Is Your Dog Playing or Fighting?

Not sure if your dog is playing or fighting? Certified Dog Trainer Hannah Richter explains how to spot the difference between healthy rough play and a real dog fight. Learn the key body language cues that signal fun, stress, or escalating tension so you can step in when needed and keep your dog safe.

TRANSCRIPT

Do you have trouble telling whether your pup is playing or fighting? You're not alone. I'm Hannah, and this is Jenga, Alfie, and Rupert. Today, we're going to talk about how you can spot the difference. Animal behavior researchers often refer to play as play fighting, because it includes many of the behaviors seen during a real fight. This can include mouthing, chasing, and wrestling. When your dog is engaging in play, their play may look rough to you, but is often totally fine. Dogs often inhibit the force of their bites during play, which is a good sign that they're playing and not fighting. You'll often see a role reversal as well, where one dog will flip onto their back, letting the other dog go on top. I also like to look out for really loose, wiggly body language. This is a good sign that the dog is feeling like they're having fun and that they're not feeling stressed. You might also see some play bows. This is when a dog will keep their chest towards the ground and their rear up in the air. This is often an invitation to play and is a very polite play move. One thing you can look out for is your dog rolling on their back to give their partner a competitive advantage. You can also see that they might let their partner catch them during a game of chase. If you're starting to question whether or not your dog is playing or fighting, you can try removing your dog by pulling them away from the interaction and see how their body language responds. You can also look out for stressed body language cues, such as ears back, lip licking, yawning, or cowering. When a dog is uncomfortable, their movement will look different. It will often be much more stiff and awkward rather than loose, bouncy, wiggly body language when they're happy. When we're talking about play, we're talking about play between two dogs, not multi-dog play. While multi-dog play can be fine, it can also involve ganging up and then it's time to intervene. When your dog is playing, you want to make sure that you don't have any food or toys out, as resource guarding can occur between two dogs, which could turn into a fight. If you have a young puppy, be careful about them playing with an adult dog who likes to play rough. If they have a bad experience early on, this could turn into lifelong fear or even aggression with other dogs. Hopefully this calms some of your worries at the dog park or the next time your pup gets into it with their bestie. Thanks for watching! We'll see you next time.