Should i Let Chloe play rough with other dogs

[Michelle Motorola]

Hey! i am guessing this is just how dogs play, so im trying to be fine with it! But my sister brought her dog over yesterday to play with Chloe and they play kind of rough. Chloe kept trying to bite in his ear area (not aggressivly) and my sister dog would do the (fake bite)  where he would put his teeth on her but not clamp down. Im just wondering and making sure this is all normal, Sis told me this is how dogs play. It just looks scary sometimes creeps me out a bit! haha  Also if there is any advice i should look for for when enough is enough and i should intervene Thanks all:)

[Michelle Motorola]

btw i think it was my mom that made me freak out a bit. She kept saying "okay stop them thats enough" i think she was worried that My sisters dog would hurt Chloe

[Becka]

Sadie and her friends can play pretty rough at times (although it's mostly just a lot of noise) and there is one dog in particular I don't really let her play with anymore because she got a pretty bad scrape from him. I would keep a close watch on the dogs, make sure nobody is squeaking or has her tail between her legs, and separate them with the "leave it" command if you feel it's gotten out of control.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What you're describing sounds like normal play to me and I wouldn't worry about it or intervene. You can usually tell when "play" escalates into something else, and even then, it's rare that you have to do anything other than supervise, IF the two dogs know each other and have spent time together before.

As an example, when JD and his much smaller best friend are playing and JD gets too rough, the other dog will try to get away from him and avoid him. As long as both dogs keep going back for more, everything is fine.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Dogs use their mouths when they play so that part can be completely normal.  The good thing is that most of the time you can count on the dogs to say when enough is enough.  A dog will yelp if a bite is too hard, or they will snap at the other dog in a way that clearly isn't friendly. Some things I have been told to watch for are:

1. Do they take turns with who is on the more dominant position?  Often you will see dogs play where one dog is rolled over on his back and then a few minute later, the other dog is on the bottom.  This is a sign of balanced play.

2. Do they take breaks and then resume play? Rooney has some dog buddies with whom he plays HARD for a good 15-20 minutes.  But then, we usually will start to see them taking some breaks.  Lying down together in the shade, or separating to explore the yard, and then after a bit they will start wrestling around again.

3. Do they both keep coming back for more? One thing to watch for is if it looks like one dog is truly trying to get away from the other one and can't. But if they both keep dashing away and then coming back for more then it is probably all part of the game.

4. And finally, you can usually recognize when play is escalating into something else by the energy level shifting from rowdy roughhousing to a more frenzied feel.  Excessive, increasing growling or frothing might mean it is time to try and shift their attention to something else.  If you are outside, a good tool to have on hand is a hose because spraying a bit of water can be a great way to separate and distract two dogs getting too frenzied.  Then have treats ready to entice the dogs away from each other and separate them if needed.

Those are my tips! And, by the way, like I said- Rooney LOVES to wrestle and roughhouse but I have never seen anything yet between he and his dog friends that wasn't perfectly appropriate play.  The thing Rooney needs to learn is to how to read the signals of a dog who doesn't want to play at all because he assumes that  EVERYONE wants to play! :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

This is such clear advice, Jen... very good descriptions of dog play and what gets to be too much.

[Joy Originator of GiantSchnoodles]

Wow! I'm impressed. Really good hints, Lori. Beautifully written & organized. Puppy love from Joy & the furry folk

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yep. That's how dogs play. They make funny growls, bark, bite, roll, pull tails. I'm on my phone so possibly others will post pictures and videos to help you visualize normal dog play. It can be loud and rowdy!

[Becka]

Good idea, Joanne. Michelle, if you look at the videos on my page you'll see one of a bunch of digs playing in the mud. They're pretty vocal and mouthy but all is well and they're having a blast.

[Jodi and Stella]

Here are a a couple of rough housing pictures with my Stella (40 pounds) and our neighbors Newfy puppy (80+ pounds) Believe it or not Stella usually dominates but as you can see, they do take turns. :-)

[Becka]

An 80-pound puppy? Oy vey!

[Bonnie and Kona]

such cute pics! I love Newfies, but we would have to get a new car if we were going to have a Newfie, too. haha

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

LOVE.  I could watch this all day.   I looked at my videos--they were so mild.  Too mild. I wanted a real rough one but I don't have one on here.

You are so lucky to have a Newfie Friend.