Introduction

When puppies play with other animals, or other people, and they get all rough and crazy this type of behavior does not seem to be much of a problem; instead little rough puppies are often quite cute. However it's not so cute when puppies become bigger dogs and they play too rough with other dogs and other people; sometimes they can even cause injury or fights.

Causes of Rough Play

If you have a dog that plays rough, chances are it is due to one of the following four causes: - your dog has become overexcited - your dog learned to play rough from other dogs - your dog learned to play rough from people - your dog is trying to dominate a play situation

Younger dogs, and dogs that are unaware of their own strength, sometimes become over excited when they are playing and they get too rough. If you notice that your dog is becoming too rough when he or she plays with other dogs or people, then your dog needs a time out.

Dogs can also pick up rough play behavior from other dogs and people. If a puppy plays with older, larger, dogs then the puppy will learn quickly to play rough in order to keep up with the other dogs. People can also accidentally, or purposefully, teach dogs to play rough. If your dog has learned this type of behavior from dogs or other people, it is important to nip this behavior in the bud before it gets out of control.

Dogs that play rough because they want to dominate the situation are not really playing. The play has ceased to become a game and has become about controlling the situation, either to guard a toy or keep a playmate in the game. This type of situation can spiral out of control fast. Dogs that are trying to dominant a play situation will start to growl and bite in a non-playful manner. If this occurs, the dog should be carefully removed from the situation immediately.

How to Prevent Your Dog from Playing Rough

Playing rough is a type of behavior in dogs that can accelerate quickly into a potentially dangerous situation. It is important that this type of behavior is prevented, and if it develops it should be stopped as quickly as possible. Here are a few helpful things that you can do to prevent your dog from playing rough.

Training Tips

Playing with other dogs

Rough playing behavior is often behavior that is learned from other dogs or people. If your dog is learning rough play behavior from other dogs, you will need to remove your dog from this situation. If dogs become rough while they play they need to be separated immediately. Dogs in large groups will also engage in increasingly rough behavior. Keep your dog away from large groups of dogs; it is best to keep dogs at play in groups of no more than three.

Playing with people

Prevent your dog from rough playing behavior by playing gently with your dog. Never encourage behavior where your dog is 'playing' by attacking your hand, arm, or leg. This type of physical behavior can quickly get out of control; or your dog may accidentally end up harming someone. Use a toy instead of yourself for play, and discourage any rough play between you and your dog.

Dogs are a lot like children, and sometime their play gets out of control. A game with a toy suddenly becomes a fight, or someone gets a little nippy and then someone else gets mad, or they just get over excited. If you notice your dog becoming over excited and out of control, stop the play. Give your dog a small time out and let the dog calm down before beginning another, quieter game. If he is still over excited, stop the game and ignore him until he has calmed down, then give him low-key praise, petting and/or treats. Reward the behavior you like (the calmness) and you will get more of it.

When your dog is trying to 'take charge'

Sometimes rough play develops out the dog's need to be in control of the game. The dog gets too rough in an attempt to keep a toy or a playmate in the game. Keep play groups down to a minimum number of dogs to help prevent toy guarding issues and allow the dogs to have a play buddy that isn't constantly being stolen by another playmate, and also to prevent the dogs from ganging up on each other. If the dog is resource guarding toys, i.e. won't give the toy back, growling/protecting the toy, you need to remove the toy until you can teach the dog play correctly.

You need to be able to recognize when your dog has gone from playing to more aggressive behavior. Most puppy play consists of chasing, pouncing, barking, growling, snapping, and biting. So how can you tell the difference between normal play and possible signs of true aggression in your new puppy?

NORMAL PLAY BEHAVIOR

In normal play, a puppy may play bow (lower its head and raise its hind end), present its front end or side to the owner, hold the front part of its body up, wag its tail, dart back and forth, emit high-pitched barks and growls, and spontaneously attack. Of course, even normal play can become too intense.

AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR

Behaviors that may indicate a problem include prolonged, deep-tone growling; a fixed gaze; a stiff posture; and aggression that is situational or stimulus-dependent (not spontaneous). These aggressive behaviors may be related to fear, possessiveness, conflict, or pain. Talk to your veterinarian if your puppy is exhibiting these behaviors.

More tips

Tug of war can be a great game for teaching dogs to control themselves. First, the dog needs to know a 'control position' like sit or down. Ask for a sit, then tell the dog to 'play' using a specific word or short phrase like 'get it,' introduce the tug toy and play tug gently with the dog for a few moments.

It is important to play gently, do not swing the dog around or jerk his head too much. This game should be fun for you and the dog, not painful.

When you are ready to stop the game, pull the toy tight up against your leg and hold it still. When you feel the dog 'mouthing' the toy as he readjusts his hold, PRAISE him. Do not say anything else, just praise when you feel his mouth relaxing on the toy. The dog is used to hearing praise when he's doing something right. Soon he will be releasing the toy wondering why you are praising him. As soon as he has released the toy completely, start to move it smoothly out of his reach so as not to encourage him to grab for it again - not too fast or too slow.

When you have control of the toy, ask him to sit, give the cue and repeat the game. It will take a few times for him to realize that the game isn't ending when you get the toy, but you should start to see improvement in how quickly he releases the toy after four or five times. Once he is releasing the toy fairly quickly you can start adding a cue for him to 'give.' Say the cue once in a firm tone just before he lets go of the toy. Soon he will learn to 'give' on command.

It's very important to keep the tug game at a manageable level. The purpose of this game is to teach the dog control. When he can play tug, get all riled up and still listen to you when you tell him to 'give' and 'sit,' then you will both enjoy the game more.

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When dogs are playing with each other it is often hard to get them to stop. In order to prevent rough play from going too far, it is a good idea to teach your dog to come away from exciting play on command. For this you need to practice.

To do this you need to start with the lowest amount of excitement possible. In other words, don't send him out to play with five dogs and expect to get anywhere. It is a good idea to teach 'come' before starting this exercise, but even if the dog comes on command under normal circumstances, he may not when confronted with the excitement of 'play time.'

Start with your dog and one other dog. The other dog owner will need to do the same thing you are to help out. Take your dog's favorite soft commercial dog treats or cut up bits of hot dog or chicken. Use small pea-sized treats. Let the dogs play for a few moments, then step in and put the treats right in front of your dog, call his name and 'come' and lure him away a few feet. Get a hold of his collar in one hand and then give him a few small pieces of treats while praising. Once both dogs are under control, release them with a 'go play' command and let them play for a few moments, then repeat the steps above.

Once your dog is reluctant to leave you and go play, you can stop the practice session. On your next practice add another dog. Each dog needs to have their own handler to call them away from the play and needs to lavishly reward and praise their dog for coming to them, even if it took several minutes for them to do so.

It's still a good idea not to let too many dogs play at one time to prevent mob mentality.

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The most important thing to remember is that the more a dog practices a behavior - good or bad - the better he will get at it. Do not let a bad behavior continue. Remove the dog from the situation if he is playing too rough with other dogs. Remove yourself/stop the game if he is playing too rough with you.

You should consider taking your dog to a good obedience class if you are still having problems.