# Dog play too rough at dog park?



## cinnamindy (May 25, 2010)

We take my 7 month old border collie mix pup to the dog park a lot and he's gotten scuffed up a little bit. He plays pretty rough and dogs will pay rough with him but his tail is always wagging and he is always going back for more. He's come home twice with some scrapes inside of his leg I'm assuming were from dogs, is this normal? Also, today his mouth started bleeding like CRAZY, it seems like he did it himself but I'm not sure.. he didn't seem to care at all though.

Is all of this okay? I feel like it's fine as long as he is okay with it but my boyfriend has a different view on things. As in one day it might get too rough and he'll get his neck ripped off. What do you guys think? Thanks!


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## Coco-LilGuy (Sep 25, 2010)

I would personally never jeopardize the health of my dog in some park where any idiot can let their dog go. Too much havoc and who knows of trasnferrable diseases and abscesses/infections setting in as a result of rough play.. At the same time, if you know all the dogs are healthy and socialized then a scratched knee is nothing, eh? Like kids, they fall but you let them learn and continue play. 
I personally would not risk my dog around a pile of dogs I don't know personally. Just my opinion


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## Active Dog (Jan 18, 2010)

Don't worry about it just do some research on body language in k9s so you can better understand when things start to escalate. Some dogs like to play rough there is nothing wrong with that as long as when they are dishing it out they can take it. Don't worry about germs dogs roll around in poop and dead things, plus I would hope your dog has all its shots so no worry about diseases.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

It depends. 
It depends on the other dog, your dog's social skills (ie picking the right dog to play rough with) and his age. At seven months he is likely to get told off by the older dogs if he's too much of a tarzan and yes this can escalate if the other dog does not have a great bite inhibition. 
Scrapes happen, nipped ears happen, cut feet happen and tongues get bitten occasionally (likely where the blood came from, but make sure to check his gums for injury). 
I agree with activedog about learning about body language and good play styles so you can anticipate issues and step in before things escalate...but dog play IS rough and can often look very frightening if you don't know what you are looking at. 

That being said, it is very important for you to realize that rough play from your dog will be an issue with fearful, aged or very young or very small dogs and you must run interference in these situations.


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## cinnamindy (May 25, 2010)

Cool, exactly what I was looking for! He's good about reading other dogs and backing off when he's not wanted, and I think I'm pretty good about reading dogs when they play; my boyfriend just brought this up and I wanted to be sure about the facts. 

I don't think I'll stop taking him to dog parks... like someone said above... dogs roll around in poop and dead things all the time haha and he does have all of his shots. There have been a couple times when a dog went into the park that shouldn't have been there but so far I've been lucky and he's stayed away from those types or at least didn't upset them to a point of no return! 

Thanks again everyone  This forum is so helpful!


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## hachna (Jul 31, 2010)

cinnamindy said:


> Cool, exactly what I was looking for! He's good about reading other dogs and backing off when he's not wanted, and I think I'm pretty good about reading dogs when they play; my boyfriend just brought this up and I wanted to be sure about the facts.
> 
> I don't think I'll stop taking him to dog parks... like someone said above... dogs roll around in poop and dead things all the time haha and he does have all of his shots. There have been a couple times when a dog went into the park that shouldn't have been there but so far I've been lucky and he's stayed away from those types or at least didn't upset them to a point of no return!
> 
> Thanks again everyone  This forum is so helpful!


Hi Mine plays rough and looks almost he is attacking other dogs but he never done that and that is just a way he plays. Thing to consider is that every dog owner has different level of what is rough or not. Probably small dog owners have more anxious tendency (I am two small dog owner) which might disagree with your dogs' behaviour. I would spend a bit of time for *recall* if you like to go to off leash dog park. And do watch your puppy like a hawk at the off leash dog park so that you are top of what is happening with your dog, intervene when needed, and clean after your dog. Good luck.


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## JeanieStecher (May 26, 2010)

Mingling and having fun with other dog is not bad. However, we never know sometimes if they are playing with other that has a disease or what. And as for the case of your dog, I suggest if you could check it with vet and have check up with that bleeding mouth. The earlier you will know the better.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I don't think there's anything wrong with playing rough. Having said that, IMO you have to be more vigilant and ready to "break it up" with dogs with that play style. When dogs get really wound up, PLAYING rough can cross a line into BEING rough pretty easily and quickly.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

My Lab found a friend that also played rough, and they would wrestle for 30 min., then continue "fighting" for another 15 min., lying down because they were tuckered out. If both dogs are enjoying it, I see no problem. 

I assume that he is fixed, but watch for things getting a little more serious when he reaches about 10 months. Sometimes intensity increases at that time. Be careful of other dogs, if someone brings a female coming out of heat... I know they aren't supposed to... And, if you could figure out a way to reduce the bloodshed ... maybe calling him back to sit for a moment ... then that might give your boyfriend less concern. As long as you don't hear a whine or a high pitched changing growl, you're probably OK.


