[Donadoni1809]

Do you rough-house with your dogs?
Y'know, wrestle with them and such?
If/when you do, do you let them chew and chomp your hands playfully?

Some people have told me that I "should never let my dogs chew/nip my hands, even playfully" for one reason or another but I disagree with this.
IMO it all comes down to personal preference, some love to play that way with their dogs and some don't like it at all.

Thomas and I both rough-house with the dogs, we both let them chomp and chew.
Jade won't do it. Probably because she was raised with me and my siblings, so rough housing was discouraged as we were all young kids.
The boys love wrestling though and both have great bite inhibition.

Rudy is still learning, but Bransen will not put his mouth on anybody besides me or Thomas. Not everyone likes playing that way, but I like letting others (such as family and friends) play with the dogs, so it seemed important to ensure that they know not to play that way but anyone but us.

Do you think that us doing this is "dangerous and irresponsible" as some have said?

I don't see how it could be.
If they were to bite or snap at me in an aggressive way, that would obviously be very serious.
If they bite or snap at me in a play bow or on their back while they're wiggling across the bed, I just don't see how that could "dangerous" at all.

I've read many times that a dog having good bite inhibition can pay off in a high-tension situation. For example, if a dog with poor bite inhibition were to lash out at a person (say when redirecting during a scuffle or if said dog had been through trauma/severe injury) it may do more damage than a dog ("dog 2") with good bite inhibition because "dog 2" is more aware in terms of bite force. Again, I don't know if this is true or not, I just know that I've read it a few places and it makes sense.

This might be something for the debate section, not sure.

Anyways, what are your thoughts?

[bug_user]

IMO, it depends on if the dog is mouthy or not..

Bentley isn't mouthy at all.. He very rarely, if ever will mouth your hands unless you're playing with him.

Carter, on the other hand, is quite mouthy when he wants pretty much anything.

When I play with Bentley, I'll push him around. I'll pick him up and drop him.. He likes it. He always comes back for more and is always wiggly and bouncing around when we roughhouse. He'll get the zoomies and as he runs past me, I'll push him and then he runs around some more. I see no problem with it because he knows the difference between playing and not playing. My bf will grab B's mouth and pull him around, but again, Bentley likes it and he recognizes when play time is over. If he actually closes his mouth and ACCIDENTALLY bites, which does happen, I squeal and turn away from him.. He gets all apologetic and a few mins later we are back to playing.

With Carter, I don't play as roughly with him because he gets carried away with his mouth and paws. He "punches" people if they get too close when he's all riled up. He's a work in progress.

In general, no, I don't see an issue with roughhousing with the dog. I do think it's heavily dependent on the dog as an individual and you can't play with every dog the same.

[Donadoni1809]

I totally agree with that, Amara.

Bransen is not at all mouthy, Rudy isn't either.
When it comes to treats/toys/etc they are both very well behaved and polite.
They'll automatically get into a sit, start offering paws and take the food/toy nicely.
Well, Rudy sometimes slobbers and slops his tongue all over your hand, but he's being nice as far as he's concerned.

Jade on the other hand, will nip your hands to get you to let-go of a toy.

[bug_user]

Bentley used to nip at your hands to get a toy but after a few times of yelling "NO BITE", he stopped. Last thing he wanted to do was end the game.

[Donadoni1809]

Haha, as a pup Bransen did a bit but it was the same. He got one warning and if he nipped again, the game was over.
He learned fast.

[KLIMOV25gyi]

I don't allow it, but I have kids (10 and 12 years old) and a ton of neighbor kids under 10 that come over and play. If the dogs tried to roughhouse with them like that and accidentally bit or were even accused of a nip, I could lose them.

As far as the city is concerned, if someone reports my dog claiming a bite, they will remove the dog, ticket me for "Harboring a Vicious Animal" and then I would have to go to court to determine if I could have my dog back or if it would be euthanized. Meanwhile, they would keep my dog at the pound and I'd have to pay $20 a day boarding fees.

So, my rules are dog teeth never, ever, touch human skin and the dogs are also trained not to take anything waving around in human hands unless it is offered to them.

I think I would be different if I didn't have a lot of kids around all the time, yellin and screamin and runnin around like prey, though.

[Donadoni1809]

Yeah maybe if I had kids I might be different, but I don't know. I understand what you're saying obviously, it only makes sense.
Bransen is calm and gentle around children though. He will play with them sometimes but only fetch or "chase me" and he doesn't jump or nip at them all.
My brother (who's 12) tried getting getting him to rough house the way he does with us but he simply will not.

[djmassk]

i think the only way you should ever rough house with a dog is if you have 100 percent control over that dog at all times. if the dog has some problems or issues that you are unable to stop or control then you should really think twice about rough hosueing.
IMO in order to safely rough house the dog has to
#1 have complete respect for you and for people in general if your dog is not respectful towards kids and has a habit of getting excited around kids dont rough house becuase that dog could easily see a child one day and want to play with them by rough houseing becuase its been encouraged.

#2 listen to your commands consistently if the dog has selective hearing and only listens when it wants to or when you have a bribe like a treat dont rough house even if the dog is not mouthy one day it could take things seriously and begin nipping hard or get overly excited and not stop when you ask.

