Do you play fight with your dog?

With my old goldie, but it felt more like bullying and playfighting as he really didn't want to ....

With my old Australian sheedog, never. He didn't understand why anyone would want to do that and probably would have got nippy.

If you'd asked me a year ago I'd have said never with my gsd x rottie, but we do playfight with her and she loves it. The moment you say "finish" the same is over and it is also over if she starts to get too excited, at which point I release her to run in circles like a lunatic until her energy spike is down again.
 
I don't play fight as Purdey as she is quite boisterous and robust enough now to knock me flying. However my OH does play with her and it gets quite rough. I watched them the other day and thought "I can hardly wait for the time she just jumps up and grabs his nuts" :D:D:D It is going to happen :)
 
Yes, with my late Rottweiler x gsd, who was great fun to tussle with. No with my current Weimaraner x Viszla dog as he forgets himself and nips and no with the Weimaraner bitch, as despite her being much more polite and good fun, the dog always busts in on us and then we have the nipping problem.
 
one doberman/ labrador (9 years old and showing it) and one rottweiller/ labrador (9 months old and still very much a puppy). we play fight with both and they both know when its over but we have to be more aware of what the puppy is doing so she doesnt get to excited as she can run into you to hard :D but they are both big softies. although the older one would want you to know he needed us.
 
Anyone who is silly enough to 'play fight' with a dog needs their head testing as far as I am concerned. Your setting your dog up to fail.

I've had to watch perfectly health dogs being pts because their original owners thought it was funny to play fight with their dogs but when these dogs who think this is perfectly normal behaviour do it with someone else they end up on the sharp end of a needle.

There isn't a person who can guarantee that they can offer their dogs a home for life circumstances can get the better of you and you have to give them the best possible chance of rehoming even if it should never happen especially with dog thefts on the increase, lost dogs not always being found often rehomed or just through loss of home or relationships.

I have two good examples both I have seen in the last couple of years.

1) Couple buy a nice large breed puppy they play fight with that puppy, great fun when its small and it likes to pull and drag the trousers of their youngest son, again seen as great fun. The dog grows into a large adult within a year still carrying on the behaviour that was so funny when it was a puppy only now its not funny its scary, especially to visiting children and adults. The dog starts to bite people and then the child who until then had only had his trousers pulled is dragged underneath the table and bitten badly. At this point the owners finally accept their dog is dangerous... is it the dogs fault? NO because the dog is doing what it had been taught and encouraged to do by its owners, the nips were acceptable, the dragging and tugging was acceptable and funny therefore encouraged, they play fighted, played tuggy to encourage growling and pulling. The dog was PTS. A total waste of a life, a scarred child, bitten friends and neighbours and yet they thought it was acceptable to play fight, play tuggy and pull trousers.

2) A rescue dog that is of nice temperament but needs boundaries due to its history of abuse is given to a home that passes the homecheck with flying colours as experienced dog owners. The new family are warned not to play tuggy, no play fights, allow on sofas etc do some training and give him time to settle. The 'man of the house' decides that because he crawled around on the floor and had play fights with his childhood dog that it would be acceptable to do this with the new addition despite warning not to do so. Needless to say the terrified dog did what most would do gave a warning and when that was ignored bit him, no blood drawn. Dog was taken straight to the vets and PTS.

Please don't play fight with your dogs in this day and age it really isn't acceptable to encourage a dog to fight full stop play or not the dog really doesn't know the difference and it can easily be misinterpreted to the detriment of the dog.
 
horseloaner said:
Anyone who is silly enough to 'play fight' with a dog needs their head testing as far as I am concerned. Your setting your dog up to fail.

I've had to watch perfectly health dogs being pts because their original owners thought it was funny to play fight with their dogs but when these dogs who think this is perfectly normal behaviour do it with someone else they end up on the sharp end of a needle.

There isn't a person who can guarantee that they can offer their dogs a home for life circumstances can get the better of you and you have to give them the best possible chance of rehoming even if it should never happen especially with dog thefts on the increase, lost dogs not always being found often rehomed or just through loss of home or relationships.

