Will roughhousing with the dog make the dog more hyper or nippy?

[Wendy and Sophie]

My DH likes to "wrestle" with our 11 week old puppy and have her roll around while she's got a toy in her mouth.  Is this good because it will wear her out, or less good because there's a possibility of getting her more nippy/hyper by doing so?

Thanks for your thoughts.  It's nerve-wracking having a new puppy!  Exciting, but boy am I nervous. :-)

[Leslie J]

My husband also likes to play this way. Cocoa seems to understand that it's a game she plays with him, and doesn't do it with anyone else. I would have him skip the gloves, though. Your puppy will learn more bite inhibition if she gets a response from him when she bites too hard. BTW, Cocoa now has the softest mouth of any dog I know. I think the play helped her learn how to be gentle.

[Kris and Sawyer]

My husband and teenage boys wrestle with Sawyer all the time. We've not had any problems. If we say "sit", he immediately stops. We did leave Sawyer with his mom and litter mates until he was 11 weeks old and I think that helped with bite inhibition a lot. :-)

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Winnie was incredibly nippy/bitey when playing at that age, so allowing her to roughhouse with us would have only made it worse. We were constantly trying to teach her how playing with us needed to be different than how she plays with other dogs. I think letting her rough house would have been too confusing. But, that is just her! And, like others have said, every pup is different. 

 

[Alex]

So, I think the article linked to by Linda is pretty good on this point. Basically, it matters how you do it! I do think the article underemphasizes the value of play -- even "rough" play -- for teaching frustration tolerance and emotional control (our experience is like Maryann’s). A dog that learns when roughly play is and isn't OK -- and listens to you when say stop -- is probably a lot more predictable than one who has never been allowed to play in a manner that is natural to them.

Finally, I feel compelled to push back strongly against arguments like this (this is not personal, and I’m sorry to single it out):

“I’m not sure , but I played it safe with my doods. I don't allow people to play rough or aggressive with them … Perhaps overprotective, but I felt I had one shot at their puppy training to do it right.”

I don’t think there’s a “safe” choice in dog training; this is like saying you will take a drug when you’re not sick just to be “safe” while ignoring that the drug has side effects. There are choices, and choices have consequences. Not roughhousing probably isn't an inherently safer way to produce a calm and well behaved adult dog than roughhousing. It might produce a wound up, high strung, and unpredictable dog. Play with physical contact is also a great way to bond with a dog, and roughhousing is one form of it. So, I think it depends on the dog, it depends on the environment, and it depends on you. 

[James And Sophie]

Thanks so much!

[Wendy and Sophie]

Thanks so much to everyone for their comments!  It's really helpful to get different viewpoints and also to realize that like a new parent, I need to get a sense of our particular kid and what works best for her.  I really appreciate the guidance.