Leo&Abby's Owner

I got a 2nd lab (Abby) after I found that (baby) Leo seemed to get upset / chewy when I left for work. Overall, it worked for us, they're both 2-ish now and they're the best of mates, and me leaving for work only gets small, resentful looks now :-)

Mrs Tornsocks, It sounds as though he's just an excited puppy, inviting you to play. Thought for the future though, I'm not a big fan of my dogs barking at me, it could turn into a dominance thing. Maybe when he does that, try to ignore him or give him a timeout. Very cute though lol

When my lab was a young puppy, he would make suckling motions with his mouth, dreaming of food and his mum! It was very cute!

Aussienot, thanks for your reply. I don't tolerate this behaviour at all inside (they're mainly outside dogs, so coming in at night is a privelege). I've decided to increase the amount of exercise my bigger dog is getting, as it does seem to happen when they both have energy to burn. I've also decided to not tolerate these behaviours while I am with them. I'd be interested to hear more about how you trained / taught your 'Time Out' gesture.

Thanks RubyStar, unfortunately the fur ripping stage doesn't happen while I'm there, I've never witnessed it. If I'm there and they start grabbing each other's neck, I verbally stop them.

Hi, see that's been my attitude so far - lots of people have said "Oh, it's just play" but when they rip pieces of fur off one another, I feel terrible for letting it happen

I have 2 labs - a 1 year old male and a 10 month female (both desexed). Lately, their 'play' has seemed to get too rough (for me at least). They *both* seem to be grabbing each other's faces / ears / necks in play. After a little while of this, the play escalates. When I am there to stop it, I will stop them - either physically or by distracting them with a toy. But when I'm not there, the play escalates and at times I've come out to see that either one has nipped a strip of fur from the other one. For me, when this happens - it's gone beyond fun play and could escalate again to become something more. Am i being overly concerned? Are they just setting boundaries for their behaviour? or is it something I can work at to stop? I will say that despite this - both dogs sleep curled up with each other, don't fight over food / me, aren't afraid of each other and both use 'play bows' in their play. But it comes back to me being a concerned owner - I'd like to nip the behaviour in the bud, as it were. It's been difficult to write about, but I would appreciate your (constructive) feedback / experiences / advice etc