Do you play fight?

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Sianny
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Do you play fight?

Post by Sianny »

I thought we could have a nice healthy debate around this area, I would be interested to hear your views! Experienced, inexperienced, qualified, unqualified, agree, disagree, fence (that's mine).

Dave used to playfight with Ralphy and I never did but now we both do it. I will make an effort to film it so no description is required but I feel it's important to explain what we do and what I mean as "fight" is a strong word.

Where we live now... this happens on the landing as it's carpeted.

I will playbow, Ralphy will playbow. Oh yes, I'm talking about crazy bum in the air shoulders to the ground! He knows to start when I hit the floor with both hands. Then I sit down and Ralphy will run towards me and go into a down and I'll turn him over and tickle him a bit rougher and scratch his back and he will mouth me ever so gently and make ooo roo noises. I also pick him up, turn him the other way so that he'll run that way, he'll realise he's the wrong way around and run back to me and then we rough and tumble again I guess, he roo roos and mouths. Having written this down I'm half tempted to click that red cross in the top right there but it's the best I can describe it!

He never initiates it, always me, he also doesn't mouth outside of playfighting apart from if I'm having a mega 12 hour lie in and he pulls my hair :( "WAKE UP!!"

He gets tickles and back scratches outside of playfighting, he also gets wholesome play, fetch the tennis ball on every evening off the lead walk and fetch Ducky/Mr Stinky when I get home from work.

He plays with my nearly 2 year old nephew, with dog toys, who can be rough with him and never mouths. He takes the instruction.. "gently" really well. My 3 year old nephew is almost being diagnosed as autistic.. he screams alot (with joy!) and claps his hands and Ralphy just sniffs him and sometimes licks his hands if he's been eating bread and butter or what have you.

Even when he's getting into it and on the brink of zoomies, his upper mouthing boundaries are soooo gentle you wouldn't believe it, this is because I taught him this in puppyhood.

Oh the ending.. it never usually lasts beyond 2-3 minutes as he will end up staying still and cwtching up enjoying a good old scratch.

I see this as beneficial to Ralphy as we have definitely compartmentalised it with him and it's not something he can initiate or tries to. I don't mind if you disagree.

So do you playfight?
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Guinevere
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Guinevere »

We have a pink slipper/sock that we fight with. have done since he was a tiny puppy.
Dave or I put it over our hand and box with Arthur. When he was tiny we stopped if he got to excited or mouthed. He will sit there in anticipation until we shout FIGHT and then he lurches at us and we have a scrap. The second we say stop he does and sits waiting almost hopping on the spot till we shout FIGHT again. We hide the slipper up our sleeve in our pocket anywhere and he sniffs all around until he finds it then it starts over
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Sianny
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Sianny »

Okay okay that sounds fricking ADORABLE!

You set boundaries too, I really think that is the key thing here! Plus you taught Arthur bite inhibition! :)
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Guinevere
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Guinevere »

So you show me your video and I'll show you mine (giggle)
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Sianny
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Sianny »

LOL I don't have one... yet [devil]
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Tulip

Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Tulip »

Sian, if I were a dog, I'd want to be Ralphy! It sounds like he gets a lot of play time and has a lot of fun! If the boundries set by you are in place and you're comfortable with how he behaves, then there's no cause for concern. I would only suggest that when Mr. George arrives you refrain from rough play so that he learns it later in life when he has more impulse control and mouth control - I use a tug toy to play like this with Maisy (Freddy will ONLY join in when Maisy is playing, so it's a three way tug with lots of growling and roo roo'ing!) and I used to think that playing tug of war with a puppy was a bad idea because it taught them to keep hold and encouraged the kind of stubborness we don't allow; however, a behaviourist said to me there was no better way to teach impulse control or 'leave it' as play is much more fun than eating so ending the game by letting go would signify far better than not playing at all! So now we play tug when a puppy's learnt leave it, and much fun is enjoyed!

Other games we play are hide and seek, or I put them into down waits and hide treats everywhere and then release them. ;)


Forgot to add - the reason my two aren't allowed to mouth at all during play with me or anyone else, ever, is because I have young children living at home and visiting very regularly and just can't take the risk of them trying to play like that - we all know how dramatic kids can be!
Last edited by Tulip on 12 Jan 2011, 12:48, edited 1 time in total.
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Caramomo
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Caramomo »

I play fight with my two. With Cara I gently slap the sides of her mouth which she then opens wide to try and catch my hands with and we get rougher and more excited as we play until I stop the game.

