Play fighting - is it cause for concern??

[Deb McD]

My 2 doodles - one is 4.5yrs and one is 11 months - are enjoying the spring weather and have been outdoors a lot in the last few weeks - they are constantly chasing each other around the yard and play fighting - biting on each others ears, grabbing each other by the leg, tackling each other. While I have no problem with them playing - sometimes it gets a little rough and I guess I am a little concerned that one of them is going to get hurt. I know that one will yelp to say if enough is enough. Does anyone else have this issue??

[Adina P]

Sometimes it looks WAY worse than it is. Take a video some time and post it so we can SEE what they look like. Most likely it's nothing. And our former labradoodle, Thule, would sometimes make Rosco yelp, but he'd go right back for more. It's VERY scary looking when they get truly into a fight.

[Beverley S. LaLonde]

I have noticed with mine that Chloe is the one that will get short fused after awhile and really get into it with one of the other dogs. She will be two in July. I do put her in her place before it escalates. Harlee is 5 and a good ole boy laid back easy going. That is who Chloe really takes it out on, and she will take so much from Li'l Buddy also. But she can sure get it all started. My Vet keeps telling me it's female, but he is so full of it you never know when he is serious or not. Anybody else have female instigaters? As long as their playing nothing wrong unless one gets ticked off! It's just like putting 3 children together.
Bev,Harlee, Miss Chloe & Li'l Buddy

[Deb McD]

well, both Sophie and Guinness seem to enjoy it - I just worry sometimes that one will get hurt and the $$$$$ vet bills.

[Lynda Kamrath]

My boys play fight all the time outdoors. Mainly it is a game of chase. But they do nip and tackle each other. If it gets too rough, one will notify the other that it is enough. They sometimes start up in the house but we immediately put an end to it before something gets broken. They are too big for playing in the house (over 100 pounds each). Hondo (the older dog) will sit down when he gets tired and refuse to move. Groucho never gets tired, but he does get run into things and outsmarted. He sometimes can't figure out Hondo's moves. It's fun to watch them. We don't worry about them hurting each other, just breaking something in their enthusiasm.

[Jersey, Jasmine, Jypsy and Diane]

My two doodles do it all the time, my other dogs have always done it too. I did have a German shorthair who attacked both of my other GSP dogs and had to end up putting her down. If I had only known of Cesar Milan at that time, maybe that wouldn't have happened. As long as they both go back for more and no blood is drawn, one is screaming and the other one isn't stopping, I'd say they're just having fun.

[Hunter and Daisy's Doodle Mom]

Ah, this totally looks like a copy of my two when they go at it! Same color too :-)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

My two guys are at it all the time. They will chase each other and play fight until one of them just collapses from exhaustion. Then they sleep for a couple of hours, and they're right back at it. At times it really does look rough to me...all those teeth showing and those play growls. I have to say they seem to keep themselves from letting it escalate any further. When one of them has had enough he will just stop and go somewhere to lie down. If one hurts the other, there's a quick yelp and the "offender" always backs off. Only a couple of times have I stopped it when I was just thinking they were overly excited. If I tell them "knock it off" in my "mean Mommy voice", the stop. The one thing I don't tolerate is when one "ambushes" the other. It is almost always the puppy who will do this. It kind of resembles a cat because he will slink down and be very quiet and then pounce on Guinness who isn't even suspecting it. There's also sometimes a "growl" that I just don't like. It's a different sound from their play growls. I can usually see that coming, and I stop it before it happens now.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Mine do the same thing.They look ferocious but it is rare that a yelp is heard. They keep going back for more and chasing each other. It's great exercise. I always laugh when, for no apparent reason , they suddenly stop and have a nibble of grass or just stand near each other back to the peaceful pair.

[Kathie and the gang]

My two do this all the time, and no one has gotten hurt. I think my biggest fear was that Winston would do this with other dogs and then get in trouble with their owners. In fact, he only wants to do this kind of play with Freya and doesn't want to play that rough with a strange dog. He runs the other way if another dog gets to rough, almost like he has never played at that level. Maybe he thinks it is only allowed for housemates and not random dogs, which is a good thing. All the noise can make people think that far more is taking place than it is.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

We just got our puppy on 3/27/10 and I was worried about our other dog, Fudge, being too rough with him. I am not sure now which one is harder on the other. The little guy goes in for the legs or ears and then runs under the dining room table or the bed planning his next move. I try not to intervene, but find myself telling Fudge to cool it, and then the puppy jumps up on her and grabs her ear or something. I think if they are both coming back for more, it is not too rough. I agree also with what was said about sounding worse than it is too.

[Debbie Penny]

In our yard/house, it's the word Enough... and they both settle or are crated for time out. The moaning and groaning, and argh... 's are pretty entertaining!!! they have a language all to their own!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Debbie, That is a great idea about the time out in the crate. Sometimes enough is enough and that is good advice.