My puppy,Polaris, is almost five months old. My other dog, Bean, is nine years old.
Polaris has problems with dominance/aggression which we’re working on through a training program.
My husband is concerned that the play interraction between the two dogs is contributing to her aggression. When they play, they wrestle, growl, and mouth one another. Polaris has learned to copy Bean’s wrinkle-nosed teeth-bared snarl now, and does it while they’re playing. Occasionally, one dog or the other will yipe from too hard a nip, and they will pause, then go back to wrestling. They also play tug-of-war, growling as they do so.
The trainer says that their play is nothing to be concerned about-- just to let the dogs go. Hubby isn’t so sure. He thinks Polaris is getting more aggressive and that the play may be “training” her to be that way.
You really need to get an opinion from an expert you trust – and it seems like you may not trust your trainer 100%.
That said, my very, very little experience (my current dog right now) seems to indicate that dogs know the difference between play and real life. When our female whippet/mutt was adopted from the rescue, she may have tried half-heartedly to exhibit dominance, but I put a stop to that quickly – I think it was normal stuff; not agression beyond the norm. But when playing with other doggies or with us, she gets geared up, can bear her teeth, and gets rough. She won’t bite, but she will kind of practice bite (does that make sense? She knows not to clamp down). Stop playing, and she knows the limits.
It’s quite too bad that there aren’t any dog parks here. But I’d probably not trust the other dogs anyway, here (no licensing, who knows about their shots, etc., although they do have free rabies day).
I’ve got three dogs, and they wrestle all the time. It’s the way they play. All that growling and baring of teeth is part of the play.
I’ve seen three types of wrestling, though.
One is the traditional “play” wrestling. This is usually accompanied by one of the dogs, usually the subordinate, doing a “play bow”.
The second is a dominance display. The two dogs (and I’ve never seen it involve all three) will stand up on their hind legs and snarl in each other’s faces. Someone may occasionally get nipped. This looks scary as hell, but it’s actually good for them- they’re just sorting out who’s alpha. Once it’s done, the one who didn’t win will try to “apologize”, after a suitable period of sulking off in a corner.
The third is a knock-down, drag-out fight. I’ve never seen my guys do this- they’re family, and dog rules say that you never fight like this with someone you consider to be family. Someone’s going to get hurt, and it’ll be you if you try to step between them.
The third is really the only type of fighting you should worry about. Let them do the other two- it’s good for them. It’s normal dog behavior.
I had a golden retriever, so I never saw much true aggression in her (except the time another dog tried to attack us while we were out walking); however, there was a marked difference between play behavior and other behavior - say, when she was confronting a cat who had decided to take a nap just on the other side of the fence. She always growled when playing tug-of-war with a rope, but it was a higher pitch than her normal growl, and was accompanied by otherwise friendly body language. She also enjoyed wrestling.
Yet another strong vote for normal dog play: if you have to wonder whether two dogs are playing or fighting, they’re playing. You won’t soon forget seeing two dogs fight. My dogs play wrestle, growl, and bark at eachother all the time. It’s wonderful, because they have so much fun together. Sometimes, one will go too far and the other will let out either a squeal or growl as if to say, “I’ve had enough.” But I’ve never had to break them up, nor would it be advisable to try to break up two dogs who are really fighting. I know plenty of dog owners and all of their dogs play like this, without exception. It’s as normal as chewing. The snarled lip thing is also common. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that we were worried Polaris wouldn’t learn how to negotiate the stairs? I wouldn’t worry about this, either.
If you wonder whether or not they’re really fighting, then they’re not.
However, you are the alpha in the house. Anything you think is inappropriate is inappropriate. That reminder mentioned, make sure they have sufficient and appropriate outlet for their natural boisterousness- cause it’s in 'em and it’s got to come out.
Yes it was . . . I seem to need a lot of advice about puppy raising.
Thanks for your responses, guys.
It’s not that I don’t trust the trainer, it’s just that every trainer seems to have different opinions. I think it’s best to get a second opinion when you have a concern.
Bean is the only big dog that Polaris will play with in this fashion. She wrestles with the small dogs at daycare, but shyly hangs out by the wall when bigger dogs are playing.
It seems only yesterday that I was scared that Bean would never accept her-- I was worried she might really hurt the puppy. But she inhibits her bites really well with the little one, and they seem to be having fun.
On a side note, she has learned to negotiate stairs. She learned all by herself one day when she escaped the kitchen where I’d left her. She also discovered the joys of unravelling a roll of toilet paper that afternoon.
Yet another vote for normal play. When my dog was a wee pup, since she was the only dog in the house, she decided after some fun that my older sister was her play partner to ‘wrassle’ with, and a few daring nips led her to the conclusion that my dad was the alpha male of the pack.
You know when dogs are really fighting. It’s not pretty.
I had a lot of the same questions at first, too. You’ll all be fine, even the hubby.
It’s the start of a very wonderful relationship, raising a puppy. Just watch them while they play, and I think they’ll tell you that they’re having fun. It’s never wrong to want a second opinion. I can only recommend one book on raising a dog (but I haven’t read that many): No Bad Dogs, by Barbara Woodhouse.
Yeah, I’d say that’s all normal. They really seem to enjoy playing with eachother, and if it tires them out everyone wins. You’d really know when they really start fighting. I have three little dachshunds, two females and a male, and the two female dogs are constantly finding out who is the alpha dog. They’ve had three major fights, two resulting in a trip to the emergency vet. Actual fights are easy to tell, they really go at one another, biting everything any anything. Your dogs sound like they’re just play fighting. If they started actually fighting you’d know in a heartbeat.
Another voice saying it’s all normal. My dogs play like that all the time, and they’re about the most submissive doggies on the planet. It’s kind of cute, especially when they play tug. The stronger one knows just how hard to tug so the weaker one can keep playing. I didn’t realize they were that smart! The yiping from a nip is also common. When my dogs were puppies, they didn’t know how hard they could play bite. The other dog would always yipe and quit playing for a second when the bite was too hard.
You’ll get mixed opinions on how you should play with your dogs. Some trainers suggest no wrestling between you and the dogs. Others will say no tug games between you and the dogs either. My trainer said not to play tug with them, but I do anyway. Then again, I do have the most submissive doggies on the planet and they’ve never been confused about when I want them to release something. I don’t wrestle with them though. I’ve tried, but I must not do it right. The dogs just roll over when I try. They are, after all, the most submissive doggies on the planet!
Bean is the same way when playing tug with Polaris. I’ve played tug with Bean before, and she can easily pull me off my feet. She tempers her strength with the little one, though, and lets her win frequently.
Letting the pup win always surprises me, because I’d always thought of Bean as a dominant dog, and she does other domineering things to the pup, like forcing her over onto her back and holding her mouth over the pup’s neck.
I wouldn’t worry about this, either.