Are my dogs fighting or playing

nichen

My two dogs male and female are the same age. They play fight alot, but i dont know sometimes if its fighting or playing. The female growls alot shes more vocal, the male seems to lie down and just let you jump on top of him but lately he is fighting back a bit more. They have never hurt one another. Anyone the same experience what would you class as playing and what as fighting.

Sigma Force

Sounds like the female is the boss, it's normal to have one dominent over the other one,mabey contact a dog trainer to give you a few tips on how to keep the balance. They are both neutered I take it so that isn't the problem?
Playing can be vocal and rough but if one dog appears to be distressed or there's a lot of biting and yelping then it's getting a bit too much.

peasant

what would you class as playing and what as fighting

As GPR already said, you can't really go by the noises (alone) ...some dogs play (and fight!!) almost silently others like to make a big hullabaloo.

Bared teeth (lips all the way back and pulled up) and snarling on the other hand are a sure sign that it is high time to call an end, quickly, before it is too late.

It is important though, that you can manage to interrupt their play at any time. Train this regularly, even when it is just harmless play. This way you will stand a chance of the dogs actually listening and stopping, should play get too rough or even develop into a fight.

Also make sure that both dogs have sufficient interaction with other dogs, so that they learn to read and understand their signals as well. What may be acceptable behaviour "between themselves" may not be ok for other dogs ...they need to learn and practise that. Also make sure that they do not "gang up" on others.

And after all those warnings ...dog play (especially when they know each other well) can look very rough sometimes, but usually it's just harmless fun.

mountainyman

Are they wagging their tails,
what are their ears like,
are they the same size.

MM

tj-music.com

You should reinforce your role of the leader of the pack - thereby you can control and break up the dogs if necessary.

Take the dogs individually, get down to their level, hold a titbit/treat in one hand (visible), try to bend over them (without threatening them) tell them to lay down, if they don´t then put gentle pressure onto their body and show them what u want them to do. When they do lay on their back give them plenty of praise and the treat.

Do it a number of times if you have to with both dogs and you should see them breaking up a fight automatically when you are around!

hadook

Two of mine appear to be killing each other when they play. They're both great danes & only play really rough with each other. Snarls, growls, barks, jumping, throwing themselves around the place - you name it & they've done it. When Ulric wants to play he grabs Yama by the back or tail & tries to swing out of her & she usually retaliates by grabbing onto his ears/ head.
They only play like that with each other - they place nicely with other smaller dogs thankfully.
When they start I tend to just send them outside. 24 stone of excited adolescent dogs is not something I want playing in the house.

tj-music.com

hadook wrote:

Two of mine appear to be killing each other when they play. They're both great danes & only play really rough with each other. Snarls, growls, barks, jumping, throwing themselves around the place - you name it & they've done it. When Ulric wants to play he grabs Yama by the back or tail & tries to swing out of her & she usually retaliates by grabbing onto his ears/ head.
They only play like that with each other - they place nicely with other smaller dogs thankfully.
When they start I tend to just send them outside. 24 stone of excited adolescent dogs is not something I want playing in the house.

Fair enough