Puppy? Or Shark?

[Stephanie & Reggie]

My sister and I have mini goldendoodle pups (7 months) from the same litter (awww) and frequently get together for play dates. The boys are always very excited to see each other (understatement) which is cute and great, but I'm worried that their play is too rough...

This week, my sister and her puppy Oliver spent 2 days with us, and I am not joking, I think Reggie (my pup) spent 85% of that time either biting or trying to bite his brother. The other 15% was pretty much all sleeping.  The biting doesn't seem aggressive because both tails are wagging and they seem like they are having a good time, but Reggie is CONSTANTLY in Oliver's business, chasing or biting or something. Oliver tolerates it and plays along, bites back of course, but he has a big doodle brother at home, so I think gets bored with it after awhile. Reggie is definitely the instigator! The dogs have plenty of toys to chase/bite/play with, are given ample chewy bones/rawhides treats to exercise their biting, and are both given plenty of exercise.

Reggie never used to be a nipper, but he is getting worse by the day, and I'm worried it's partly because of his rough play with other dogs (we have a couple of other doggie friends, and there's a lot of chasing/biting going on there too, seems playful but who knows? All of the dogs are relatively young, and small, so Reggie's never been put in his place) - is he working his way into some bad habits? I own a dance studio and bring him to work with me every day - my students love to say hi to Reggie after their classes, but I'm worried that if this nipping keeps up, I'll have to keep him away from the kids!

My questions are:

1) Is constant biting between dogs/puppies normal play? If so, when do they grow out of it? Also if so, do you just let them bite until one gets mad enough to stick up for himself? 

2) Do dogs generalize nipping as ok to do to people, if they are allowed to bite other dogs? 

3) What can we do to get our dogs to play nice, independently? Or do we just need to separate them when can't control the play?

4) Is my dog now going to assume it is ok to bite other dogs, and be a social moron? Or a dog bully? 

Our office manager actually got Reggie a shark suit because he's such a chomper! Help!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I have 2 doodles (both about 4 years old) and when they play together it usually consists of biting each other's ears, face, or legs.  They don't bite hard but will pretty much just sit there and chew on each other's faces, which I think is pretty weird but they seem to enjoy it.  I take them both to daycare so I know they are capable of playing with other dogs, but I'm not sure if they play in the same manner or if they reserve that for each other.  Have you seen Reggie interact with dogs other than Oliver?  If so, how does he do with them?  What do you do when Reggie puts his mouth on you?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Someone link dogs playing videos here please. On my phone... Can't.

[Adrienne]

Love the pic of Reggie!!  In my experience, dogs just seem to play that way.  Some dogs are a little more hyper than others.  Other dogs will usually "correct" him if he bites too hard or if he prolongs the playtime when they are not in the mood.  However, if he is biting/nipping on you, you have to nip that in the bud for his own protection and yours.  An obedience trainer can give you ways to correct him.

[Lynda Kamrath]

My answers are yes, yes, and yes.  It is very normal for puppies to play this way because their teeth (and feet) are the only tools available to them until they learn other means of communication with other dogs and friends.  And some dogs are just more nippy than others.  My ALD is very nippy and a wrestler.  If he finds some other dog who will wrestle with him, he is in heaven.  He pretty much wrestles daily with my older doodle and when they start up in the house, I just send them outside.  They wrestle furiously for a few minutes and them want back into the house.  Sometimes he finds other wrestlers (usually a young dog) at the dog park or even the beach and they go at it.  The owners know they also have a wrestler and let the dogs have a play day.  One day at the beach, Harpo found his perfect match and they ran up and down the beach having the greatest time.  Finally we had to put them on leash and take them in opposite directions.  When the other owner got down the beach some distance, she let her dog go off leash and she ran all the way down the beach to get back to Harpo.  When Harpo was younger, he also nipped people and would jump on them and bite their hands.  He brought blood to both of our elderly parents and we have worked hard with getting him to stop jumping and nipping.  It is an on-going challenge.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

My eight year old dog nips and bites Stanlee when they "play fight", no harm, no foul.

[Christine & Camus]

Play biting/nipping is normal dog behavior.  Camus and Harley (my friend's dog) plays really rough, but he does not play as energetically with other dogs.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Luna's nickname when she was growing up was "land shark" :)  I have many socks and shirts with little holes in them to prove what she was like when she was teething ;)

1) Biting each other is how they learn bite control.  If one puppy bites the other too hard the one that has been bitten should let out a sharp yelp to let the biter know it was too hard.

2) No.  My dog does in no way play the same with us as she does with her doggy friends.  She knows that people don't tolerate anything more than mere contact with her teeth, let alone biting down at all.

3) Separate them if it escalates and it's very one-sided, but if they are both enjoying themselves don't worry about it.

4) Nope!  My dog learned from her doggie friends as puppies that they don't appreciate being bitten.  She is now a very calm, submissive dog but she still loves to play fight, pulling her best friend's ears (gently, of course!). 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

oh he is so cute.  I think it's puppy play!  I don't think it translates into people biting.  and if his brother did not like it-he would yelp to let your pup know.  that's how they learn, from each other