Play Style

[Alfie02]

Hi all,

So I have been researching this for a while on my own but wanted some DOL opinions. We have a 6 month old ridge who has a beautifulo nature, has been socialised extensitvely and is a submissive to other dogs.

He plays rough, and in a different way to other dogs I have seen. When he sees another dog he 'stalks' it. He will walk down low to the ground and then drop onto his belly. He remains on the ground lying down untill the other dog can have a sniff of him and then he hops up and licks the other dogs face. Then when the other dog runs around asking him to play he chases the other dog and bounces up and tried to nip the skin on their back. The other dog doesnt seem worried at all and keeps coming back for more. It the owners and myself who doesnt like this type of play style because its as if he is trying to 'take down' his prey. Im not sure if this is right because he doenst do this back biting thing with little dogs, only bigger dogs?

Even if this play style is harmless, how can I get him to stop it and play more genlty?

[Terujo]

Hi all,

So I have been researching this for a while on my own but wanted some DOL opinions. We have a 6 month old ridge who has a beautifulo nature, has been socialised extensitvely and is a submissive to other dogs.

He plays rough, and in a different way to other dogs I have seen. When he sees another dog he 'stalks' it. He will walk down low to the ground and then drop onto his belly. He remains on the ground lying down untill the other dog can have a sniff of him and then he hops up and licks the other dogs face. Then when the other dog runs around asking him to play he chases the other dog and bounces up and tried to nip the skin on their back. The other dog doesnt seem worried at all and keeps coming back for more. It the owners and myself who doesnt like this type of play style because its as if he is trying to 'take down' his prey. Im not sure if this is right because he doenst do this back biting thing with little dogs, only bigger dogs?

Even if this play style is harmless, how can I get him to stop it and play more genlty?

That is very normal canine play behaviour. He is playing thats all. The dogs themselves are great at determing intentions, if it was harmful the other dogs would certainly let him know.

[Alfie02]

Thanks Terujo

Thant is certainly a relief to know that he is a normal pup!

[Greytmate]

It's normal, but the nipping sounds like your dog is getting very excited. If one day your dog tries it on a dog that doesn't like it, things could turn bad very quickly.

You can't really stop the nipping, it is natural instinctive behaviour, but you can stop the play and restrain the dog if you think your dog is getting too overexcited or out of control.

The play behaviour is stalking and it is trying to take the other dog down, even if it's not serious. There are other play styles that are not so dominating over other dogs.

I wouldn't be able to say whether it is anything to be concerned about unless I could see the dogs interacting with each other for myself. There is a lot of communication that happens before and during play, and that will give a clue as to the intent of the play. The other dogs coming back for more is a really good sign. You do need to be aware that this may not be the case with every other dog.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

My dog lies down and waits for the other dog to approach and sniff. If it invites her to play before sniffing, she will jump up and chase it. Some dogs respond well and some get a big fright - ie they didn't realise they made a "chase me" play invite. I call my dog away from the freaked out dogs.

She doesn't bite other dogs on the back, but she will - with some dogs, bite their colloar or ears or cheeks - Ian Dunbar calls it the "bitey face" game. And with some dogs she growls, barks and roo-roos at them and with others she is quiet. It all depends.

One airedale - I won't let her play with any more becuase he really chomps on her back, just ahead of her tail when he's "playing" and it clearly hurts her. Ie that move is no fun for her and he doesn't know how to back off the intensity like my dog will.

But if owner or dog doesn't seem comfortable with her mode of play or if I'm not happy about the other dog's mode of play, I call her away. Dogs with thick coats (eg shaggy airedales) tend to play too rough in our experience.

[Alfie02]

Thanks for the continued responses

We always go and get him if he is too much for the other dog as we dont want to stress anyone or their dogs out. Yes, I think it is to do with how excited he gets too, as we went for a nice walk before the dog beach today and he played much more genlty.

So would the best way to get him to know that we dont like that style of play is to get him and sit him down and make him calm down before letting him play again? Or do you think as he is only 6 months old, he will become more gentle as he gets older?

[Greytmate]

Thanks for the continued responses

We always go and get him if he is too much for the other dog as we dont want to stress anyone or their dogs out. Yes, I think it is to do with how excited he gets too, as we went for a nice walk before the dog beach today and he played much more genlty.

So would the best way to get him to know that we dont like that style of play is to get him and sit him down and make him calm down before letting him play again? Or do you think as he is only 6 months old, he will become more gentle as he gets older?

That sounds like a good way to go. Whether your pup gets rougher or gentler will depend a lot on the reactions he gets from other dogs. He has yet to go through the "teenage" phase, so what might be innocent play now might be too challenging for other dogs later.

If you really want to be able to teach him only to play in a certain way, you had best ask in the training forum. My advice is more about removing a dog from a situation before you see the dog reach that overexcited state. Tiring out your dog with a walk before playing with other dogs is a fantastic idea. Tired dogs do play much more gently.

Don't feel as though your dog has to play with strange dogs, socialisation becomes less important as a puppy grows up and the boundaries you set are more important in keeping a dog out of trouble.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I don't know if he will become gentler as he gets older. I'm sure he won't unless you intervene as you have been doing. I call mine away or put her on lead but she was always extremely gentle with some dogs from when she was a puppy. She would give the old or scaredy cat dogs a quick grovelly lick on the chin and then leave them alone. I never had to teach her that. I do have to teach her that not all dogs are friendly - she's so optimistic with some and sometimes she's so wrong.

[corvus]

Dogs often learn to be gentle if they are allowed to play with different dogs. The ones that like it gentle will either cut a game short or snap at them if they are too rough. If they are gentle, the game continues. I watched Kivi teach a very rough SBT pup over the course of a couple of weeks to play more gently with nothing more than disengaging from her when she was too rough. The game never actually stopped, it just kind of got choppy as he kept shaking her off. She learnt that it was more fun and fluent if she didn't hang off his face by her teeth.