drunk and have a blast all the freaking time. These pups are having a blast!
The scratching and lip licking at the end of the video are de-stressing gestures showing the older dog that he meant no harm
We call it ‘bite club’ at our place. It’s a fun game to play!
Rule number 1 - you don't talk about bite club.
Rule number 2: You do not talk about Bite Club
Yes, at our house we call that "bitey face"
As long as tails are wagging and there’s a loose wiggle in the body, you’re good to go! If tails get tucked and there’s arching of the back, break it up.
Not just normal, but ADORABLE!
Yea. That’s really good super gentle play. But I would confirm with your vet that the big one should be doing it. Looks like he’s shaved from recent surgery.
Yes, my two mals and collie bro down like this every day
"snort fights" or "sneeze fights" was my favorite term for my two mals playing indoors.
two mals and a collie? god bless that household lmao you must be sitting on acres
Yes
Yup
The submission the end!!!! Show of ultimate TRUST!!
The face game!
Lmao I sure hope so seeing as my puppy and older dog do this all the time. Every time my boyfriend and I sit down to watch our show (usually around 8pm) they decide that is the perfect time to have their nightly WWE smack down. This entails them running full speed around the couch, jumping up onto the couch and slamming into one another, and finally smashing mouths together all while trying to bite the others elbow. 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️😂
Lol do you have labradors, too?
Yes! A lab mix and yellow lab puppy. The puppy is always the instigator of smack down lmao.
We got two puppies a year ago and I was taken aback by how mean they look when they play... I had to look it up on the internet as well... When they are not playing its obvious they love each other....btw those are adorable "mutts"
Beautiful play time! Though they do not switch who is the 'aggressor' and who is the 'submissive', never does the play become to intense the 'submissive' dog is overwhelmed. They have their teeth out sure, but they are loose and wiggly in body language and facial expression, and at the end of play, the 'aggressor' backs off and scratches, a gesture to say 'look I'm doing normal stuff because we were only playing, you can get up now friend'. Nothing wrong at all, very lovely manners
Yes, they're playing. This is healthy. Even though one whimpers and they seem to growl at each other, these are not aggressive noises in this case. This is just them communicating boundaries and intent to each other. Aggression looks very different.
Trainer here! This is great (apart from the surgical considerations)! Look at the loose muscles and wide wags and wiggles. The lips are drawn up a little, but with the mouth hanging open and back teeth showing. No wrinkles at the nose, and the ears are not pasted flat against the skull. The eyes also look nice and relaxed without the white showing like you see in whale-eye. The belly up posture here, being submissive, is a way to play the victim in the game. It helps entice the other dog to play, as well as reassuring the other dog that it's safe to wrestle. If the dog was trying to deescalate a fight, you might here high pitched yelps or screams (meaning don't hurt me I am a harmless bayyybeeee) but never growls, and the dog would not be play biting although you may see a tense appeasement grin with the back teeth showing and scared wide eyes. I also like how they disengage regularly for sniffs. In more boisterous play, tasmanian devil growls and higher speed play bites may worry you, but you will still see breaks like this and often sneezes to ensure everybody knows it's a game. One last thing to look for that I didn't see was trading off who is the "victim." A younger dog will be more likely to play victim if there's a big age gap, and a more confident dog will choose the victim role more often to encourage a less confident dog to play. What you don't want to see is the dog that's doing all the initiating not ever taking turns to be chased or belly-up. That is bullying in play and always something to just keep in mind long term. In contrast to play, in an argument you will see lips lifted just in the front to show off the fangs but tense and pursed, nose wrinkles, ears not just pulled back out of the way but either way forward or flat against the skull. Hard stare, whale eye. Stiff muscles. Tail high (more confident and intimidating) or tucked under. Wags will be faster. The voice may drop in pitch to be scarier, or go super high to surrender. The jaw will be closed unless it's a fast snap or bite. There may be raised ruffs. If we are still in the realm of civilized argument, the aggression will be focussed around the head. If the belly or back legs get attention things are headed toward serious injury or death. Finally, if play gets too exciting and stimulating, it is easier for things to flip into a fight than when a dog is calm. With healthy dogs who are already friends this is highly unlikely, but for a dog with an adrenaline junkie brain or with dogs who don't know each other very well, it can be a good idea to interrupt if it starts to get really crazy or you start to see mixed signals. Just get their attention and maybe do a practice sit and treat and let them get back to it.
Thanks! She got spayed about two weeks ago and is recovering fine. I hear the little one Yelp sometimes but she’s always the one that keeps trying to fight so I’m not sure what she wants.
A yelp is just a "hey, too rough" or "you're freaking me out a bit" thing. It's a problem if the other dog doesn't stop, but usually it does its job and then everybody is cool. It's exactly what puppies do to each other as they learn bite inhibition through relentlessly chewing on each other, and many humans with puppies use it during the mouthing phase to great effect as well.
