March 6, 2025 • 10 mins
Creating safe and enjoyable playdates for your puppy relies on understanding the nuances of dog play. Recognizing healthy signs of play and when to intervene is essential for fostering positive experiences.
• Understanding the characteristics of healthy play for puppies
• Recognizing warning signs of rough or inappropriate play
• Importance of regular breaks and managing excitement during playtime
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you like to get your dog together to play with
another dog?
Are you a little nervous aboutwhether the play is going well
or if maybe one of the dogsneeds a break?
How do you know?
Today on the show, I'm talkingall about it.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter and Bella, the online
puppy school.
Here we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
(00:23):
experience raising a puppy, fromtraining tips to practical
tricks, all aimed at fostering ahappy, well-behaved dog who
truly feels like part of thefamily.
So if you are ready to enjoythe journey and strengthen the
bond with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey you guys, thanks forlistening.
(00:44):
I appreciate you being here.
This is the puppy trainingpodcast and we talk about all
things dog, so welcome, allright.
Today let's address play dates.
I like getting my dogs togetherwith other dogs.
They have a blast right.
They get to play in the waythey like to play because, let's
face it, we as humans, we havea lot of rules and sometimes
(01:06):
they just want to play like adog.
So if you've ever watched dogsplay, it can look sometimes a
little bit rough to us.
Now recognize that they engagein play as a way to learn social
skills.
So, depending on the age ofyour dog, they might be really
good at this.
Or maybe you have a new puppyand they're just learning the
ropes of how to interact withother dogs.
(01:27):
They're developing coordinationand, again depending on age,
they might be really coordinatedand then they might not be so
coordinated.
And play burns off energy.
However, not all play isfriendly and, as a responsible
pet person, it's essential thatwe understand the difference
between healthy play andproblematic behavior.
So I'm going to help you todayunderstand your dog's body
(01:49):
language, because if you canrecognize signs of escalation
and know when to intervene, youcan help ensure that play
remains safe and enjoyable forall involved.
Puppy play sometimes involvesbehaviors.
That seems aggressive to us,but actually it's usually
harmless fun.
To determine if your puppy isplaying nicely, look for the
following signs of appropriateplay.
(02:10):
So let's address what'sappropriate first.
Right Now, my first thing Ilike to tell people is noodley
behavior.
Okay, think of a spaghettinoodle that's cooked.
You take that out of the pot,you wiggle that around.
We want your puppy's body to beloose and bouncy.
So if there's loose, bouncymovements happening, that's
pretty much what healthy playlooks like.
(02:31):
It involves exaggerated bouncymotions.
Puppies are taking turns, so Isay that they're flip-flopping
in play.
Maybe one puppy's chasing andthen the other puppy chases,
maybe one puppy's on the groundand the other one's tackling it,
and then they rotate, the otherone gets a turn to tackle.
So the wrestling, the chasing,and then you might notice some
play bowing.
(02:52):
Do you guys know what a playbow looks like?
I'll try to describe it, sinceit's a podcast.
But the puppy's front legs aredown and their rear end is up,
so their head is down towardsthe ground and their rear end is
up towards the sky.
That's a play bow.
And you'll notice those kindsof actions.
If the puppies are in factwanting to play and they're
happy, okay.
(03:12):
So a play bow again, where theylower the front end, the
hindquarters are up.
That's a signal or aninvitation to hey, I really want
to play with you.
You'll also notice, in healthyplay, relaxed facial expressions
.
So puppies who are engaged infriendly play have soft eyes,
open mouths.
They may even look like they'resmiling.
(03:33):
So if you could picture what ahappy dog looks like in your
mind, can you see that face, canyou see the relaxed, happy
tongue out open mouth, soft eye,look we want that look during
play.
So read your puppy's bodylanguage if you're seeing those
things.
So the play bows, the noodley,loose, bouncy movements, the
(03:54):
relaxed facial expressions, allgood things.
Okay, now puppies who play welltogether will take short breaks
as well, so they're going toallow both dogs to reset and
prevent overexcitement.
Some dogs need help doing thatNow with young puppies.
If you're just starting out andyou have a new puppy and maybe
they don't know all of thesesocial rules yet, then we help
(04:16):
them.
