Episode #217 How To Tell If Your Dog Is Playing Nicely

Creating safe and enjoyable playdates for your puppy relies on understanding the nuances of dog play. Recognizing healthy signs of play and when to intervene is essential for fostering positive experiences. 

• Understanding the characteristics of healthy play for puppies 
• Recognizing warning signs of rough or inappropriate play 
• Importance of regular breaks and managing excitement during playtime 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Introduction to Puppy Playdates
• 54:51 Signs of Healthy Play vs. Problematic Behavior
• 1:46:28 When to Intervene and Ensuring Safety

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Do you like to get your dog together to play with another dog? Are you a little nervous about whether the play is going well or if maybe one of the dogs needs a break? How do you know? Today on the show, I'm talking all about it. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter and Bella, the online puppy school. Here we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy, from training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hey you guys, thanks for listening. I appreciate you being here. This is the puppy training podcast and we talk about all things dog, so welcome, all right.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Today let's address play dates. I like getting my dogs together with other dogs. They have a blast right. They get to play in the way they like to play because, let's face it, we as humans, we have a lot of rules and sometimes they just want to play like a dog. So if you've ever watched dogs play, it can look sometimes a little bit rough to us. Now recognize that they engage in play as a way to learn social skills. So, depending on the age of your dog, they might be really good at this. Or maybe you have a new puppy and they're just learning the ropes of how to interact with other dogs. They're developing coordination and, again depending on age, they might be really coordinated and then they might not be so coordinated. And play burns off energy. However, not all play is friendly and, as a responsible pet person, it's essential that we understand the difference between healthy play and problematic behavior. So I'm going to help you today understand your dog's body language, because if you can recognize signs of escalation and know when to intervene, you can help ensure that play remains safe and enjoyable for all involved.

Speaker 1: 1:58

Puppy play sometimes involves behaviors. That seems aggressive to us, but actually it's usually harmless fun. To determine if your puppy is playing nicely, look for the following signs of appropriate play. So let's address what's appropriate first. Right Now, my first thing I like to tell people is noodley behavior. Okay, think of a spaghetti noodle that's cooked. You take that out of the pot, you wiggle that around. We want your puppy's body to be loose and bouncy. So if there's loose, bouncy movements happening, that's pretty much what healthy play looks like. It involves exaggerated bouncy motions.

Speaker 1: 2:34

Puppies are taking turns, so I say that they're flip-flopping in play. Maybe one puppy's chasing and then the other puppy chases, maybe one puppy's on the ground and the other one's tackling it, and then they rotate, the other one gets a turn to tackle. So the wrestling, the chasing, and then you might notice some play bowing. Do you guys know what a play bow looks like? I'll try to describe it, since it's a podcast. But the puppy's front legs are down and their rear end is up, so their head is down towards the ground and their rear end is up towards the sky. That's a play bow. And you'll notice those kinds of actions. If the puppies are in fact wanting to play and they're happy, okay. So a play bow again, where they lower the front end, the hindquarters are up. That's a signal or an invitation to hey, I really want to play with you. You'll also notice, in healthy play, relaxed facial expressions. So puppies who are engaged in friendly play have soft eyes, open mouths. They may even look like they're smiling. So if you could picture what a happy dog looks like in your mind, can you see that face, can you see the relaxed, happy tongue out open mouth, soft eye, look we want that look during play. So read your puppy's body language if you're seeing those things. So the play bows, the noodley, loose, bouncy movements, the relaxed facial expressions, all good things.

Speaker 1: 3:58

Okay, now puppies who play well together will take short breaks as well, so they're going to allow both dogs to reset and prevent overexcitement. Some dogs need help doing that Now with young puppies. If you're just starting out and you have a new puppy and maybe they don't know all of these social rules yet, then we help them. Whenever I get a puppy together with another puppy for a play date, I do the interrupting so I'll let them play for, you know, a minute, two minutes, depending on if I'm seeing those things that we just talked about, and then I'll put a treat on both of their noses and lure them away from each other and we'll just take a little reset, a little pause, so I might have them both sit, and maybe I have them both to give me a high five. Or maybe, if I have another person there, ideally helping with their puppy, then we could put them both on leash and work with them on leash in separate areas of the yard or space for just a minute or two and then we ask each other okay, are we ready to go back to play? We release both puppies, okay, go back and play, and they get to play again. So we're playing and then we have a little break and then we play, and then we have a break and we're teaching these dogs how to self-regulate, that they can bring themselves down to calm and then go back to play, and then bring themselves down to calm and go back to play.

