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play fighting- I think

3K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  Laurief 
#1 ·
Hello All: Jasper and Cash are constantly tumbling- biting eachother's necks and face (kissy face) there is some growling (I think from Cash) and occassionally a yip (I think from Jasper.) Sometimes Jasper stands over Cash and make's him go down and roll on his back (then they chew on eachothers snouts again) and some times Jasper runs for safety either jumping on furniture that Cash can't reach yet- or goes thru the doggy door that Cash also won't do.

So I'm not sure if they are playing or fighting for dominance or just fighting--There has been no blood drawn and no prolonged cries-- and they seem to want to be where each other is. We get in the middle if we think it is getting too rough. Is this normal or something we should be concerned about.?

I am a first time dog owner, let alone two- so I would love some experienced opinions.

Jasper is 13 months and Cash is 14 weeks.

thanks for the advice
 
#2 ·
My three do that all day long too!! Even when one has been sat on & made to be the omega, they go back for more. Sometimes it is two at at time, with one watching, and sometimes it is all three. They get so crazy you cant figure out which one is yelping, or growling. I asked the trainer about the growling and mouthing as I know they dont want them to ever do that to humans, but she said it is very natural for them to do this and is ok.
 
#3 ·
:D Missy, this is a good thing. Perfectly normal play. My two sound like they are going to kill each other, but as long as there is no crying out, yelping, etc., I let them play. If I think it is going to far, I just get in between and tell them to calm down. I usually end up getting nipped by doing that.
My two big dogs used to play the same way.

Congratulations, they are really getting along now.
Michele
 
#8 ·
That's a very good sign that they're new best friends! You'll just be able to "feel" it if they, or any other dogs are really fighting. It has a whole different sound and intensity. This is the good kind where they are burning off energy and having fun :) This is the whole purpose of having two!

Beverly
 
#9 ·
Hi
Yes that is what my friend and I call the Havanese neck and roll > they then take a break then they bunt each other with their noses and start all over .
Cosmo and Ahnold are doing that . Ahnold like to take the toys Cosmo could care less about the toys just wants to play and play some more ..
The vet said i had to let them figure the dominance thing out on their own and not to interfere ..
 
#10 ·
Michele,
When my three do it and they start to get out of hand, I have a verbal command of "easy" so whoever I see being the big aggressor, usually the older one to the puppy, I just say "Lily, EASY" and they calm down. Not that they stop, but they know that means to take it easy, and I avoid any nipping to me.
Laurie
 
#11 ·
Thanks all. This forum is great. Whenever we have questions I say to my husband "I'll ask the forum" or "the forum said..." he says it sound like a cult.
But the info is great.

I kinda knew it was play but sometimes it sounds so awful I wanted to make sure

Yes they are really best buds. If I have one with me and the door or pen is closed - the other one whales(sp?) They refuse to eat unless it is out of the same bowl. Yes! Jasper is eating kibble!!! albeit puppy food. But it's no richer than most of the stuff I have been feeding him. (evo, raw, etc) so I'm not that concerned. Cash however, is learning from Jas however that treats around our house are reallll good and sometimes holds out for those. We are trying not to make the same mistakes with Cash as we did with Jasper as far as the finickiness goes.

It finally was warm enough today to take them both outside and play--- boy were they both tired-- slept all afternoon.


Thanks again everyone.
 
#13 ·
Oh my gosh, you're right!! Those two pics really DO look alike! LOL

On Christmas Day, we visited my dad who has a Jack Russell. We weren't sure how the two would get along, but they had a blast!! There was growling and lots of open jaws, but they wouldn't leave each other's side. It was soooo entertaining and so wonderful to see Ricky playing with a dog his own size. He'd been to visit our friends who have a Burmese Mtn. and a choc. Lab. Also been to my BIL's who has an English Setter.... all huge beasts next to Ricky! lol

Unfortunately, we haven't been near any other dogs in 4 weeks or so, so I'm really looking forward to this Sat. when we might be visiting our friends again. Ricky gets so good and tired after a visit! It's wonderful for him and I'm sure Jasper and Cash reap huge benefits from each other. :)
 
#14 ·
Hi
Thanks for the hint about using the word easy .. I will try that one as there are times when I feel like I am watching a wrestling match and I have to send them to their seperate corners for a break .
it is a challlenge as they are both black so when we have the tumble roll it is hard d to see who is on top until Cosmo's white chest pops up ..
Cosmo just loves to rough house and he does not realize how sturdy and strong he is . He also has these beautiful white teeth he is so proud of .
Ahnold is not a whimp and he holds his own but he is smaller and they are times when he has had it and he heads to his crate for a timeout and a breather .
Today we will have had Ahnold for a week . Yeah !! All in all I think they are doing quite well .
It was a challenge in the beginning with me scheduling the special operation and the weather has not been the best so there was a need for extra crating but I think it was for the best and now Cosmo is 6 days post op so they can have longer run & play times ..
I no longer have to be the one to throw the toys and bottles ..:)
 