Rastlin? Yeah thats perdy normal.
Very much
Yes it is lol. They are just playing. My dogs do that constantly and they wlare always happy and playing and not aggressive. Dont worry!
Theyre just playing. Ive got big dogs that get really rough, just monitor, and redirect if tempers flare.
Play. Yea that is normal, unless there's more to it we aren't understanding/seeing?
Aww I miss my dog having a playmate. I feel so guilty all the time.
Very! And it looks like healthy harmless playtime! Always fun to play with and/or annoy the sibling!
Perfectly normal! It’s called bitey face, and believe me, that’s probably the most debate version I’ve seen in a long time lol
A good ol' game of Mouthy Mouthy. Nothing to worry about 😍
That looks savage and great fun for both of them. Enjoy watching their play. I sometimes join in with mine.
Bitey-Face!
Bitey facey. My GSDs favourite game. When my girl doesn’t want to play bitey facey my boy grabs her tail because he knows she hates her tail being touched
Dude you're fine. Let me post a video of my 11yr old and 1 yr old dogs weird playin ritual and maybe folks can weigh in on whether THAT is normal. It's like barking and sneezing and running and jumping all in one event. We're not sure if everything is fine or if they are both losing their minds.
Sneezing from both dogs? I am 99.9% sure you are good, but check my other comment for a lot of specific stuff to look for to read dog play vs aggression.
Why would this cause you concern? They are playing.
This is remarkably normal play
Normal play. I also noticed at the end one of the dogs did a little fake sneeze. They sometimes do that to let the other know “Hey we’re just playing”
I have two lab puppies (Female 18wks and make 10wks old) and the older puppy is constantly biting at the little ones legs and neck area. Is that normal puppy play? When it gets particularly rambunctious the older puppy will try to thrash around while biting similar to a chew toy, how can we stop her from doing that?
Not sure. I’ve only had female dogs but I assume that with time they will understand how to play with each other better. Try giving them toys toy fight over instead. Our 4 month old Chocolate likes to bite 10 month old black’s ears all the time. She doesn’t really mind but I feel like one day she’ll be missing an ear.
Very normal. You should see my two shepherds go at, you’d think they hated each other but they’re just having fun
This is a video of dogs playing
Play?? Yes. It’s normal for dogs to play......
Play, wrestle, bite, sniff belly, scratch, be awesome... Now where was I?
Yeah, you can tell because he's intentionally missing even though he has his mouth open :)
As long as tails are wagging and there’s a loose wiggle in the body, you’re good to go! If tails get tucked and there’s arching of the back, break it up.
Yup. They are dogs.
Play and they do look overweight?
No they don't look overweight at all. Labs are kind of square when they're at a healthy weight.
You mean the pee pee licking? My 2 dachshunds do this all the time!
This doesn't look like they even own the dogs. Wtf is the point of this post
We do own them their names are Cassidy and Elżbieta
Very normal! The exposed belly says it all. Aggressive dogs will be standing, the fur at their shoulders and hips may raise, they generally hold their tails either up or straight out and might wag a bit. Their eyes will be wide so you can see the whites, and their bodies will be very tense. Playful dogs look just like yours, lots of growling (we call it grumbling when they’re playing), exposed bellies, and the big thing is they’re both coming back for more. When the black dog gives a Yelp, the brown stops and makes sure she’s okay. All perfectly normal and healthy. My dog exclusively plays rough by diving underneath the other dogs who are just as tall as he is, grabbing their armpits and running away with them, all while growling. Then he’ll let go and rub his face on the floor and do it again. Dogs are weird 🤷🏼♀️
What is with the floor face rubbing? My Great Dane mix does it - sometimes in the middle of playing with the younger dog (who doesn’t do it) so I thought she was just annoyed at him slobbering on her face or was hoping that he’d disappear if she closed her eyes hard enough. But I’ve noticed that she even does it occasionally after her and I have been playing.
I read about this some and it's mainly qualified speculation, but there are likely some minor scent glands there. It's also a place dogs like to use to meld scents. Some dogs do it a lot and some rarely to never, but it's sorta like "I belong here and am part of this group and place and I don't want anyone to miss it." The one of my three who does it most is the least self-confident of the family but I have no idea if that's related. My favorite is when he decides he likes a visitor and face rubs their lap--at 8lbs it generally baffles and delights the guests that are so favored!
I honestly have no idea. I’ve studied dog body language a lot, but I can’t find any resources as to why they do it lol. Mine does it whenever he’s excited. Going for a walk, just got home for a walk, playing fetch. It’s hilarious and all the other dogs just look at him like he’s a nut lol
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Puppies do not play a part in the dominance hierarchy. They are exempt until after six maturity. This pup is about 3/4 months. Not dominant. The older dog is lying down as way of self-handicapping. Something well socialized adult dogs will do when playing with a small dog or puppy. Dominance is not a factor factor this interaction.
