Vocal Play... Opinions and Advice please! :) - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:20 AM

So Justice, Our Siberian Husky, and Sacha, Our Dobie, like to play... quite rough. They're 15 weeks and 12 weeks. Both are VERY vocal dogs (both like to talk to us. Justice does a gutteral yowl and Sacha does like this whiny growl bark deal) They never hurt each other but when they play, they both growl and get VERY vocal. No yelps like they're hurting each other, but because of the vocal expression, it sounds like a dog fight... But all tails are wagging!

The trainer said that I shouldn't allow them to play and get vocal like that because it might escalate.

Is this something I should stop? or is it just them being vocal puppies?

CheyenneRoy · 12-17-2012, 11:23 AM

Apollo, our 6 month Doberman, and Lou, our year old Corgi, are very vocal too when they play. We allow it but watch their body language. Lou can be a drama queen and gets tired of Apollos sometimes. We can tell by their barks and yaps when the play is starting to change and we remind them to "behave" and all is well. We've never had a problem with either of them "escalating" .

Sam1491 · 12-17-2012, 11:25 AM

Without actually hearing it, coming from my experience with sib's they are vocal as is (most of them). Mabel is a vocal girl, bark, whine, groan, growl, mumble...some are just more talkative than others and your puppies may just be getting so loud becuase they are taking cues and copycating each other.

I'd watch body language more, whenever mabel plays with other dobes or even the dobes at my previous job when they played together sounded like war but it was normal play as long as body language said so.

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CheyenneRoy

Apollo, our 6 month Doberman, and Lou, our year old Corgi, are very vocal too when they play. We allow it but watch their body language. Lou can be a drama queen and gets tired of Apollos sometimes. We can tell by their barks and yaps when the play is starting to change and we remind them to "behave" and all is well. We've never had a problem with either of them "escalating" .

I watch them too, and when the sounds of the growls change, I'll stop them and tell them to behave too... If I stopped them everytime they got vocal like that, they'd never play. Sacha especially STARTS playing with a growl, and Justice usually chimes in after she starts playing back.

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam1491

Without actually hearing it, coming from my experience with sib's they are vocal as is (most of them). Mabel is a vocal girl, bark, whine, groan, growl, mumble...some are just more talkative than others and your puppies may just be getting so loud becuase they are taking cues and copycating each other.

I'd watch body language more, whenever mabel plays with other dobes or even the dobes at my previous job when they played together sounded like war but it was normal play as long as body language said so.

Yeah, The tails are wagging, they start to run laps around the house and stop for a couple minutes and play and the growling commences, then they run, then it continues until both are so tired out that they lay down together and chew bones lol

Sam1491 · 12-17-2012, 11:35 AM

Everything sounds fine to me, you just have some vocal dogs

The above video isn't her actually playing, I don't have any of those, but vocal is vocal lol, she doesn't know how NOT to use her mouth alllllll the time even when nobody cares....which is most of the time. (Even the 12 week old puppy was like, umm yea I have a ball whatever)

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:36 AM

At the store yesterday, Sacha started trying to play with Justice, and it SOUNDED nasty to people that aren't around them enough to know better, and a woman looked at me when Sacha got bored with Justice and wanted to sniff her dog (a lab 20x Sacha's size), and was like "What kind of dog is that black one?" I told her doberman, and she like very slowly backed her dog away and kept giving me dirty looks like Sacha was attempting to rip both her, and her dog's face off, and shooting me dirty looks like "who do I think I am not having shackles and a muzzle on that beast?" I'm looking at her like... "Really? She's all of 20 lbs lady, you weren't too worried when you thought she was a coon dog."

*** Prior to Sacha play growling at Justice, the lady had been petting her... Go Figure?

Like i said... the point of my example lol is that it SOUNDS nasty, but really that's how they play. Sacha was doing the play bow in the store and everything, little nub going a mile a minute...

**PatchworkRobot** · 12-17-2012, 11:41 AM

In my experience, huskies are a very vocal breed - especially in play.
Still, even with vocal players you should be able to hear the difference between vocal play and it escalating to too much. Just watch them.

