Dog Fighting or Playing? How to tell the difference.

When Buster was still a puppy and his girlfriend was about six months older they were wrestling and playing bitey face, with plenty of vocalisations, in a park. As Buster was a collie Staffie cross and Chilli was a brindle Staffie me and her owner got accused of allowing a dog fight and threatened with police and RSPCA. We laughed and told the guy who was lecturing us to look at the dogs instead – he turned around and you should see the look on his face – the two youngsters were taking a break, laying next to each other and licking each others faces! Play style often changes with age – puppies and adolescents often wrestle a lot, whilst more mature dogs might prefer calmer play

My dog acts a fool and lets out the most outrageous sounds that scare the humans around him, but rarely upsets the dog he’s with. I’m working with him to make sure he exhibits more acceptable behavior in the future. I’ve never seen my dog not pause during even the craziest play, and if the other dog gets upset, my dog will often show the dog his belly. He exhibits all of the play signs, but gets a little rough.

I mainly watched this to ensure the way my pups were playing was ok because one is a year younger and a few pounds bigger. They play just like he described. I’m still going to watch them at all times, but this helps keep me at ease. My pups do everything together (nap, eat, walk, play) so I just want to make sure they’re both happy

No tips on how to tell if it really is a fighy

My darn dog is always playing, and the other dog thinks she's fighting 🤦‍♀️
She was found as a stray, and doesn't seem like she was socialized as a puppy.

She shows fighting AND playing signs together. She is overly excited with any dog, and lunges right at them and snaps. If she is held back and allowed to calm down, then she plays normally. 🫠

This new dog my aunt got fights with every dog/cat she sees

I'm struggling with my 8 month old labrador dog.

He has quite a few behaviour issues including food aggression, timidness of humans and eating his own poo.

We are working on the above issues but just lately, as he has grown in confidence the regular dogs that he meets he has started snapping into the air while playing, he likes to be chased and to chase but regardless of which he is doing he does this snapping thing and when they stop playing he is doing it in other dogs faces.

Is this something he will grow out of? Or is there a reason dogs do this?

I really wanted to make sure that I wasn’t encouraging inappropriate behaviors, while at the same time letting my dogs be dogs .

How do I know when my dogs are playing too rough? I have a husky (Aloy) and lab (Apollo), and I think Aloy is playing too rough, chasing after Apollo or biting at the top of his head/neck/lips. Apollo hasn't seem too bothered, and actively participates in the chasing, even instaging it. He's very patient with her and is used to her style of play, but I'm worried if she ever meets new dogs. I know they're playing and not fighting, but im worried about a fight starting or one of them getting hurt, just due to how rough they play
If so, do you have any tips to help redirect her, I've tried using treats to direct her attention, but she hyperfixates and won't pay attention, the only way I can get her to stop is spraying her with the hose, but I don't feel that's effective long term

I heard once that a good way to tell if dogs are just playing is if they're making exaggerated movements, like the ones you described in the video.

@dunbaracademy do you have ant tips on how to tell if a dog may be aggressive or playing while they are already running toward you. For example if I were taking out the trash to the curb and then I turn and notice that my neighbors dog across the street is already running right at me when I notice the dog.

I have a pit hound mix and a pit boxer mix, and their favorite game together is what I call biteyface. Also combined with a good wrestle, and maybe a little session of steal the other dog's toy, and they sleep together happy as can be. It sounds awful and looks like they're about to tear each other limb from limb, but nope. They just play hard.

The best video on this topic and great pace to it. Thanks! 🙏

I have two whippets, and sometimes the play starts fine but escalates quickly. They are so fast that it’s difficult to get their attention once they are in a 30mph tornado.