My dogs play rough. How can I tell if it's becoming a real fight?

Question

Zeus and jade play alot but it seems like sometimes it get real. Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | unneutered | 3 months and 11 days old | 50 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

It's true that play between two dogs can sometimes get out of hand and become a more serious fight. It can be hard for many owners to distinguish this from rough play, so feel free to request a one-on-one consultation if you wish - you can take a video of the behavior for me to look at, so that I can give you a better idea of whether this is normal play or something more serious. In the meantime, I would recommend distracting the dogs from their play session and redirecting them to something else if you are concerned that things are getting too intense. You can do this by shaking a treat bag, and asking both dogs to sit for a treat when they come to you. This helps to bring their arousal level down a bit, so that they are calmer when they go back to playing.

My dogs play rough. How can I tell if it's becoming a real fight?

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