How to tell if dogs are playing or fighting: Training your dog to play nicely with other dogs

Along with playing nicely with humans your dog needs to learn to play nicely with other dogs.

Monitor his playing carefully when he’s around other dogs.

Some dogs don’t know when enough is enough and don’t read other dogs’ signals, so it’s your responsibility to ensure they play well and everyone is safe.

Play can quickly tip over into a fight if you’re not careful.

Learn what good play looks like and learn what your dog’s “normal” is

Dogs are great communicators, both vocally and physically. Whether they mean to play or fight depends on the context, so you’ll need to watch carefully to learn your dog’s signals and be ready to intervene.

All dogs are unique and have different likes, dislikes, histories and thresholds. 

They size each other up very quickly and often silently. 

For us humans, fights can seem like they’ve come out of nowhere, but if you’re observant (and know what to look for) you will see a fight brewing a mile off.

Different breeds have different play styles

Some love running, some love chasing, some love slamming into things, some love to wrestle, others love all of the above and some prefer other dogs to keep their distance and act with a bit more dignity. 

It’s wonderful when your dog has friends with a similar style because then everyone understands each other and there’s less nastiness. 

A dog who plays well and exhibits clear dog body language will have a relaxed, smiley face, inefficient, bouncy movements and will do play bows and paw raises.

These indicate to his friend that ‘whatever comes next is just for fun’. 

Bigger or older dogs, will also make themselves smaller by lying down so that the younger or smaller dog gets to win the game occasionally.

A good strategy to help you assess the situation

If you’re worried about how dogs are playing and it looks like one is being picked on, hold the ‘winner’ back to give the ‘loser’ space. 

If they really are being victimized they will walk away and do something else like scratching, yawning, sniffing the ground.

But if they launch themselves straight back into the play, it means that both dogs understand their roles and are actually having fun.  

Continue to watch them closely though, as things can change quickly, especially when dogs get tired (like grumpy toddlers, it’s all fun and games until it’s not!)

For more puppy raising tactics, save your seat in my free masterclass

“3 Simple Tactics for Raising a Well-Behaved Dog”