#15 ·
Hi, Laurief
I use easy alot too. Kodi knows when I say easy, he needs to back off. The problem is that Shelby is the wild one and usually the aggressor, and she doesn't understand "easy" yet. LOL

The best was yesterday. My daughter came to visit with her 2 Dachshounds.
Her dogs aren't fixed yet because she is planning to breed them. Well, her male, Jaxson, thinks my Shelby is the bomb and will not leave her alone. Kodi doesn't like that, and tries to protect her. I had to use easy a few times. It was a zoo here - the dogs running around like mad, the chasing the cats until I finally had to lock the poor things in the basement.

My dogs were so tired last night, they went to bed at 8pm and didn't get up until 7am this morning.
 
#16 ·
How funny, I know what you mean. When my friend comes over with her 3 havanese, it is 6 dogs going crazy. They all get humping each other & it is like a train, one behind another, behind another , behind another. It is hilarious!! She has Logans brother, also 17 weeks old, and they are actually the most agressive ones. When my three are alone, Lily is the loudest & roughest but she knows what "easy" means so she does back off a bit. I also like the word easy as it does not sound like any of our other commamds/

My trainer for the older girls asked us this week to come up with a word for us to use for COME. She does not want us to use the word come itself as she feels we use it in normal conversation too much and it will not have the impact on them as it should. - WHAT DOES EVERYONE ELSE USE?? We just cannot come up with a word??????????/:confused:
 
#18 ·
Instead of the "come" word, I use "here". I only use the "come" when I know I can re-enforce the word. (Long line that I can correct if he doesn't listen) I hope to have Sam in the obedience ring one day, so I don't want any confusion. Come has to mean "come right now". " Here" is less formal.
 
#19 ·
"They all get humping each other & it is like a train, one behind another, behind another , behind another. It is hilarious!! "

*** Laurie, are you having puppy orgies over there??!! LMBO Oh my, what a visual !!!! ;)
 
#21 ·
I'm so happy this question came up. When I used the word come, they always seem to be afraid. They get very hesitant and Kodi will just lay down and wait for me to get him. Then, if I try to reinforce the word I guess my tone changes, and it scares them more. I am going to try "here" instead. I
think that word carries a different tone naturally.
 
#22 ·
We have a 10yo Fox Terrier very Alpha female. I was so worried what would happen when Barney came into the house. Well, Twigs turned out to be quite the patient alpha. In fact, she taught Barney an acceptable bite pressure, so that when we play "rough" he merely opens his mouth wide and never applies pressure to my hand at all. But they play very mouthy all the time.

Question. Where do I go to learn how to post a picture. I'm about to ask my techie husband for help but I'd sure like to figure it out myself.
 
#24 ·
I also use the command "come" with Ricky. It doesn't work 100% of the time though unfortunately. :rolleyes: I taught him to come simply by using that word whenever he came to me naturally. I reenforced it by backing happily away from him which would make his little 4 lb. self bounce towards me excitedly. It was adorable! I'd say "come" as soon as he'd start to move toward me and rewarded him with treats at first.

I still have to freshen up the training now and then because the little bugger won't come anymore if it doesn't suit him! lol

I say, use the word that is most natural to you! You can say "here", "now" or "spaghetti" ! The dog won't know the difference! lol
 
#25 ·
Hi Laurie, thanks for the hint on "EASY." we started using it last night and works much better than NO or PLAY NICE. (and can't be confused with any other command)

We start puppy kindergarden in two weeks. very excited.

Has anyone's puppy pretend nursed like a cat would. Cash, who is very confident, surprisingly uses his toy squirrel to pretend to nurse. After he chases it, humps it, tosses it...he settles down with it and sucks on the tail and kneads it with his paws. I have never seen a dog do that, only cats.

it's very cute
 
#26 ·
Missy - My cats did that all the time too. Logan did try to nurse off the girls for the first week he was here - it was pretty comical with the girls leg in the air looking at him going "what the heck are you DOING????" He did stop as he got older tho.

The trainer told us to pick a word other than come, only because they usually ignore when we use it, and it is easier to train on a new word, than an old one. So we are going to try "here" - we start out saying name-here then treat. Even if they dont come to me, throw a treat. we will see...

We have our third puppy class tonight. I cant wait!!!
Laurie
 
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