#3 be comfortable with being handled in that manner some dogs jsut are not comfortable with being grabbed and wrestled with but are to timid to do anything about it untill one day the dog snaps and grabs you leaving a serious bite simply ebcuase you didnt notice its body laungue saying "im very uncomfortable with this"
a dog whos uncomfortable with being handled doesnt neccesarily have to be a nervous or timid dog either it can be a very dominat dog or a dog suffering from unknown pain(maybe a few years ago the dog was hit by a car before you adopted it its body is healed for the most part but is still suffering from bouts of stiffness or pain)

i think if the dog is all of those things (respectful,
lsitens well,and is comfortable with it) then by all means wrestle and rough house away!!

another thing i dont think you should ever wrestle or rough house a young puppy i think the dog should prove itself first.

[rushiddink]

Roxie doesn't put her mouth on me. I just don't want a dog who mouths me, or anyone else for that matter- play or not. I just don't care for it. That said, she's more than welcome to go about punching me with her paws (she thinks she's a Boxer, lol) and bumping me with her nose, and that's all fine. If she wants to put her mouth on something, that's what toys are for.

[Hammaduersnes]

If I was in MJ's position I probably wouldn't, but I don't/won't have kids so I'm in the clear, lol. It's not a good day if I don't get to roll around on the ground and "fight" with the dogs.

[rushiddink]

I might also add that I have taught Roxie bite inhibition, I made sure to do so right away when I adopted her. Back then when she was learning she was allowed to mouth me, but as we've gone on, she's learned to use lighter and lighter pressure till she's just not allowed to mouth at all anymore. It's definately worked, otherwise she probably would have killed the kitten she caught, instead of bringing it to me completely unharmed... aside from jumbled up nerves and wet fur, lol.

[catermos]

When it was just me and Venus, we totally used to rough house. I'd put on a leather jacket and we'd GO! She was smart as hell though. The second I'd say STOP she'd sit and wait for me to say GO again. If I said OUCH she'd tone it down a notch. It was a riot. It was just me and Venus back then so we were inseparable and did everything together. When Marz came along, it became more about them wrestling together so I never really wrestled with Marz, then the kids came along, and more dogs... lol.. ya.. I've haven't wrestled with a dog in ages. Tank likes wrestling but I always wind up getting a head but or something and the game ends. He's way too strong. He won't hurt you on purpose but he could break your nose just by turning his head.

[forexsoft]

We've played like that with all of our pits.

Chevelle has sharp little puppy teeth, so sometimes it hurts, but she never bites down. If I stick my hand in her mouth, she holds her jaw loose and doesn't bite me...she just mouths. No problem with that, it's only play. A dogs mouth is their hands. It's what they use for everything. Also, there is a big difference between play and being serious.

[brandiweb]

I wrestle with Casper, Jasmine and Circe. Greyhounds don't wrestle and Ripley is way too submissive. She won't play with me at all.

Casper can get too rough. He has chipped my front tooth and almost knocked me out cold one time. I saw stars and went to the ground. He is not really mouthy, but will swing his head around like a lethal weapon. He hit one of my friends kids and she had a knot the size of of a baseball on the back of her head!

Circe like to play our game "viscous dog". I'll yell viscous dog and she mock attacks me. Barking and growling and mouthing me.

[Donadoni1809]

Yeah, Bransen mock attacks us too. Snarling and barking, chomping on us.
But if you tell him to stop (or just act like you're no longer interested) he will stop immediately. Sometimes he will bark and snap at the air as if to say "I want to keep playing!"

It's so cute, when he wants to wrestle he will jump on the couch or bed and start rolling around on back, barking and snapping at the air.

[obHQNsY2]

Do you rough-house with your dogs? Yes, except Rudy he is really sensitive. I always rough-housed with my Rottweiler mix, Jenny (RIP). She actually loved it. Rough housing doesn't make the dog mean or anything like people think but I definately don't over do it. Dixie just roo roo roos. She actually loves being rough housed with it makes her more vocal though.

If/when you do, do you let them chew and chomp your hands playfully? It depends on the dog, Dixie has great bite inhibtion and never was a mouthy pup. Buster & Rudy weren't, either. Rocky (RIP) was the mouthiest pup EVER so we discouraged the mouthing and wasn't a mouthy dog when he matured.

I honestly think it depends on the dog and you know they won't shut down after doing it. I think the dog should have good confidence if you rough house with them. I cannot and won't ever rough house with Rudy, he was abused before we got him and he would just shut down.

[catermos]

I think I would be different if I didn't have a lot of kids around all the time, yellin and screamin and runnin around like prey, though.

No doubt. We don't have a whole lot of company, but generally if anything is getting rowdy when guests are here, I just put the dogs away... especially when kids are here that are not dog savvy. Unless I'm RIGHT THERE orchestrating the situation, dogs are crated in a locked room.

[UTHZzJ6f]

If I was in MJ's position I probably wouldn't, but I don't/won't have kids so I'm in the clear, lol. It's not a good day if I don't get to roll around on the ground and "fight" with the dogs.

Me too. I've been thinking of getting a 'NO KIDS ALLOWED' sign to hang on my gate.

Dog is very obedient when roughhousing, was my way of teaching him not to nip and to give me whatever he has in his mouth. And we always have a toy while roughhousing, I prefer he bites on the toy than on my hands. I've gotten some scratches(with his paws) on my face from time to time (my fault most of the time).

[kenowinnumberss]

I don't really rough house with my dogs, they have each other for that.

I do rough house with the little dog though so I can hear him make his Ewok noises. Oh and he thinks he's a fierce monster dog.

[adesseridopaw]

We have full on wrestling matches all the time! They mouth me, I mouth them... it works out LOL

The dogs have always just seemed to know that rough play was okay with me, but not my son. He can run around screaming like a mad thing, and they'll chase him... but they won't jump on him or mouth him. They don't wrestle with anyone aside from me, so their manners with others are still fine.