Speaker 1: 5:12

Next let's talk about warning signs of rough or inappropriate play. Now these things might include, first, stiff body language. If a puppy suddenly stiffens or freezes, it may indicate some discomfort or possible aggression. If you see either dog with pinned ears or wide eyes, meaning you're seeing the whites of their eyes we call this a moon eye. So if you can see the crescents, you know, in the whites of their eyes, meaning maybe their head is oriented one direction but their eyes are looking in a different direction, okay, something like that, those might suggest that your dog's no longer really enjoying whatever's happening. That play session is no longer fun. Okay. Also, if you're noticing the opposite of flip-flop, so there's relentless chasing or pitting on the part of one of the dogs. Play should be mutual. If one puppy is always on the receiving end of the rough treatment without reciprocating, intervention may be needed. And that's where that play just for a few seconds or minutes and then we interrupt and calm both dogs down, can really be helpful.

Speaker 1: 6:15

Once you have both dogs on a leash and you're taking a little break, let's say that you're worried about doggy. You're thinking you know what? I don't know. That doggy is having very much fun. Let them off leash first and if they go back to the other dog to say, hey, I'm ready to play, let's play, great. If they then kind of walk away and say, okay, thanks, I'm out, then you kind of know.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Another thing to watch for would be growling or yelping, I guess listen for, but growling or yelping without response. So while some growling is normal, don't be too startled by that, because there are some very vocal players. My dogs are labradoodles and they're pretty vocal when they play. So there's some grumbles and play growling. That's happening. But if you're hearing that escalate or maybe there's some yelping or a distress signal, that happens definitely.

Speaker 1: 7:03

Play has become too rough and we want to intervene and stop that. When to intervene? Let's go on to that next. Not all play fights require intervention, but it's crucial to step in if one puppy is being overwhelmed consistently or they are trying to escape or get away and they can't. So maybe they're the one that's constantly being chased. I would not let that go on too long. I would interrupt that If the play is escalating into real aggression. So you're getting more deep, serious growls, lunging, biting. That's no longer playful. I'm interrupting. So a good note for you guys to recognize would be okay. How do I know if this is a play growl or a mean growl? Any noise level that starts to escalate, I interrupt. So let those puppies play a little bit. Yeah, there can be a little bit of a play bark like hey, come on, play with me, or a little bit of play growling, but if it gets noisier, like they start to escalate in their vocalizations, I'm stopping play.

Speaker 1: 7:54

When you pick playmates, make sure that you pick somebody for your dog that's roughly the same size and energy level. You'll have much better success that they're going to have a positive play date. If you find that you have a mismatch, so you're starting to let these dogs play and you don't think it's going well, it's 100% okay to end the play date and then just try to find a different dog to come play with your dog. Just like in humans, not all dogs get along with all dogs and that's okay. If you do happen to have a mismatch, don't stress, don't panic about it. It was worth a try.

Speaker 1: 8:26

And if you're really nervous about it in the beginning, a good idea to start the play date would be to always have those dogs meet between a barrier first, so that way they're. If they've never met each other, have them meet with a baby gate or an exercise pen or a fence in between them. Watch their body language with the barrier in place before you actually let them get together. That will be a good way to prevent any kind of scary behavior from happening because you're not letting them be together to play until both dogs are showing you that loose, noodley, happy, friendly, relaxed face, smile, body language. Okay.

Speaker 1: 9:03

So start with a barrier when you first introduce them. If their body language is positive, great, let's let them in the same space to play. If you see the negative signs, then let's not even go there. Let's let them in the same space to play. If you see the negative signs, then let's not even go there, let's not even put them together. I don't think it's going to be a good matchup and you'll prevent all of this really necessary intervention, hopefully. Anyway. Now, if you are, you think it's going well or you think it's okay, let's get these puppies together. They look happy and then suddenly you need to intervene, intervene again. It's okay to stop it at any point.

Speaker 1: 9:33

Now, how to pause or redirect behavior? We want to use a calm but firm voice. You can use a little food reward, put it on both of their noses and lure them away from each other. You can put them on leashes and walk them away from each other. You can use an exercise pen or some kind of barrier where one puppy's in the pen and one puppy's outside of the pen. We just want to create space for both dogs to relax and come back down to a calm zone before we let them then get back up into that energized or playful zone.

Speaker 1: 10:03

Hopefully that gives you a few tips to get started. By learning to read your puppy's body language and knowing when to step in, you can help them develop good social habits and ensure that they play in a way that's fun and safe for everyone and they'll enjoy those puppy play dates. All right, you guys have a great rest of your week and happy training. Thanks for tuning in to the puppy training podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.