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Where to draw the line on aggressive play?

LenaDobe

New Member
Curious what you guys find appropriate vs. too much in regard to roughhousing? We have two dogs in the household right now, a little over 1yo male Great Dane & a 7mo female Doberman. They do like one another (cuddle up in one bed to sleep, eat side by side peacefully, enthusiastically greet one another after periods of separation, race/chase with good back & forth of roles, etc.), the dobie just seems to have a much more aggressive style of play than the Dane.

He has about 10”/100lbs on her, so while I do care about him, I can’t say I’m too worried about him being harmed. For all of the snarly bitey-face & forelimb grappling, she’s never broken skin (nor otherwise hurt him), so does seem to be exercising restraint. Of course zero tolerance for aggression toward people, in play or seriousness, & it has never been an issue.

None of our previous dogs (non-dobies) really roughhoused with one another, not due to all that much that we did, just wasn’t their style I guess. So, do you guys let yours play rough? Always? Never? Conditionally? Shut it down at some particular action/point? Thanks in advance for any input you guys might have 🙏
 
So, do you guys let yours play rough? Always? Never? Conditionally? Shut it down at some particular action/point?
It's very normal for Dobermans to look like they're playing rough. Our dogs can play rough conditionally but I shut it down if they are getting serious about it. You can tell when the tone changes and they mean business.
 
Ehhh…
Dobermans just play crazily rough. You get two together and non Doberman people would swear they are trying to kill each other. That’s just how they play.

When I had two- initially I was on guard and very concerned but I learned that’s just who they are. There were some times that I felt like it was getting too ramped up and shut it down.

I think that you can see it, feel that it’s getting too excessive. You don’t have to worry about hurting anything by stopping it early.

But yeah…Dobermans play extremely rough- more so than any breed I’ve seen.

Rough meaning snarling, growling, screaming, teeth barred….Freyja used to run full bore across the yard and slam Rag when he was not looking.
 
It's very normal for Dobermans to look like they're playing rough. Our dogs can play rough conditionally but I shut it down if they are getting serious about it. You can tell when the tone changes and they mean business.
Thank you; that’s the impression I’ve had watching them. Just occurred to me recently that maybe I should go off of more than my own novice assumption. Would hate to find out too late & at their expense that I was really asking for it this whole time by letting them behave that way. They’ll be happy to know the match is back on 🤺
 
Ehhh…
Dobermans just play crazily rough. You get two together and non Doberman people would swear they are trying to kill each other. That’s just how they play.

When I had two- initially I was on guard and very concerned but I learned that’s just who they are. There were some times that I felt like it was getting too ramped up and shut it down.

I think that you can see it, feel that it’s getting too excessive. You don’t have to worry about hurting anything by stopping it early.

But yeah…Dobermans play extremely rough- more so than any breed I’ve seen.

Rough meaning snarling, growling, screaming, teeth barred….Freyja used to run full bore across the yard and slam Rag when he was not looking.
Haha, exactly. I would’ve taken anything like what these guys daily do as a life-threatening situation with our last two (both non-dobies) because nothing short of that would’ve explained such a radical departure from the norm. Idk if I would like it if the less-aggressive dog was physically smaller/senior/weaker, but as it stands, I’ll continue letting her keep the big guy on his toes. Thanks!
 
I don't allow roughhousing in the house typically. It's just too much as they are surprisingly clumsy when it comes to rough play and my house has unfortunately taken the brunt of it one too many times, ugh. Plus, most of our home is linoleum and even with rugs, when they rough house they slip and slide or trip on the rug...someone was going to get hurt. With 4 dobermans, enough was enough. They are now only allowed to play in the training room where we have rubber gym floor or outside. And only 2 at a time.

If you study canine body language, you will be able to tell when they are over aroused. When they are over aroused, a fight is much more imminent. Stop it before it gets to that point and all will be good. I also hard correct body slamming. I've heard of too many injuries due to that plus, its very rude and often causes the other to retaliate in response. Again, fight starter. If your dane is lower key, you'll likely not have to worry about these triggers. I'd still make sure the play is fair with each party taking turns on being the chaser and chase-ee so to speak. The play should look balanced. If one dog looks like they are not playing back and are trying to get away, with possible aggressive snaps saying to back off, stop the play of the pursuer.
 
