# Letting your APBT "play fight" with friendly dogs??? Yay? Nay?



## Aximus Prime (Dec 15, 2009)

Is there any reason that letting your APBT "play fight" with other dogs he is familiar with is a bad idea? I mean he never gets to the point of actual aggression, tails are wagging the whole time, just having a blast. But...there is some growling/snarling and nipping at each other's faces, necks, etc...as well as pawing at each other. . .

Could allowing this be building a desire to fight in my APBT? I'm no expert in dog behavior but I can tell the difference between play and a problem. 

Just need advice. I do not want to help bring out DA in my APBT...I'd like to keep that suppressed.


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## reddoggy (Jan 31, 2008)

Nay.
Could escalate real fast with NO warning. If that other dog isn't as powerful or agile, you will end up with some messed up consequences.


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## Aximus Prime (Dec 15, 2009)

If no, how should I teach them to stop messing around? I don't want to have to put one of them on a chain, they love running around the fields together.


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## Pitcrew (Jan 19, 2008)

Nay. Pure and simple. If they are running around the fields loose and get into a fight when you arent present, you might end up with a dead dog in the field.
I had 2 females that were getting along fine, then one day one of them found a dead squirrel and started running with it in the yard. She dropped it and the other female picked it up and OMG the fight was ON. I separated them 
THAT very day.


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

i dunno that i agree completely. george does this all day, every day. even when he is wore out he lays on his side by lacey tryina eat her. i let them play in the backyard chasing, wrestling and playin keep away with each other. tackling, nippin, puppy things. they are obviouly related, and i separate them when they get too vocal or excited. play time is good for pups, and they are each others best form of exercise. i know that things can change in a split second i don't ever let any of the dogs alone together unsupervised and rarely let george play with other dogs. when i do, lacey is up in the house and i literally follow them in the backyard. they aren't allowed to wrestle in the house and for the most part the only time they are up n around in the house is if somebody knocks on the door and they all bark and stampede... little difficult to work on with 4 dogs, 2 of which are mine that usually behave with better mannors when not around noisy pups. i watch them in the yard and stop them when they start nippin at each others face. usually start playin fetch which usually just turns into another game of keep away and 20 minutes of chase...


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## davidfitness83 (Jul 7, 2009)

The dog learned how to play that way specially if it is more dominant you are not going to be able to stop him from playing like that. This is why I do not allow Bernie to play with fighting/hunting breeds, they all seem to jump up and start wrestling and mouthing each other. The only game Bernie knows is to play chase like a hearding dog. Your best bet is to keep them separate or teach them some kind of fetching game that will promote running and movement, rather than a static game that will escalate from wrestling to a hold and shake scenario.


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## Mom_of_Kambo (Nov 11, 2009)

I'm going through that myself with Kambo and Lady... Kambo will run up and want to play.. Well Kam will jump around and Lady will go at her playing kinda.. Then Kam will think she's playing and jump and run waggin her tail. Lady don't like that so she snaps then Kam lays on her back and jumps up again all crazy. I'm working on walking them together STILL to get them to act right together. I don't approve of either one play fighting. NO GOOD and very unpredictable!! Granted I'm with both of them 24/7 literally .. But still .. A bully breed will be a "bully" at some point.. no matter how much you think you know them


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## boogiebot (Oct 7, 2009)

ok im no expert on this but i do let my dog play with a select few dogs that she has grown up with. When she is playing i make sure to watch her like a hawk. I never leave her alone unsupervised with people or dogs. As a bully owner you end up taking all the blame even if its not your fault.

i think that if you are in a controlled envrionment and you are letting your dog play with a freinds dog and they seem to be getting along (granted you are there to supervise) i personally do not see any thing wrong with this. after all good socialization is the foundation to having an even temepered dog.

edited for spelling.


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## PitbullOutlaw (Dec 16, 2009)

I wanted to put my point of view on this here… Lets make this real clear Pitbulls are dog aggressive from birth we know what they were created for. The problem with play fighting is kind of like adult play fighting, one can be stronger then they other or one may not like the way the other is playing with them . So in the middle of all this you can either be real close or real far but because of the playing around now a fight has broken off. What are you to do now? Play fighting is like what your parents use to tell you as a child , it’s a no go. You as an owner can change the way you play with your dog by having them play with a tug toy, and even then that can break into a fight I see it with mine trying to be greedy and intimidate the others… lol its funny but that just with a toy. If you do not want a fight to break out then do not let them play fight you as an owner do not condone that type of behavior. And when dogs use to fight they use to wag there tail with excitement also so that does not a mean that everything is fine for this breed when it comes to that. I would say no play fighting... fetch, pull, run them, spring poll anything but pay fight because if a fight brakes out your pitbull is to blame Wither you are at home with your own dogs or in the street with someone else’s dog.