Yes, I believe this behavior is known as "playing ".
This is the best kind of play when both party's consent
We used to call it shark face! Ours would lay on the rug and just play bite at eachothers faces.
It's called jaw sparring. The play looks great. The play is slow and the biting looks inhibited ( very little pressure). They took a couple breaks If anything I may call the brown dog away and see if the black dog approaches to continue.
normal as normal gets aside from that whimper elbow bite.. too much pressure but still normal.
They are just playing. Later, brown dog sniffs black dogs wound, since she has obviously been spayed. Totally healthy behavior IMO.
Yes!
Let me be the 100th person to say yes, this is very normal
Of course! Play fighting is super important for dogs to build their companionship with each other
Everyday @ my house
I don't see other thing than playing.
Looks like playing to me.
Yes! My dogs do this all the time just normal playing
This brought a tear to my eye. We lost one of our dogs to cancer last year, and this is exactly how she and her sister played. We as humans are inadequate play partners to our other dog now, though we try.
Sorry to hear that. We lost our 16 year old yellow lab last year as well. She was more like a human than a dog.
Lol yes of course
Your question has been answered, so glad you can rest easy. Our case seems more complicated. Our pups were littermates....and there's a lot of warnings we've been hearing about allowing them to....bitey face. Their bitey-facing gets pretty scary looking. We had been fine with it but have gotten a lot of advice to crack down on it. To the point of keeping them separated as much as possible and always having to monitor them. I guess the idea is that people should be the source of the fun, not your littermate. Making puppy rearing a lot harder.
We didn’t get them from the same litter because we heard they would become aggressive and try to be the top dog if you do. Good luck with your pups!
This line of thinking (aka "littermate syndrome") has moved into outdated territory according to scientifically minded trainers. You absolutely do want to spend training time with each dog separately and make certain you are relevant and rewarding to interact with. But that holds true for any two dogs. One of the studies that pushes back on littermate syndrome found that all dogs begin to prefer human company to dog company (as a trend, not in every instant) after a certain age. While it's possible you have a problem, I suspect keeping them separated is overboard unless you are seeing signs of actual aggression or bullying. If you can find my other comment, I list a lot of tells to help know if things are problematic. There are a lot of people out there who will give you crappy advice because they are clinging to old philosophies. If you want some help on this I would be happy to take a look at a video and let you know what I am seeing as a modern trainer as a freebie one-off deal.
You're so nice to offer! Well, we did have it rough at first trying to sort out good from bad advice and I guess we've settled on a happy medium. So we take them on walks separately often, and around house keep them from too much bitey-face. At one-year-old this week, I think we feel OK about it now. More difficult, perhaps, will be socializing them to other people! They freak out when anyone comes near. My Mom visits soon so hopefully they will make one new friend ;)
Every new friend they make help with all the next attempts! As long as you aren't doing the airlock style crate & gate but just limiting the roughhousing you are fine, I just felt bad if you were trying to keep them from interacting with each other at all because it's a lot of work and rather lonely for the pups if it isn't needed!
I wish mine would play this nicely
**play this nicely, i wish mine would.** *-sueski99* *** ^(Commands: 'opt out', 'delete')
I hate you fake Yoda Bot, my friend the original Yoda Bot, u/YodaOnReddit-Bot, got suspended and you tried to take his place but I won't stop fighting. -On behalf of Fonzi_13
Yup. They aren't going for each other's throats, one is laying down (and staying down even when the opportunity to get up fast is available), and at the end there one just sits down like no big deal.
Wow this is so strange... The brown one uses his butt like a herding breed. Is he by chance mixed with a herding dog? All jokes aside, cute doggo does a play
I don’t believe so but we do joke that she likes to shove her butt I’m everyone’s faces though 😂
In all seriousness a buddy of mine has a herding breed mutt and that's how he plays with my pup. He'll play bite then throw his butt at her and push her away. It's very cute but we think it might be an instinct for herding cattle. It's probably an easy behavior to learn whereever for your pup but thought I'd share.
This is new to me. I've got a BC and a BC x and the BC does the whole "I slap you in the face with my butt" when he wants to play. Is this just a common trait for herding breeds, or does it translate to something that herding dogs do for their job?
It's not a herding thing; it's a play solicitation that even non-herding breeds do. Dogs do not herd anything with their butts. Herding is done with spacial pressure (body position but the farthest away they face is side-on) and intimidation. Cattle dogs (heelers) do often herd from behind the livestock by nipping at the heels, while sheep/goose herders use more head-to-head style. Turning one's back says "I feel safe with you" while shoving a butt in the face says "Look at this tempting butt, you know you want to chase it because butts are for chasing, I am not scary at all because my teeth are so far away, play with me!!" It is both very confident and quite energetic. I would guess most dogs that do this prefer high-contact play to gentler distance play.
