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    ZoeMarie's Avatar
    ZoeMarie Posts: 2,049, Reputation: 468
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    #1

    Dec 6, 2008, 07:32 PM
    How do I tell if our dogs are playing or fighting?
    My husband and I have a great dane puppy and a husky- he's 11. Sometimes they seem completely content around each other, lay on the same run and chew on their toys and sometimes they start growling and/or barking. I noticed when taking our puppy to puppy classes that some of the other dogs are also vocal during play time. She usually isn't in vocal in puppy classes but when our husky starts making noises sometimes she will too. So my question is how do I know if they're fighting?
    Yamahagal's Avatar
    Yamahagal Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #2

    Dec 6, 2008, 08:25 PM
    With males especially the hair along the back spine will stand and tail will remain still ears will stand at attention and a defensive stance will be used. With females they are very vocal and again no tail wagging and usually they will be in defensive stance as well... hope this helps
    lisa45's Avatar
    lisa45 Posts: 24, Reputation: 2
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    #3

    Dec 6, 2008, 08:32 PM
    They show teeth and growl..
    ZoeMarie's Avatar
    ZoeMarie Posts: 2,049, Reputation: 468
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    #4

    Dec 6, 2008, 09:56 PM

    Hmm... I guess they're not fighting then. Thanks guys!
    starbuck8's Avatar
    starbuck8 Posts: 3,128, Reputation: 734
    Gone, But Not Forgotten
    		  
    #5

    Dec 6, 2008, 10:55 PM

    I would suspect that one or the other is trying to gain their status as the dominant one, Zoe Marie. Just keep an eye on them. You should be able to see the difference between play fighting and a fight about to happen. Their body language will change. If you see it starting to get out of control, try and catch it before it even starts, and keep an eye on who was the procrastinator. If you give the one that started it a quick correction, put him back into a submissive state, before he is allowed to go back and play.
    Ber Rabbit's Avatar
    Ber Rabbit Posts: 134, Reputation: 23
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    #6

    Dec 8, 2008, 07:19 AM

    Every dog pair is different and you have to learn your dogs vocal and body language cues. My dogs wrestle a lot, sometimes it's silent except for the snapping of teeth, other times there's a lot of growling and snarling but it's not the same tone as their "business" voice. My general theory with my own dogs is if it's loud and lots of biting/snapping is going on but no yelping is happening they are simply having a good time.
    Ber
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