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## Elvisfink (Oct 13, 2008)

A big Nay!!


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## Aximus Prime (Dec 15, 2009)

So the majority says this is a bad idea. I guess I'll have to get them to enjoy something else together like fetch or tug to keep their teeth off each other.


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## Mom_of_Kambo (Nov 11, 2009)

Aximus Prime said:


> So the majority says this is a bad idea. I guess I'll have to get them to enjoy something else together like fetch or tug to keep their teeth off each other.


Good choice!! Glad you decided to do the right thing. I'm also glad we could help you with your question.


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## ATEXAN (Feb 11, 2010)

Nay to play fighting. Just because "tails are wagging" means absolutely nothing. Be careful with tug of war, and even fetch as it brings out prey drive. Really the question posed to you is sex, age of your dog and same regarding the dogs you want him/her to play with.


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

I cannot answer yay/nay, but "it depends." I always let my young dogs play as young dogs will. The circumstances are controlled, however. A group of dogs running riot across the landscape... neh. But two sensibly-paired dogs playing in my house, sure. A friend coming over and trying out the play with their dog, why not? If its a situation where there are at least 2 adults present and everybody understands the risks involved in letting Pit Bulls play, I don't see the harm in it. It allows them to build some social skills which can actually help later on in life.


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## Aximus Prime (Dec 15, 2009)

ATEXAN said:


> Really the question posed to you is sex, age of your dog and same regarding the dogs you want him/her to play with.


My APBT is 9 months and male...he likes to play fight with a 5 year old (fixed) female (german shepherd mix).


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## dixieland (Aug 14, 2009)

I'm with Bahamutt,I think it depends on the situation.
I let my two play like this while outside and I am there watching them.But I don't know if it has never gotten out of hand because they are mother and daughter.
In your situation,how long have these two dogs been around each other?In other words was the older female dog there acting like a mommy figure while your boy was a small pup and growing.


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## Aximus Prime (Dec 15, 2009)

dixieland said:


> I'm with Bahamutt,I think it depends on the situation.
> I let my two play like this while outside and I am there watching them.But I don't know if it has never gotten out of hand because they are mother and daughter.
> In your situation,how long have these two dogs been around each other?In other words was the older female dog there acting like a mommy figure while your boy was a small pup and growing.


I rent a house right next to my sister's house on a lot of open farm land so my boy has been playing with her dog since he was 15 weeks old and he's over 9 months now. Never once had them get out of hand. She is a bit of a mother figure to him. If he goes for a bone she is chewing on she will snarl at him and he'll submit to her, rolling on his back and then leave her alone.


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## ATEXAN (Feb 11, 2010)

Aximus in your specific situation you should be fine, but just make sure he is not to rough on her, you dont want her to snap at him she could fang his eye's, same in situations with bones. As he matures he will stop submitting and try to take it from her.


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## FloorCandy (Feb 19, 2009)

Mine playfight all the time, the most ferocious being the pug. That being said, I do not allow them to do this with other dogs, just the 3 of them because I dont know other people's dogs well enough to know if there will be a problem.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

Never with other dogs but Vendetta plays like that all the time with DaVinci and my sons dog River. They have so much fun. I do not let her play that way with my sister dog Mari-Sol tho as Mari growls and this upsets Vendetta so she will attack. I think you need to know what your dog finds acceptable then go with it.


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## gamer (Feb 1, 2010)

Nay, no way, never


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## kimber (Dec 27, 2009)

Play fight..... why use the word 'fight' with the word 'play'? It should be called PLAY because that IS how pit bulls PLAY....ruff. Nothing unusual. If you let pit bulls play together, that is how they play and as always, be on guard because if you let pit bulls play together, you are also letting in the possibility of actually fighting. I think I have seen this said more than a few times....


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## kimber (Dec 27, 2009)

I forgot to add, YAY.


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