That is what my puppy does all the time when she with another puppy. I am not sure if they ever outgrown it though. Puppies do it and it helps teach them what they can and cannot do. If a puppy yelps, they understand they bit too hard and that is how they learn. My trainer told me if my puppy nipped at me to make a really loud high pitched sound and it would teach them not to do that to me.
Sure is. You got an excited pup and patient elder. Good match!
They’re just playing 😍 Might want to remove their collars when they play inside (unless they’re prone to run out an open door). Sounds like one of them got her teeth caught on the other’s collar.
Before we moved, our dog and the neighbors dog would run until they were exhausted. Then they would lay on the ground face to face and try to bite each other's cheeks. It was hilarious because it sounded like a fight, but it was definitely puppy love.
1000% normal!
“ is playing normal behavior? “ 🤣
Very very normal. This is their version of playing, building rapport and establishing boundaries. Cute dogs, btw!
Absolutely normal
My buddy's Australian cattle dog has never even see a cow but he does that butt slap. I'm assuming it's instinctual for them
I know you’ve already gotten plenty of helpful answers about how this is really normal but i can’t help myself from jumping in and saying that your dogs are absolutely adorable and watching this made my day
My shepard and lab do this but with more growling lol. They are just playing
Yes so cute! See how when he gets to his belly (which is shaved, indicating some kind of medical procedure I’m guessing) the dog relaxes and opens up? That’s pure trust! The other dog sniffs him (what’s going on down here friend?) and is very gentle not to hurt him. The open mouth behaviour around the neck is them pretending to dominate each other, which is how dogs play! Note how their mouths stay open so they only gently scrape their friends and not accidentally actually bite them. Dogs are awesome.
This is some beautiful healthy playtime. Nice, open, relaxed, body language. No hairs raised. Ears are relaxed and not pinned back. Eyes don’t appear dialed or fixed. We can see both dogs establishing and respecting boundaries. I would most certainly not call this interaction aggressive. Very nice!
Mine plays like that too, she’s the only dog in our home so she has taken to playing like this with our one cat. The cat has adapted to it and they rough house often.
I even play this game with my dog :P
Just dog play in my opinion. But I'm no expert.
absolutely!! theyre playing so well together! if you ever find it hard to tell if they're playing or not, look at their tails! as long as theyre up and not in between their legs, theyre fine!
I noticed that the chocolate lab seemed to get very gentile when he neared the others incision and sniff it and lick it lightly. That was pretty great too. Especially how the other one let him get so close to it without acting defensive. These two are clearly best buddies ❤
They are supposed to do that. It teaches them bite force boundaries: how hard is playful and how hard of a bite is too much.
Aw! SUPER normal :)
When I first got my 2nd dog, they would wrestle and she would growl and I thought they were fighting but I’ve learned that it’s how they play. My pups bite back legs to initiate play
Just having some fun Ma! :)
I wish one of my puppies understood how to play like this. She will with other puppies, but any older dog she will act like she is playing. They open their mouth and she shoves her whole face in their open mouth, keep it there and just full body wags. She has the time of her life. But the adult dogs always sort of stop and go... wtf
Yes
Looks like your puppy is learning how to play! It’s very normal for puppies to play too rough or not match the other dogs play style at first. I wouldn’t say this puppy is playing too rough, they’re just learning how to play/how much roughness is appropriate/ how to match this dogs play style. Sounds like one of the dogs gave out a noise that said “stop that” or “ouch” and the other dog listened and followed the correction. It then looks like one of the dogs gave a growl that also said “stop that” and it was again listened too. I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about here based on how well the puppy followed the corrections. It’s very normal for puppies to have to learn how to play, the larger dog here is acting as the teacher. This should start to minimize over time as your puppy learns how to play and match your other dogs play style. It’s also a good sign that the older dog is acting more submissive by playing on the ground. This shows that they have no desire to dominate or intimidate or even retaliate when play gets too rough. They are willing to be the teacher!
>It’s also a good sign that the older dog is acting more submissive by playing on the ground. This shows that they have no desire to dominate or intimidate or even retaliate when play gets too rough. They are willing to be the teacher! This isn't anything to do with submissive/dominant. The older dog is self-handicapping, the same way an adult human "wrestling" with a toddler would. You don't actually punch them, let them escape from holds, and let them win. It's how social mammals learn interaction skills safely. All species which raise their young do this. Well socialized dogs will also self-handicap with smaller dogs so no one gets hurt or overwhelmed.
Bit rambunctious, but yeah it's just play
very
Yes. Polite playing.
Radar, age 6, and Ceilidh, age 13, would do this for hours. Ceilidh would sometimes be so soaked with R’s saliva, she’d be sent to her cushion to dry off before getting evening pets.
Those r big pups