With Mo I hold her paw, and then the other paw and say 'play, play, play?' and then she mouths my fists and I pat or grab her body in various places whilst she tries to catch my hands. We can get very rough and on the odd occasion she forgets herself and teeth make contact so we have a time out before playing again.

The play fighting with Cara is noisier as she is generally a more growly dog when playing but the games with Mo are rougher. She is learning more restraint to make the games last longer. I will also play this game whilst wearing the sheep hand puppet. Mo really loves this and really goes for the puppet trying desperately to get it off my hand so she can 'kill' it!

We also play tug (often three way), chase, fetch and generally made up games that we don't know the rules to!
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NSB
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by NSB »

My other half does was sianny does with Lola. I think he is winding her up as she goes all submissive with her legs in the air waiting for a cuddle, for me I dont like it I feel she looks at us for reassurance and love not confrontation but then I am her Mum and she is my baby so maybe its just me being over sensitive.
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Stacey100
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Stacey100 »

LOL, Lovely thread.

I have always play fought with my two, not so much with Murf now as he can't handle it so much any more, I play gently with him now.

But I do seem to spend a lot of my time on the floor with my two rolling around with them. Luna is very gentle when play fighting anyway, I don't think I could generate any rough and tumble with her if I tried. Even when they both use their mouth, they are so gentle.

Once of my fav things that we do is I will take hold of their muzzles in one of my hands and gentle shake it and then the games begin, Lu will sometimes initiate it when I am going upstairs, she will race up before me and then stand on her hindlegs and wave her front legs at me bouncing on her back legs which looks ever so cute, I'll then take hold of her muzzle and then off we go, she then ends up on her back with a belly rub at the end, it always calms them down again and lets them know that the game has finished.

Another thing Murf does when he wants to play is he's frantically search for a toy and then ponce around and around the coffee table gruffing and growling to me. lol.


They both play alot with my 3 year old neice which is lovley to see as she is so unafraid of them and they are so good with her. She chases Luna and then turns round and Luna chases her. So sweet to watch. I am very lucky in the fact that I have 2 dogs which I have total trust in and am happy for them to be around others and young children without concern.
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vicky2822
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by vicky2822 »

Schuey loves a bit of rough and tumble.
I love the way they do the bum in the air thing when they want to play - I call it his Beyonca bum!!.
I love all the chat they do as well when they get excited.
We have a horse shoe landing upstairs and he loves running round that with the kids after him. He normally starts it off by taking one of my daughters build a bears off her bed to make her chase him.
He never takes it too far and I can stop him and calm him down in an instant if I have had enough or think he is getting too excited.
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Sianny
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Sianny »

Awesome news! And you all sound as mad as I do too which is great! ;D
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Derwent »

Max likes to "play fight", if I clap my hands and then hit the floor, he roo roos and tried to mouth me I then alternate between clapping and hitting the floor and he gets very excited and will then run around the sofa with a quick attack of the zoomies, then back to bite my hands - he is so gentle and if he gets too excited we stop till he is calm and then play again, we also do this in the garden when I tap his bum and he will bounce up in the air with all four feet off the ground and then sneezes and woofs at the same time it's really funny to watch. It seems when he gets excited it makes him sneeze - that my boy!
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sandra_1001
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by sandra_1001 »

We play fight with Monty almost in the same way as you describe Sian, always with us beginning the play. He loves it and runs round like a demon.

I also turn and gently push him so he gets slightly disorientated, he loves it. He will gently mouth but never hurts.

We have a 3 year old granddaughter who will race him along the hallway, he occasionally jumps and pushes against her but when told to be gentle calms down.

He nevers mouths her although we did observe her putting her hand into his mouth and pushing his teeth into her skin so she could come and say that he had bitten her, this was after she had been bitten at nursery. Whilst she did this Monty was trying to back away as he knew it was wrong.
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Guinevere
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by Guinevere »

Sandra they are cheeky monkeys these kids. One of our friends kids did similar to this when Arthur was a puppy and pretended to cry. Luckily the mum just laughed
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Re: Do you play fight?

Post by nickycaplan »

I had a play fight with lola last night with her puppet toy - she loves to bite it as hard as she can and pull it off my hand! she is so loud though, you would think she was killing me! but as soon as I say stop, she sits and looks and waits for me to start again. I must admit, I dont play ragga(pull the rope) with her at all anymore, she wont pull it for me! everyone else she will! have no idea why [laughing]
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