# Playing too rough with our other dog?



## newpuppy21 (Oct 13, 2011)

My husband is convinced our boy Gunner plays too rough with our older Lab and it's not normal behavior. Gunner is 16 weeks and our Lab is 6 yrs old. Gunner hangs onto her neck a lot, bites and occasionally humps her. He does a low throaty growl sometimes while playing and also sometimes bares his teeth, However his tail is always wagging, his fur is never standing up. He is usually on top while she lays on her back. She rarely bites him back, mainly mouthes him while wrestling around. Occasionally she seems annoyed and will snap at him, which causes him to yip and cry and then he goes right back for more. The older dog does her fair share of tossing him around and will sometimes be the one on top. Sometimes she sits on his head and humps him, lol. However she is just a very quiet dog which I think my husband is used to. She will never growl, bark, or yip during play. 

The husband is constanting yelling at Gunner for playing rough I think he's overreacting, I've had plenty of dogs and it seems like normal play to me. He and his family express concern and say the tugging on the older dogs neck and baring teeth while growling isn't normal play. Neither my vet or trainer seemed concerned though. Normal play? The puppy has gotten some scratches on his belly from the older dog's claws. Gunner is actually very submissive with other puppies his age, plays with his tail between his legs, very cautious, he's only rough with our Lab who naturally is very submissive. Maybe because she's female? Opinions? Thanks.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

As you're finding out, these dogs play very rough. From your post though it all sounds normal so far. Believe me when I say that a six year old healthy lab can more than deal with a rambunctous 4 month old Vizsla. She can stop him dead in his tracks if she wants too.

The skill set of a Vizsla requires that it be able to bring down crippled game, so he's practicing on her, pretending to bring her down. If their not drawing blood, and breaking skin on each other, at this point they're both just playing. They have their own set of rules to their game, and it's just kind of up to you to referee.
When he gets older though you'll have to watch him a bit more with her, because the table can turn overnite, and what he may start to do is practice "pinning her". What you will see is him doing figure eights around her and accelerating into her shoulder to knock her down from both sides and pin her in place. It's not a nice game and unless you plan on using him to run deer, don't let him start. Stop his humping nonsense now. It only gets worse with time.

I have a Gunnr also, and one of her playmates is the 100lb yellow lab next door. These two destroy bushes and small trees when they go at it. I just try to stay out of the way and not get knocked over. They both seem to use me as the "Free Pole" in their little game ;D


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

As Gunnr said, I'd consider that totally normal play behavior, especially from a high energy puppy. At this age you might see your lab correcting him a lot more than before--it's simply his "puppy license" being revoked. They're good learning opportunities for him, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he was being way to rough with her or anything. He was probably just doing something a little inappropriate--too much teeth, etc., and she took the time to tell him it was unacceptable for a not-little-puppy to be doing that.

But yes, they way he's playing is ok in my book. Vizslas are rough players, but a lab should be able to keep up. For the most part, dogs will let each other know when it's too much. As long as your lab doesn't seem incredibly unhappy or angry/aggressive about the play, I'm sure it's fine. Every dog is different--some are quiet, some are vocal, some like to rough house, and some just like to chase. 

One of Jasper's very good friends is a big chocolate lab. They throw each other around like crazy. Jasper yelps a little when he gets a particularly hard body slam, but his tail is always going and he keeps going back for more! He's a bit of a masochist, I think.


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

We have the same thing going on - our 19 week old Tanner displays the same behavior to our 2.5 year old Great Dane, and although he is rough at times it's all just fun play  

Jane is usually fairly tolerant, but lately she's been stepping up her game, especially when Tanner tries to chomp at her female parts  (poor girl)

Like Gunnr said - your lab can stop your pup at any given time, as can our Dane. Sometimes we don't even turn on the TV at night and would rather watch them go at it!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We had the same issue with Riley and my sister's dog... except her dog is a tiny chihuahua!  At first, my sister kept telling Riley off when she was being too rough but I told my sister to let them work it out themselves. Sure enough, Sasha (the chi) would let out a sharp bark and bite Riley HARD when she got too rough. Riley learned how to play gently with her and now they are BEST buddies and roll around in the grass for hours. It is the funniest thing to see a 2.5lb chi on top of a 15lb V rolling around on her back.  Riley snaps her teeth in the air a lot, but is very gentle when she bites at Sasha. I'm happy that she has learned how to play with little dogs and be gentle with them.


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## newpuppy21 (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. It's good to know Gunner seems normal with his play. Now to just convince the hubby to stop yelling at him and let them do their thing, lol. Gunner also spends a lot of time washing the Lab's ears and kissing her face, I think he's madly in love with her. Usually the Lab will lay down and let him climb all over her and wrestle so it's not like he's really pinning her down or anything. She's a very gentle dog but obviously larger than him (about 65 lb) and in good shape so I know she can easily defend herself if needed. I've noticed she mainly lets him beat her up inside but when we go to the park she gets pretty rough back, tossing him around and chasing him down, he loves it. Here's some pics of my "kids."


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

In dog talk, her body body language in those pictures, she doesn't really consider Gunner much of a threat, she knows he's just a puppy.
I think they're just fine, and in a few weeks, or months, there will be a correction and Gunner's style of play will change. She's a big girl, pretty too, and will take Gunner to school.


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