I have two good examples both I have seen in the last couple of years.

1) Couple buy a nice large breed puppy they play fight with that puppy, great fun when its small and it likes to pull and drag the trousers of their youngest son, again seen as great fun. The dog grows into a large adult within a year still carrying on the behaviour that was so funny when it was a puppy only now its not funny its scary, especially to visiting children and adults. The dog starts to bite people and then the child who until then had only had his trousers pulled is dragged underneath the table and bitten badly. At this point the owners finally accept their dog is dangerous... is it the dogs fault? NO because the dog is doing what it had been taught and encouraged to do by its owners, the nips were acceptable, the dragging and tugging was acceptable and funny therefore encouraged, they play fighted, played tuggy to encourage growling and pulling. The dog was PTS. A total waste of a life, a scarred child, bitten friends and neighbours and yet they thought it was acceptable to play fight, play tuggy and pull trousers.

2) A rescue dog that is of nice temperament but needs boundaries due to its history of abuse is given to a home that passes the homecheck with flying colours as experienced dog owners. The new family are warned not to play tuggy, no play fights, allow on sofas etc do some training and give him time to settle. The 'man of the house' decides that because he crawled around on the floor and had play fights with his childhood dog that it would be acceptable to do this with the new addition despite warning not to do so. Needless to say the terrified dog did what most would do gave a warning and when that was ignored bit him, no blood drawn. Dog was taken straight to the vets and PTS.

Please don't play fight with your dogs in this day and age it really isn't acceptable to encourage a dog to fight full stop play or not the dog really doesn't know the difference and it can easily be misinterpreted to the detriment of the dog.
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Poor dogs but that's due to stupid owners. Neither of those dogs sound irrepairably damaged and could very easily have been trained to playfight properly, sounds it be required. It's not that they should never have taught to playfight, but that they weren't taught to be 'gentle' or to 'stop'. It's pretty basic training, on par with 'sit' 'stay' and 'come'!!!

I would never playfight with (i.e wrestle about on the floor) with a young pup as they're not yet learnt to 'stop' or to not bite. Many months are spent teaching them to bite inhibit. However once they're properly taught, you should be able to wrestle with your dog all it wants.

Our young black lab (9months) loves to playfight and wrestle. She knows never to bite hard (was taught as a puppy) and she knows when the game is finished (also taught as a puppy). She would also never insigate a playfight. I can't think of less potentially-dangerous dog!
 
I dont imagine for one moment anyone on here allows their dog to pull on their clothes that is asking for trouble. Everyone has said when they have said enough their dog has stopped.

Speaking for myself 2 Dobes and 1 Lancashire Heeler all have good bite inhibition and have never attempted to take it further.

As for the rescue dog you speak of that was an accident waiting to happen, totally unsuitable rehomers who had no understanding of dog behaviour and a complete failure to follow through on the rescues instructions.
 
I would hazard a guess in those examples that number 1, was a little more deep routed than playing with the dog on a perminant basis, an example of a large breed dog handled to us at that age for either pts or rehome is more like this..........

Pup allowed on chairs/jumping up never been stopped/worked with from the exciting bouncing like tigger stage (as it's cute and encouraging then) the kids have encouraged mouthing and biting by squealing on and offering up sleeves to pull on or slapping the dogs face. Parents found it all to funny (becasue generally they are numb) and lack brain cells themselves and really knew nothing about the dog/breed/needs and bought it on a cute whim.

