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, than 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 a dominance issue; 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.