# Change of Play Behaviour - Less Tolerant of Other Dogs



## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

Lyra is now 10.5 months old. Over the last month there has been a significant change in her behaviour when playing with other dogs. Fairly frequently now the play will break down with her snarling snapping and usually pinning the other dog.

Now I understand that one dog correcting another dog is part of normal behaviour. On some occasions I can see it is clearly justified; We had a Jack Russell that tried humping her about 15 times and completely ignored the clear signs she was giving that this was annoying her and the owners just ignored it - finally she turned on it and put it in its place. The Jack Russell then took the hint and left her alone. Another time a Staffie just went for her with no provocation - the Staffie ended up pinned to the floor.

Other times it just isn't clear who is at 'fault', she can be playing happily with another dog and then suddenly she's all snarls and snapping. These things happen so fast that you can't tell what happened even if you are watching closely at the time. You just don't know if one dog mouthed just a little bit too hard or unintentionally scratched etc.

When she 'corrects' another dog it is a scary sight! You would think she was in a proper dog fight but she has never marked another dog - it seems to be all show. If the other dog behaves passively I can just call Lyra and she'll just trot back to me. If the other dog resists then I have to pull her off but once I do that she just sits calmly at my feet as though nothing has happened, there's no aggression to the other dog and she doesn't seem the least bit worked up. 

She has always had a LOT of exposure to other dogs. She has always preferred playing with bigger dogs (often much bigger dogs) but if any size dog was up for it then she was happy to play. I can only remember a couple of times as a pup where she displayed this behaviour but in the last month it has become fairly frequent. There are certain types of play that I know she doesn't like (small dogs pawing her face, Labradors using their body weight to knock her about) but other times it is very difficult to predict. Basically she seems to have become less tolerant of dogs that don't play like she does...like a typical Vizsla. I would add that she gets four hours a day off lead walking and someone is keeping her company all day so I don't believe it is because she lacks exercise or company. She also isn't spayed and if it was just a week then I would wonder if it was hormonal changes but this has gone on for about a month.

In summary, it always starts as play, she is never directly aggressive to a dog, she has never harmed another dog and often it is unpredictable - at least by us!

Has anybody else experienced this with their dog as it gets older? Is it likely to be a phase or is this something we are always going to have to deal with? Should we be doing something different? Should we try and correct her and if so how? Or do we except this as normal 'dog correcting dog' behaviour? Obviously we avoid contact with the sort of dogs we know won't play well with her but I'm very reluctant to severely limit her playing as I believe it is part of being a dog.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

We experienced something similar with Miles. I freaked out and called our breeder! Miles was posturing and growling at dogs between 4-8 months when he was about 10 months. I was devastated, because he had always been such a sweet boy. 

Our breeder explained that Miles was becoming an adolescent Vizsla, and he was still intact so likely he was getting some sort of hormonal change. She explained that he was likely trying to assert himself up the doggie totem pole, so dogs would see him as an adult vs. a puppy hence his reasoning behind posturing over puppies. I know the difference between correcting puppies (he has always done this when jumped on or bitten, but he was always gentle.) This was a little beyond that. 

What we did to correct it I know is controversial on this forum. If he inappropriately postured/ growled at a younger dog, we would flip him on his back, firm no, then on leash until he calmed down. 

Within a few firm corrections, making it very clear that his behavior was no ok, he improved. 

He is now 18 months, and we just introduced "Chase" 8 weeks into our home. Chase gets corrected for biting/ jumping in face but we have not had any problems for about 6 months with Miles posturing over younger dogs. 

I think it also helped that we ramped up his training to correct fearful behaviors when he was a year old. His growing confidence has likely helped his interactions with all dogs, and he goes to daycare which has also likely helped. 

Sorry for long response, hang in there! He's totally fine now and we trust him again. Just took a few weeks of training.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Sam is real gentleman and would rather write letters of complaint to each other than be aggressive one. Unless he is attacked and then will defend himself (pretty ugly :-[ )
As long as there is no blood, it's all in the name of play. 

I have seen Sam (the hooligan) get corrected by intact females and it was not pretty. The boy just took it in stride and came back the other way around trying to lick her ears (with flowers in hand)!

I have also seen two girls correct each other :-X... Still no harm. 

Now I just let them sort it out and only intervene if real aggression begins. 
The problem becomes serious when they don't understand each other at all (display totally different signals)

http://touch.dailymotion.com/video/xc3u7e


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

Yes, it is scary to see that other side to them! Fortunately, they are in control and it's a lot of intentional high drama mostly for show to communicate displeasure. We forget that they are canines (*Gasp!*), and they are very good at it....if Lyra wanted to do more than express displeasure, she would. Even when they seem enraged, they're still in control and playing by the rules. Maybe there's a message in that for the rest of us?

Anyways, 10.5 is too early for adolescence, and as I've said elsewhere, i think puberty in dogs is vastly over rated as a cause of mayhem. Unlike us, they are far more guided by instinct and hormones, so when that occurs for them, they just seem to know how to handle it. Sure, there are changes, but it's not like they metamorphose into feral creatures that have forgotten all the learning and all the bonding with us.

My experience when a dog starts to do what Lyra does is that they get pissed at something another dog has done, usually some very minor infraction...and they're communicating that. Alternatively, Lyra might just be a bit over stimulated or over tired when this happens..like people, they arent as tolerant when they're either tired or over stimulated. In which case, a time out with you (or even the end of the play session) is in order. 

Watch for it, and see what precedes Lyra's reaction, and based on that you'll know how to intervene.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

;D ;D ... pictures would be nice, LOL


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