No traning of any kind has been carried out and the pup is not getting enough exercise or stimulation and is spending increasing amounts of time shut out from the family cos it's big now and just no fun anymore and is big enough to knock the kids flat on their arses even with a low key greeting:rolleyes:
The dogs jaw is bigger and the play bites are getting worrying and the owners no brighter or willing to train/get advice to solve this behaviour.
Also pts can mean they don't have to take responsibility for ruining a perfectly trainable pup and can this time go out and get a smaller dog as that is probably why things went wrong (the dog was just to big) yeah that's all it was.....surely:rolleyes:
1 year later the same plebs roll up with a snacking shih-tzu for pts:rolleyes:

Number 2, Well lack of common sense, initiating play with a new rescue dog:rolleyes: as mentioned dog needs time to settle and build a bond/trust which is what play is all about. We would give the exact same advice re allowing the dog to settle and creating a routine. The bloke sounds like a twit not an experienced dog owner.
A very playful dog is a very trusting dog imo.
Yes I play fight when im in the mood, generally when at work in the stupid hours I play with my rotti and current long standing labrador resident, they love it, they jump about like looneys and they start to play with one another, then I say "enough" and they lie down:D:D same with all the dogs I play with.

OH on the other hands plays alot with the dogs inc the dogs he walks and the bond he has and how fixated the dogs are on him at all times makes me believe they have a bond with him through his interaction with them, not only in play but all the interaction, he can calm them immediately and initiate play immediately.

It's personal choice I guess.:)
 
Have to agree, there is a world of difference between instigating & inviting non aggressive play, with a command to finish in a trained dog, & some numpty who encourages bad behavior. I grew up play fighting with a range of pyreneans, including 3 very large dominant males, two ratting terriers, & currently with a large dobe x. None ever got carried away or tried it with anyone else. Not suitable for all dogs, & not an issue if someone doesn't. But in the right circumstances does no harm & for me anyway is enjoyable.
 
Just like to add, I'm on my phone so forgot to update my sig. Said dog is now 1 :) can't upload pictures sorry.
I would like to add that this is not like the examples given by horseloaner. I initiate the play and say when it is over.
 
horseloaner said:
Anyone who is silly enough to 'play fight' with a dog needs their head testing as far as I am concerned. Your setting your dog up to fail.

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I agree that there may be a degree of truth in what you say, but reading of the experiences of others on here, it seems that play fighting can be started and stopped, at will.

Since I was a child, when I suppose that play fighting was what I did, because I was a child, and whilst the family dogs were also very young, I come to doubt that it is in any way helpful. I fail to see what the dog gets from it, and for myself, I need to maintain discipline, and just as I wont have a dog put its feet on me, so I wont permit artificial aggression.

I suspect that play fighting will encourage a dog to believe that it's my equal. It isn't, and it never will be. My dog is my servant, and that's that! I don't believe that I can maintain a dog's respect, if I allow the animal to take liberties, and that's all dogs, be they for work, or they live in the house. As in most things, I'm more than happy though, for others to do as they please! :p

Alec.
 
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Alec Swan said:
I agree that there may be a degree of truth in what you say, but reading of the experiences of others on here, it seems that play fighting can be started and stopped, at will.

Since I was a child, when I suppose that play fighting was what I did, because I was a child, and whilst the family dogs were also very young, I come to doubt that it is in any way helpful. I fail to see what the dog gets from it, and for myself, I need to maintain discipline, and just as I wont have a dog put its feet on me, so I wont permit artificial aggression.

I suspect that play fighting will encourage a dog to believe that it's my equal. It isn't, and it never will be. My dog is my servant, and that's that! I don't believe that I can maintain a dog's respect, if I allow the animal to take liberties, and that's all dogs, be they for work, or they live in the house. As in most things, I'm more than happy though, for others to do as they please! :p

Alec.
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Well, I have a GSD off working lines and we regularly play fight. My friends' kids love her -- but she is still an effective guard dog and none are allowed near the Landrover when she is on board. I suppose the difference is she's trained and when I say the word "leave" the game, pursuit, whatever, is over instantly. I am afraid the knowledge of dog training here in the UK is pretty appalling. Dog training is easy, it is the humans that are difficult to train.
 