Whenever I get a puppy togetherwith another puppy for a play
date, I do the interrupting soI'll let them play for, you know
, a minute, two minutes,depending on if I'm seeing those
things that we just talkedabout, and then I'll put a treat
on both of their noses and lurethem away from each other and
we'll just take a little reset,a little pause, so I might have
them both sit, and maybe I havethem both to give me a high five
(04:38):
.
Or maybe, if I have anotherperson there, ideally helping
with their puppy, then we couldput them both on leash and work
with them on leash in separateareas of the yard or space for
just a minute or two and then weask each other okay, are we
ready to go back to play?
We release both puppies, okay,go back and play, and they get
to play again.
So we're playing and then wehave a little break and then we
(05:00):
play, and then we have a breakand we're teaching these dogs
how to self-regulate, that theycan bring themselves down to
calm and then go back to play,and then bring themselves down
to calm and go back to play.
Next let's talk about warningsigns of rough or inappropriate
play.
Now these things might include,first, stiff body language.
(05:20):
If a puppy suddenly stiffens orfreezes, it may indicate some
discomfort or possibleaggression.
If you see either dog withpinned ears or wide eyes,
meaning you're seeing the whitesof their eyes we call this a
moon eye.
So if you can see the crescents, you know, in the whites of
their eyes, meaning maybe theirhead is oriented one direction
(05:41):
but their eyes are looking in adifferent direction, okay,
something like that, those mightsuggest that your dog's no
longer really enjoyingwhatever's happening.
That play session is no longerfun.
Okay.
Also, if you're noticing theopposite of flip-flop, so
there's relentless chasing orpitting on the part of one of
the dogs.
Play should be mutual.
If one puppy is always on thereceiving end of the rough
(06:04):
treatment without reciprocating,intervention may be needed.
And that's where that play justfor a few seconds or minutes
and then we interrupt and calmboth dogs down, can really be
helpful.
Once you have both dogs on aleash and you're taking a little
break, let's say that you'reworried about doggy.
You're thinking you know what?
I don't know.
That doggy is having very muchfun.
Let them off leash first and ifthey go back to the other dog
(06:27):
to say, hey, I'm ready to play,let's play, great.
If they then kind of walk awayand say, okay, thanks, I'm out,
then you kind of know.
Another thing to watch for wouldbe growling or yelping, I guess
listen for, but growling oryelping without response.
So while some growling isnormal, don't be too startled by
that, because there are somevery vocal players.
(06:47):
My dogs are labradoodles andthey're pretty vocal when they
play.
So there's some grumbles andplay growling.
That's happening.
But if you're hearing thatescalate or maybe there's some
yelping or a distress signal,that happens definitely.
Play has become too rough and wewant to intervene and stop that
.
When to intervene?
Let's go on to that next.
(07:08):
Not all play fights requireintervention, but it's crucial
to step in if one puppy is beingoverwhelmed consistently or
they are trying to escape or getaway and they can't.
So maybe they're the one that'sconstantly being chased.
I would not let that go on toolong.
I would interrupt that If theplay is escalating into real
aggression.
So you're getting more deep,serious growls, lunging, biting.
(07:30):
That's no longer playful.
I'm interrupting.
So a good note for you guys torecognize would be okay.
How do I know if this is a playgrowl or a mean growl?
Any noise level that starts toescalate, I interrupt.
So let those puppies play alittle bit.
Yeah, there can be a little bitof a play bark like hey, come
on, play with me, or a littlebit of play growling, but if it
gets noisier, like they start toescalate in their vocalizations
(07:53):
, I'm stopping play.
When you pick playmates, makesure that you pick somebody for
your dog that's roughly the samesize and energy level.
You'll have much better successthat they're going to have a
positive play date.
If you find that you have amismatch, so you're starting to
let these dogs play and youdon't think it's going well,
it's 100% okay to end the playdate and then just try to find a
(08:15):
different dog to come play withyour dog.
Just like in humans, not alldogs get along with all dogs and
that's okay.
If you do happen to have amismatch, don't stress, don't
panic about it.
It was worth a try.
And if you're really nervousabout it in the beginning, a
good idea to start the play datewould be to always have those
dogs meet between a barrierfirst, so that way they're.