I'm another who had to shut down wild puppy play because of body slamming and abusive dominant play against the resident dog who was 5 at the time. By the time my puppy was 5 months old she weighed as much as her "big sister" and was taller and more powerful. Zero play in the house for all the reasons @Rits stated. Outside zoomies were fine, but as soon as the puppy began to overwhelm the elder dog we'd shut them down. The rule in place is "If one dog is not having fun, ALL the fun stops". Never allow either dog to be overwhelmed or uncomfortable in the interactions.
 
I don't allow roughhousing in the house typically. It's just too much as they are surprisingly clumsy when it comes to rough play and my house has unfortunately taken the brunt of it one too many times, ugh. Plus, most of our home is linoleum and even with rugs, when they rough house they slip and slide or trip on the rug...someone was going to get hurt. With 4 dobermans, enough was enough. They are now only allowed to play in the training room where we have rubber gym floor or outside. And only 2 at a time.

If you study canine body language, you will be able to tell when they are over aroused. When they are over aroused, a fight is much more imminent. Stop it before it gets to that point and all will be good. I also hard correct body slamming. I've heard of too many injuries due to that plus, its very rude and often causes the other to retaliate in response. Again, fight starter. If your dane is lower key, you'll likely not have to worry about these triggers. I'd still make sure the play is fair with each party taking turns on being the chaser and chase-ee so to speak. The play should look balanced. If one dog looks like they are not playing back and are trying to get away, with possible aggressive snaps saying to back off, stop the play of the pursuer.
Our house has become pretty well proofed against most forms of large dog damage over the years, though it’s always a shame when this is due to hindsight rather than foresight. I don’t even want to think about the new hurricane categories they could reach if there were four of them 😂

Now I’m not sure if I’ve seen this body-slamming… Is this when one charges & rears right before contact? Kind of a run ending in jumping on the other with a chest bump + grappling with their arms to stay up? Or something else?

It is balanced in the sense that both instigate play & switch roles. Less so in terms of politeness, with the Dane play-bowing & rolling on his back waggling his paws to entice her to play with him, while the dobie runs up & nips him or holds a toy in his face while growling around it when she wants his participation 🙄

Thank you for the advice!
 
Yes, and T -Bone is where serious injuries can occur. Expensive, and sometimes life threatening. I fortunately have never experienced it; but know of a Dobe that had to be put down because of it. I keep an eye on the rough housing, because Glory will not hold her ground when Falcon is getting too wild. She shows teeth, but will try and trot away from him when she has had enough...and he has NEVER had enough! Typically when she tries to get away from the game, he runs up behind her to pounce - but I give the harsh QUIT! before he makes contact. As said above; when one stops having fun, the game has to stop. Here is a mild version...(Falcon has to wear a belly band now due to marking:shock:)
 
Now I’m not sure if I’ve seen this body-slamming
Here's what it looks like on a human (me) - done by my dog when she was right around a year old. I learned to stand stock still if I heard her thundering up behind or toward me. If I stood still she'd miss by an inch. If I moved and miscalculated which direction to step to (we're talking seconds of forewarning and inches in movement) this is what happens. She ALWAYS acted like nothing hurt her, but I could see why no dog wanted to play with her. (I didn't know anyone with Dobermans locally).

P1310078.webp
 
Think about a foot ball tackle or a t-bone in a car accident.
Oh, yikes. The charging I see ends in jumping up, not crashing into. I guess when they’re chasing & running alongside one another there’s some contact, but more like body checking in hockey, not a football tackle. Thanks, I’ll look out for that one!
 
Yes, and T -Bone is where serious injuries can occur. Expensive, and sometimes life threatening. I fortunately have never experienced it; but know of a Dobe that had to be put down because of it. I keep an eye on the rough housing, because Glory will not hold her ground when Falcon is getting too wild. She shows teeth, but will try and trot away from him when she has had enough...and he has NEVER had enough! Typically when she tries to get away from the game, he runs up behind her to pounce - but I give the harsh QUIT! before he makes contact. As said above; when one stops having fun, the game has to stop. Here is a mild version...(Falcon has to wear a belly band now due to marking:shock:)
Some of those moves look very familiar, lol. The Dane’s move when he’s tired of her is to just lie down & stiff-arm/leg to push her off when she moves in. She’ll get bored & leave after a bit. I can see having to police it more if no one ever got tired / walked away of their own volition. I have one buck who’s like that during rut; he gets time-outs for everyone’s sake.
 

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