Imo playfighting & whether you remain established as pack leader I think very much depends on the dog, manner of play & prior training. We had one mongrel as a child who whilst a lovely dog, would have taken liberties in other areas if he'd been allowed to playfight. I can think of others I know too who'd fit that theory too, so I'm far from saying it never effects the humans position as leader. But not necessarily. (obviously I am not including idiots who just encourage bad behavior, that will always cause problems)
 
I dont play fight with my two, althought they attemp to, they never get further than mouthing my hand. OH has learned the hard way that not giving the dogs any boundaries whilst play fighting will end with an Obi trying to drag you across the sitting room by the ankle whilst a Harry is dragging him in the opposite direction by his ear. Thankfully after that he is starting to understand why I come across like Barbara Windsor some of the time!
 
orionstar said:
I dont play fight with my two, althought they attemp to, they never get further than mouthing my hand. OH has learned the hard way that not giving the dogs any boundaries whilst play fighting will end with an Obi trying to drag you across the sitting room by the ankle whilst a Harry is dragging him in the opposite direction by his ear. Thankfully after that he is starting to understand why I come across like Barbara Windsor some of the time!
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I never allow my dogs to instigate play, they play on our terms, they have good bite inhibition and do not mouth. When they play together it is much harder and full on, much more so than playing with us humans, so they obviously know the difference.:)
 
Dobiegirl said:
I never allow my dogs to instigate play, they play on our terms, they have good bite inhibition and do not mouth. When they play together it is much harder and full on, much more so than playing with us humans, so they obviously know the difference.:)
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With me they do, as they never got further than the initial stage and now they dont bother at all. OH is obviously seen as somewhat lower down in the pecking order in our house, but I am slowly training him to my way of thinking:D Then hopefully the dogs will understand!
 
horseloaner said:
Anyone who is silly enough to 'play fight' with a dog needs their head testing as far as I am concerned. Your setting your dog up to fail.
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Not really!
I've had my dog since she was 2, she's now 14 and is extremely well behaved. We always play fight and always have! If she was going to fail, she would have done it when she could still be bothered.
 
blackcob said:
I get down on the floor and wrestle with one of mine pretty much daily. :o

Not to give any credence to the dominance theory but it is the more confident, 'dominant' dog that likes to playfight, the wussy neurotic one would freak out if I tried it with him.
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This. My (female) lurchers would worry if I instigated play fighting with them. The (male) tough nut terrier enjoys it, but gets a bit a too tough and then sulks when he his reprimanded. Hence why I avoid it.:D
 
We've had my JRT for 10 years, since she was 2, my OH play fights with her sometimes, she always stops when you say 'enough'. I don't playfight as TBH I can't be bothered.:D I probably wouldn't encourage it with a puppy though as I believe s/he would need to learn the boundaries first.
 
I used to play fight with my GSD bitch when she was young but stopped when she matured and I realised I had a very bold dog on my hands who needed more than pet training to be respectful of humans. I did not attempt to play with my Border Collie who was ultra sensitive and had to be trained by whispering and hand signals to avoid a nervous breakdown. I do play fight with my current longdog who is always happy, loves everybody and has a very soft mouth (ten brothers and sisters to teach him!). I guess it really depends on the dog's temperament and on the owner's ideas on training. Having had hard dogs and super clever dogs I chose my present dog because now I am older I just want us to be able to have fun and relax together. I still train but only to make my dog a pleasure to have around and to keep him safe. He also needs the mental stimulation to keep him from devising his own entertainment! :)
 
Only now that my parents dog is 15 and getting a bit more doddery does he escape my more rough playfighting, he loves it and always has done though, and has never once shown any aggression of any kind (towards people at least - the terrierist in him still gets the better of him some days when it comes to some 'chosen' dogs, despite his age!)

I rag my parents other dog (GSD/collie) all over the place, she just looks a bit exasperated sometimes tbh, but then we both know when we've had enough, she loves being chased for toys - but still has a good recall :)
 
My OH play fights with our youngest Spin, the older one never really would, but we got her at 11 months, he often comes off the worse! Our old collie would never play fight, the JRT would now and again.
 
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