My husky puppy is just over 4.5 months old and we have been taking him to the dog park for the past month. He is very confident and spends most of the time jumping on other larger dogs and biting the back of the neck and showing his teeth. He will continue to go after these dogs after they snap at him or pin him down. It seems like they it starts of playing but progresses to “fighting”. Should I pull him off the other dogs and say NO or let them work it out.

My experience when Ginger gets a little rough play going is that other non-husky owners do not understand this, and do not like it. For the other dog, I'm sure they don't like it either which is why snap back. Some people say let them work it out, however, for me, if it starts to escalate, I call Ginger off because I do not want to have her end up getting hurt, or if the other dog gets hurt because of Ginger, I do not want to be slapped with their vet bill. I try to teach Ginger to play nice with other dogs - rough play is OK but for me, better with another husky with dog and owner that understands rough play.

the other day at the dog park, a lady brought is some kind of bigger mix and set him free. IMMEDIATELY, Keeonah, and a little pit bull boy started playing with him. They were running around and around the big field, jumping on eachother, barking, what have you. The lady straight up FREAKED OUT. every single person in the dog park tried to explain to her that everything she saw was totally natural, and her dog was probably having the time of his life, but nooooo. She chased him down (for almost 10 minutes), cause he had no recall, leashed him and left, telling all of us we had extremely poorly trained dogs

Dogs play rough. Generally speaking, you can definitely tell when something escalates to fighting. Hackles up, low continuous growling, etc. If they are growling and playing and jumping off and on eachother, releasing eachother, then doing it again, then i wouldnt worry about a thing.

Your pup will learn limits best from other dogs but you have to be mindful of the other dogs and their owners. Watch your pups behavior closely as well as that of the dogs he plays with and the other owners. If your pup is not getting the hint that the other dogs are getting fed up with his behavior then I would step in. In a sense, if the other dog snaps at him it's a first warning, if he continues and then receives a verbal reprimand from you it acts as a second warning. If he still doesn't give up then I'd end the playtime. Now if it were your own dogs then I'd probably say to just let them work it out. But with dogs and owners you don't know, letting things escalate can be an issue.

I don't allow that kind of behavior with other dogs than my own. While we see it as rough housing and normal play- other owners and even other dogs may not. What you don't want is a dog who see's that snap one too many times and decides to snap back potentially creating a fight. If I don't like what I see and the play isn't "fair" (meaning it isn't being dished out equally by both dogs or one looks as though they are NOT particularly enjoying it) I will call them off and distract. Rodeo is my biggest issue with this kind of behavior with other dogs but as long as you remain persistent and hold the rules they learn. He only plays like that with dogs he knows he can, and my own dogs. He needs reminders here and there but he can't be perfect.

arooroomom wrote:

Rodeo is my biggest issue with this kind of behavior with other dogs but as long as you remain persistent and hold the rules they learn. He only plays like that with dogs he knows he can, and my own dogs. He needs reminders here and there but he can't be perfect.

Kody knows which dogs he can play like "that" with and which dogs aren't having it. It's weird. I've never had to make him stop it with other dogs. Then again maybe that's because he's usually around huskies

maggie stalks other dogs and pounces right in front of them. Most places I go everyone thinks it is the cutest thing. To be honest it is. She isn't hunting your dog it is just how she plays. It wasn't until I came to a dog park out here that someone thought Maggie was going to kill her dog um really/

norbreedslove wrote:

maggie stalks other dogs and pounces right in front of them. Most places I go everyone thinks it is the cutest thing. To be honest it is. She isn't hunting your dog it is just how she plays. It wasn't until I came to a dog park out here that someone thought Maggie was going to kill her dog um really/

Kerian also stalks other dogs and pounces at them.

She play pretty rough sometimes other owners do not like it I have to keep on top of it with her.

Blaze seems to knowt the limits with other dogs at the dog park.

Now at home the two of them play very rough all the time.

THANKS Guys!! I was starting to get a little worried because a couple of the other owners of the larger dogs kept saying how confident he was at such a young age. Your advise is great and I will continue to keep a keen eye on him. I guess he is just people friendly and dog aggressive.

If another dog owner doesn't like how your dog is playing with theirs then you need to end it stat, especially if the other dog is not wanting to play like that. There is a difference between rough play and bully behavior. When my Doberman plays it looks like wrestlemania, but if a dog is persistently pushing and annoying him with bully behavior then he will issue very hard corrections and won't stop(so I rarely take him to dog parks bc there are usually dogs with poor social skills there). Yes, young pups learn social skills from other dogs, but other people's pets at dog parks shouldn't be your guinea pigs because if your dog plays like that with the wrong dog, it can end badly for your pup. If his play style keeps escalating into scrapping then I would get him into a dog daycare or puppy play class at a training facility so he can learn better manners in play. Many people bring young pups to the dog park but I don't think it's a wise move because many pups aren't socially ready yet and just don't know when to stop annoying and pushing other dogs and that can get them into big trouble.

I reckon all these things happen to fierce looking big dogs. If a small dog plays rough or even bites or snaps, people will think it's harmless and talk about how cute it is. When a husky, especially those with fierce looking mask plays like that, people will think it's such a big issue and that dog probably need a muzzle. Lol. Don't feel bad if someone tells you that. When Titus was 9 months old, we were in a park when a Labrador around the age of 3 came rushing towards us, with the leash still on. So apparently someone just lost control of their dog. Immediately Titus went bouncing around wanting to play with the dog. I picked the dog's leash and looked around. A lady came running, pointing at Titus and said that he need a muzzle and such dangerous dog should not be around people of other dogs. Whoa.. I got sooo angry that time I didn't manage to say anything! Titus didn't even do anything.

Balon can get very rough with my Lab, but she now thinks she is a husky and gives it right back. However it makes me nervous to take him to a dog park, or even to a relatives house where my lab really enjoys playing with her two labs because I am afraid she (my Aunt) will freak out if she sees Balon trying that with her two labs lol. So mostly I leave him home when we go for now and I am trying to teach him to be a little gentler with other dogs including my lab.