Sam1491 · 12-17-2012, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmclove

At the store yesterday, Sacha started trying to play with Justice, and it SOUNDED nasty to people that aren't around them enough to know better, and a woman looked at me when Sacha got bored with Justice and wanted to sniff her dog (a lab 20x Sacha's size), and was like "What kind of dog is that black one?" I told her doberman, and she like very slowly backed her dog away and kept giving me dirty looks like Sacha was attempting to rip both her, and her dog's face off, and shooting me dirty looks like "who do I think I am not having shackles and a muzzle on that beast?" I'm looking at her like... "Really? She's all of 20 lbs lady, you weren't too worried when you thought she was a coon dog."

*** Prior to Sacha play growling at Justice, the lady had been petting her... Go Figure?

Like i said... the point of my example lol is that it SOUNDS nasty, but really that's how they play. Sacha was doing the play bow in the store and everything, little nub going a mile a minute...

Some people just don't understand or as I've found just plain don't know real dog body language. The kind of people that look at my dog and decide that means they shouldn't come by me with or without their own dog are proabably people/dogs I don't want to meet anyway

Thankfully around here people really seem to like dobes...to bad mine has a bubble lol. The worst i've gotten was a morning jogger met that above puppy and said so you decided to chop the ears huh? I said yup and he kept jogging.

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam1491

Everything sounds fine to me, you just have some vocal dogs

The above video isn't her actually playing, I don't have any of those, but vocal is vocal lol, she doesn't know how NOT to use her mouth alllllll the time even when nobody cares....which is most of the time. (Even the 12 week old puppy was like, umm yea I have a ball whatever)

That is EXACTLY what she sounds like and sounded like at the store... only add in Justice's low gutteral growls.

Rosemary · 12-17-2012, 11:43 AM

When my two bitches play, it looks and sounds like World War III. Barks, growls, teeth flashing, the whole nine yards. Usually, the are okay, and end the game by mutual consent. Sometimes, though, it gets serious, and it's time for me to seperate them.

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:45 AM

The only YELP I've ever heard is when Justice goes for the ears, and Sacha usually lets her know to stop... but that seems to be lessening, but we watch Justice with the ears anyways, I don't want them to be shredded.

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 11:48 AM

Oh yes, what a mean mean attack face ripping dog... Just soo GRRR. -__- They are definitely love bugs, but the play sounds like all out battle lol

Oh yeah, when she looked at me, and proceeded to lick another persons dog's feet, I did say, what a ferocious guard dog you are, lick them to death

and my husband and the trainer started like laughing because Sacha is such a little baby, and the woman was waiting on her pictures with santa and like moved further and further away... Like I was being serious about her being ferocious... *eye roll* Some people have no sense of humor. My mom is deathly afraid of dobermans and big dogs and she likes Sacha.

Instant Noodle · 12-17-2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmclove

Oh yes, what a mean mean attack face ripping dog... Just soo GRRR. -__- They are definitely love bugs, but the play sounds like all out battle lol

Oh yeah, when she looked at me, and proceeded to lick another persons dog's feet, I did say, what a ferocious guard dog you are, lick them to death

and my husband and the trainer started like laughing because Sacha is such a little baby, and the woman was waiting on her pictures with santa and like moved further and further away... Like I was being serious about her being ferocious... *eye roll* Some people have no sense of humor. My mom is deathly afraid of dobermans and big dogs and she likes Sacha.

What a vicious duo!!! I just want to squeeze their cute little faces!!!!!!!

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Instant Noodle

What a vicious duo!!! I just want to squeeze their cute little faces!!!!!!!

LOL!!! Yes so vicious... Rawr. LOL They have their snippy moments, but I have yet to meet an animal/human on this planet that doesnt!!! both of my pups have been the best dogs and the best temperament me or my husband have ever had.

usmclove · 12-17-2012, 12:48 PM

Play time!

River · 12-17-2012, 01:40 PM

Your dogs are adorable! Baby huskies are fuzzy and cute. Don't worry about vocal play, as others have said, some dogs are very loud. Griff and Little Dog (my housemate's ACD mix) sound like they're murdering something in the living room when they play. And LD has some husky in her, we think, she does this bark that goes into a wooo-wooo-wooo. Griffin barks, yelps, and makes Wookie noises at her. It's hilarious. If someone does do something that hurts, a yelp tends to settle them down. They'll take a break, and go back to playing a little later.