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## Angela (Aug 21, 2010)

Are there really off leash dog parks that are open for anyone to go in?!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_park 

The dog park in my city has rules. It is gated with a key fob that you can only get if your dog is over 4 months and has proof of current dog license and vaccinations. Vaccinations that are required include rabies, bordatella and DHLLP (distemper). If they expire you need to show proof you've had them renewed or the key fob will stop working. Also, you have to attend a mandatory educational meeting where they show a video of appropriate play and how to recognize signs of predatory drift (which is when a dog's instinct to hunt are triggered). To prevent predatory drift, the park has a fenced off section just for small dogs. Although many people bring their small dogs to play with the big and there have not been problems. In the meeting they showed some pretty aggressive play that they classify as normal. People religiously pick up their dog's poop because if you don't you can get kicked out.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I WISH dog parks were like that here, but they are not. They are public and the only signs say: pick up after, your dog, no pitbulls, no intact males (recently changed to allow them) and no females in heat. The onus is put on the owner to have vaccines, be of a right age and temperament to be there.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Right.... In my area around Dallas, TX, the rules are posted, but mainly peer-enforced. We do have pitbulls, females coming out of heat, and small dogs who should not be in large dog area. Usually, infractions are self-correcting ... people trying to socialize their pitbulls realize that the dog park isn't the place for their unsocialized dog, owners realizing that they miscalculated the time of estrus, and little dogs who get snapped at. Otherwise, considering the number of dog parks and dogs, things have been comparatively uneventful.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Our are peer-enforced, too. You have to have a dog park permit to use the parks, and you need a city license to get the dog park permit, and you need a rabies vaccine to get a city license... but other than that there really are no requirements. I'd be in heaven if people had to attend an educational meeting to get the license or if only people with the permit could physically get into the park.


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## sulla88bc (Jul 27, 2010)

Over here in the Uk dog parks are rare...we just have the park! But on the subject of rough play. I have my first puppy, and he is small terrier, when he plays it sounds to most people like world war three just broke out, growling barking and strange pig like noises! He also plays rough. I have been around dogs my whole life so I know when to intervene. I just want to offer some reassurance and say that yeah some pups are pretty hardcore when it comes to playing and they seem good at seeking each other out. Just keep an eye on size mismatches, small dogs seem to have no idea how small they are in comparison to something like a collie and yours may hurt another quite badly when bowling them over, even if he doesn't have a nasty bone in his body. Other than that just listen for a change in pitch and intensity in the play growling...you will know what I mean when it happens..then intervene as you don't want your pup hurt or anyone elses. I wish we had dog parks.....


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## bklantz (Feb 14, 2010)

just tried posting to this but it didn't work so I'll try again...sorry if it comes up twice!

I say as long as the other dog and owner are fine with it then it's ok. Ella likes to play super super rough (the roughest I've ever seen a dog play at our parks at least) and I have had A LOT more instances where the owner doesn't like it even when their dog is playing and wrestling right back with Ella, so I always check quick that the other dog is playing back and then I look at the owner to see that they don't mind either. I watch the dogs the whole time too (which you should anyway even if they aren't playing rough) so that if one gets irritated or wants to stop playing then I can intervene, Ella isn't very good at knowing when to stop so I will take her to the other side to settle down because the other dog is usually done playing way before Ella is.


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## JeanieStecher (May 26, 2010)

Well, if it is normal on the part of Ella to play that way, better yet to be that way. You just have to guard every move that she is doing. It is not that she might hurt someone but the other dog owners might react.


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## Angela (Aug 21, 2010)

Yeah, I am very fortunate to live in a city with such nice dog parks, around such nice, responsible dog owners. It's a smaller city and most people's dogs are pets so they are mostly all spayed or neutered. Females have to be spayed to be in the park. And because the dogs love the parks so much, owners don't want to get kicked out, which is why everyone abides by the rules. Its really a great system and I wish all dog parks were like this so they didn't have a bad reputation.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I think it is important to find some dogs to keep up with Ella, because I believe that dogs learn to settle down, when their energy needs are fulfilled by play. Altho my Lab mix likes to play roughly, he can play gently with small dogs and puppies. You can tell when he's been playing with a small dog, because the dog gets slimed.... I just took him to the local dog park this weekend, and he got to have it out with another Lab mix, and later with a Husky. In this case, the owners were very happy to see another dog keeping up.


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## JeanieStecher (May 26, 2010)

Well, that is nice to hear. It is quite fulfilling and enjoying knowing that there are situations like this. It is best that you expose your dog to other dogs. This way, he could enjoy playing.


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