# Dogs Play-Fight Constantly!



## farmdogs (Sep 14, 2012)

We've never been a multiple dog family so I am not quite sure how to handle this one. 

A little background.... Koda is my BC and he is 2 years old, he is very well mannered, trained, and gets lots and lots of exercise as we live on a farm. Ruger is 5 1/2 months old mutt that came from a shelter... the consensus of ourselves, the shelter, and my vet is that he is a blue tick-JRT mix. He is as well trained as expected from a 5 1/2 month old pup! Gets plenty of exercise etc. 

They get along wonderfully but......

They fight. Not like "I want to hurt you" fighting...they're clearly playing with each other. They'll wrestle around and play-bite etc. Sometimes it is spontaneous and either one can initiate and sometimes one will take a toy that the other is playing with etc.

I understand that this is probably some sort of dominance issue but I am unsure how to correct it. I've tried the obvious "NO!" and it'll break up for a while, but then it's back on and honestly it gets really old scolding them all the time. 

I am concerned that one of these days the play-fighting is going to turn not-so-playful and somebody is going to end up at the vet and I don't want either one of them to consider themselves the boss of the other. 

Any advice?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

They are just playing. If they are playing too much or playing too rambunctiously for your tastes, then you teach them a "time out" command. You can teach them to go to a dog bed, or to just lay down or whatever behavior you prefer. 

I teach "Take a breather" as a command and the expected behavior is to stop playing and ignore the other dog for a little while. Maybe one dog choose to lay down and the other walks away to chase a squirrel. That is fine, the command is strictly for them to knock off on the rough housing. 

Scolding does no real good- after all, playing itself isn't bad, you want them to play. So instead of telling them in a confusing way that they are doing something wrong, tell them what you WANT them to do. In general, it is far easier and better for the dogs to tell them what TO do rather than what NOT to do. Interrupt with a quick whistle or "ah ah" and then request an incompatible action (as in, if they are playing, have them sit down- can't do both things at once, etc)

If you are supervising the playing and can watch if one dog starts to get stressed out or one starts to get too over-the-top pushy, then there's nothing wrong with them playing for as long as you are willing to watch them. 

The one is a puppy, he _may_ be getting a "puppy pass" where the adult dog tolerates more annoyances than the adult would normally tolerate from another adult dog. If so, he might lose this puppy pass soon so it is appropriate to teach both of them give up a toy (to you) on command and not to harass the other dog if the other dog isn't interested in playing. The commands "Leave it" (don't go for something) and "Give' (hand it over- exchange items for a treat to make a positive association) are very useful.


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## blenderpie (Oct 5, 2012)

Play is a good thing!

But, when my family's dog got over excited as a puppy during play, he would drag our other dog by the collar. Obviously that was not okay! We taught him "too rough" and led him out of the play session for a time out, then they were allowed to continue. When it escalated again, "too rough." He eventually learned that "too rough" meant back away and he would do it on his own, and then realized the behavior causing him to get called away and didn't do it anymore.


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## farmdogs (Sep 14, 2012)

I have started using "Enough!" as Koda knows what this means outside playing. When we are done playing ball or frisbee with him we will say "Enough" and he knows we're done. We also use that with him if he is bothering guests too much. So that is helping 

I just wasn't sure when it was too much or if they were doing it to establish dominance.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

farmdogs said:


> I just wasn't sure when it was too much or if they were doing it to establish dominance.


If you have a bunch of boys playing rough, playing something physical like tackle football, do you think they're doing it to establish dominance. Really does it matter if they're having fun?


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## farmdogs (Sep 14, 2012)

zhaor said:


> If you have a bunch of boys playing rough, playing something physical like tackle football, do you think they're doing it to establish dominance. Really does it matter if they're having fun?


Yes, it matters. When one of my dogs ends up on their back yelping in pain, I think that's a problem. Dogs, much like kids, do a lot of things that can be considered "fun" but that doesn't always mean that it is a good idea. Dogs, as well as kids, need structure and I don't want my dogs to feel like either one is the boss of the other. Nor would I expect my kids to act that way. I don't want my dogs "fun" to lead one of them to the vets office because their fun got out of hand. Dominance issues can lead to a whole load of trouble.

Just my opinion.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

In kids, we can call it "leadership qualities" It all depends on your perception.


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## farmdogs (Sep 14, 2012)

Well, clearly, we disagree. I'll leave it at that since we're off topic... I'm here to discuss my dog and not parenting theories. Thank you for your advice, zhaor.


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