Rosemary · 12-18-2012, 08:50 AM

This is clip of Ilka and Leo playing. This is pretty typical. Ilka and Leo playing 12-17-12 - YouTube You can't hear it well, but believe my when I say that are making a ton of noise.

usmclove · 12-18-2012, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by River

Your dogs are adorable! Baby huskies are fuzzy and cute. Don't worry about vocal play, as others have said, some dogs are very loud. Griff and Little Dog (my housemate's ACD mix) sound like they're murdering something in the living room when they play. And LD has some husky in her, we think, she does this bark that goes into a wooo-wooo-wooo. Griffin barks, yelps, and makes Wookie noises at her. It's hilarious. If someone does do something that hurts, a yelp tends to settle them down. They'll take a break, and go back to playing a little later.

Justice makes the wooo-wooo sound, and its so low and gutteral that people think she's growling at them, then I start talking to her and they are like "huh?" and I usually explain she's talking to me and that she just wants me to pay attention to what she's saying...

lol

GingerGunlock · 12-18-2012, 04:33 PM

Where's Bridgette with her pictures of Tali and Fiona going feral vampire on each other?

There are times, playing tug, where Elka is snarling and growling like she wants nothing more than to take a chunk out of me. that's the good fun, I guess! (I wish I could get her to growl on cue, but it's been no dice so far. She does sneeze, though.)

usmclove · 12-18-2012, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GingerGunlock

Where's Bridgette with her pictures of Tali and Fiona going feral vampire on each other?

There are times, playing tug, where Elka is snarling and growling like she wants nothing more than to take a chunk out of me. that's the good fun, I guess! (I wish I could get her to growl on cue, but it's been no dice so far. She does sneeze, though.)

thatd be nice lol

Beaumont67 · 12-18-2012, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GingerGunlock

............There are times, playing tug, where Elka is snarling and growling like she wants nothing more than to take a chunk out of me. that's the good fun, I guess! (I wish I could get her to growl on cue, but it's been no dice so far. She does sneeze, though.)

^^^^ Awesome FUN.
- playing TUG, I growl at each young pup first, so they learn to play growl back at their Dad.
Yesterday, 3.5 month old Kelly was dragged around our reno house.
- her holding onto a used sock (with a very strong grip)...and I dragged her 4paws around & around & around...the entire main floor, a few times
She almost pissed herself, having so much fun...we will do it again tomorrow, when out at the job site, together.
- I always encourage my dogs to communicate to me, since they can't speek English, good growls are second best (given time, growls can be read) !!

KevinK · 12-18-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GingerGunlock

Where's Bridgette with her pictures of Tali and Fiona going feral vampire on each other?

There are times, playing tug, where Elka is snarling and growling like she wants nothing more than to take a chunk out of me. that's the good fun, I guess! (I wish I could get her to growl on cue, but it's been no dice so far. She does sneeze, though.)

Same, at night there's times when I'm half waiting for the cops to show up to see what the hell I'm doing to my dog lol. Dakota is pretty vocal, especially when we play rough. I don't mind vocalization at all, I just keep an eye on body language.

usmclove · 12-18-2012, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinK

Same, at night there's times when I'm half waiting for the cops to show up to see what the hell I'm doing to my dog lol. Dakota is pretty vocal, especially when we play rough. I don't mind vocalization at all, I just keep an eye on body language.

me too I'm always joking with my cool neighbor, (not my nosy nasty one) that people think I'm running a dog fighting business or something lol

Rosemary · 12-18-2012, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmclove

me too I'm always joking with my cool neighbor, (not my nosy nasty one) that people think I'm running a dog fighting business or something lol

Ilka and Leo got into it the other day, (Ilka didn't want to go outside, but I made her go anyway) with Ilka pinning Leo, barking and snarling at her, and Leo screaming at the top of her lungs like she was being skinned alive. Not a scatch on either of them, but I was halfway expecting Animal Services to show up.