[Molari]

How rough does everyone play with their dogs? GKar and I play fight where he jumps at me and when I throw my forearm out to block him he will mouth it and then let go. Along with a lot of chasing around the yard where he nips me on the side when I am the chasee. I get to slap him on the butt and try to roll him over whem I am doing the chasing. There is a lot of buildup to this game with stalking on both sides so he will not do it with kids by accident. He has never actually bitten me but I get a lot of bites were I jerk my arm out of his mouth before he actually opens his mouth to let me go.

 

[frznbuns]

we had a rescue Doberman female a long time ago... the person who had her was in a wheelchair and would arm wrestle with her... well when she came to us she tried the same thing with the children and almost broke my daughter's arm.. She wasn't trying to be mean, it was just that was the way she learned to play... my point is Molari... Please be careful with the rough play...the big dogs don't know they are big and strong all the time and can unwilling hurt a small child but accident when they are just trying to play..
But it sure sounds like you have a lot of fun together....

 

[Ann]

I believe the big dogs can learn the differencd if you teach it from the begining. so have fun and teach both .

 

[FiReBReTHa]

my personal belief is to avoid Loki mouthing me at all times because it is quite possible for him to play with random people while we are out and I would never want him to mouth someone and them think its an attack, etc. etc.

just better to avoid the situation.
and the side nipping I fear because if he was to get out and a kid was running he could think it was a game, nip, they fall down and hurt themselves.

just be cautious.

 

[Lexus]

With Lex, we mouth play also, she's so gentle, it's amazing. We also (outside though! Not enough room inside) play where she runs and jumps at me and I dodge her. But mostly, just playing tug and fetch.

 

[TracyJo]

Mark plays pretty rough with Chi, the "chase Daddy" game gets very physical but teeth are never allowed. There were a few times that she got too worked up and carried away and nipped him pretty good, she wasn't really punished so much as the game ended. I don't really play all that ruff with her at all, we mostly just play hide-and-seek and lots of fetch.

 

[Molari]

Mark plays pretty rough with Chi, the "chase Daddy" game gets very physical but teeth are never allowed. There were a few times that she got too worked up and carried away and nipped him pretty good, she wasn't really punished so much as the game ended. I don't really play all that ruff with her at all, we mostly just play hide-and-seek and lots of fetch.

The male I had before GKar was that way. He would get so excited that it became a little rough so I would have to be careful to stop before that happened. With GKar it is not a problem. He seems to know that this is just two big dogs playing in the back yard and no matter how long we play or how rough it gets he never goes to far.

 

[Jedski]

Jeddah does the rough wrestling kind of play with my son, but is a total sook with me. So she definitely knows the difference, and what is more acceptable behaviour with each of her family.

It's become of bit of a tradition that Friday night is the big "rough" play night. I'm yet to work out how she knows when Friday night comes round, as she is the one who actually initiates the play with Karl. The air snaps, sharp little barks, bowing........ There must be something in our relaxed body language to show it's the end of the week. Can't fool a dobe!!!!!

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

Gracie plays rough with my husband and sometimes me. I pretty much have stopped the rough play since she does mouth or nip when she gets to excited. I have had a few holes in my legs from her mouthing to hard or nipping. Also she loves kids, she doesn't know her size which isn't a good thing. But when kids are over here they are both watched very closely. The kids aren't allowed outside when Gracie is out because she gets way to rough out there. So we try to make sure all play times with kids happen indoor, in a more controled enviroment for the dog and kid. When we see Gracie getting that look in her eye of wanting to play rougher we stop every thing. We tell the kids that it is time to take a break and Gracie needs some rest before she plays again.

 

[2dobies]

When Darmok was about 9 mo. old, she wanted to play rough and so we played rough...but she put a few minor rips in my forearm just by running towards me, mouth wide open looking as if she were laughing, body wagging and running at the same time, but as she would fly past me, she would touch her teeth to my arm and would tear my skin--not deep, but enough to bleed. I stopped her from playing that game, and now, she will run at me the same as before, but instead of ripping a tooth across my arm, she will turn sideways in mid air, and body slam me! This is a game we play when I call it, not when she does! It's a lot more fun for her than for me, but I enjoy seeing her have such a laugh at my expense sometimes!