(08:36):
If they've never met each other, have them meet with a baby
gate or an exercise pen or afence in between them.
Watch their body language withthe barrier in place before you
actually let them get together.
That will be a good way toprevent any kind of scary
behavior from happening becauseyou're not letting them be
together to play until both dogsare showing you that loose,
(08:57):
noodley, happy, friendly,relaxed face, smile, body
language.
Okay.
So start with a barrier when youfirst introduce them.
If their body language ispositive, great, let's let them
in the same space to play.
If you see the negative signs,then let's not even go there.
Let's let them in the samespace to play.
If you see the negative signs,then let's not even go there,
let's not even put them together.
I don't think it's going to bea good matchup and you'll
(09:18):
prevent all of this reallynecessary intervention,
hopefully.
Anyway.
Now, if you are, you think it'sgoing well or you think it's
okay, let's get these puppiestogether.
They look happy and thensuddenly you need to intervene,
intervene again.
It's okay to stop it at anypoint.
Now, how to pause or redirectbehavior?
We want to use a calm but firmvoice.
You can use a little foodreward, put it on both of their
(09:40):
noses and lure them away fromeach other.
You can put them on leashes andwalk them away from each other.
You can use an exercise pen orsome kind of barrier where one
puppy's in the pen and onepuppy's outside of the pen.
We just want to create spacefor both dogs to relax and come
back down to a calm zone beforewe let them then get back up
(10:00):
into that energized or playfulzone.
Hopefully that gives you a fewtips to get started.
By learning to read yourpuppy's body language and
knowing when to step in, you canhelp them develop good social
habits and ensure that they playin a way that's fun and safe
for everyone and they'll enjoythose puppy play dates.
All right, you guys have agreat rest of your week and
happy training.
Thanks for tuning in to thepuppy training podcast.
(10:23):
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a littlepatience and consistency, you
can create a loving bond and awell-behaved pup who's a joy to
have in your family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review and share it withfellow puppy parents.
(10:43):
For more resources, visitBaxter and Bella online.
Until next time, happy training.
Do you like to get your dog together to play with
another dog?
Are you a little nervous aboutwhether the play is going well
or if maybe one of the dogsneeds a break?
How do you know?
Today on the show, I'm talkingall about it.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter and Bella, the online
puppy school.
Here we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
(00:23):
experience raising a puppy, fromtraining tips to practical
tricks, all aimed at fostering ahappy, well-behaved dog who
truly feels like part of thefamily.
So if you are ready to enjoythe journey and strengthen the
bond with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey you guys, thanks forlistening.
(00:44):
I appreciate you being here.
This is the puppy trainingpodcast and we talk about all
things dog, so welcome, allright.
Today let's address play dates.
I like getting my dogs togetherwith other dogs.
They have a blast right.
They get to play in the waythey like to play because, let's
face it, we as humans, we havea lot of rules and sometimes
(01:06):
they just want to play like adog.
So if you've ever watched dogsplay, it can look sometimes a
little bit rough to us.
Now recognize that they engagein play as a way to learn social
skills.
So, depending on the age ofyour dog, they might be really
good at this.
Or maybe you have a new puppyand they're just learning the
ropes of how to interact withother dogs.
(01:27):
They're developing coordinationand, again depending on age,
they might be really coordinatedand then they might not be so
coordinated.
And play burns off energy.
However, not all play isfriendly and, as a responsible
pet person, it's essential thatwe understand the difference
between healthy play andproblematic behavior.
So I'm going to help you todayunderstand your dog's body
(01:49):
language, because if you canrecognize signs of escalation
and know when to intervene, youcan help ensure that play
remains safe and enjoyable forall involved.
Puppy play sometimes involvesbehaviors.
That seems aggressive to us,but actually it's usually
harmless fun.
To determine if your puppy isplaying nicely, look for the
following signs of appropriateplay.
(02:10):
So let's address what'sappropriate first.
Right Now, my first thing Ilike to tell people is noodley
behavior.
Okay, think of a spaghettinoodle that's cooked.
You take that out of the pot,you wiggle that around.
We want your puppy's body to beloose and bouncy.
So if there's loose, bouncymovements happening, that's
pretty much what healthy playlooks like.
(02:31):
It involves exaggerated bouncymotions.
Puppies are taking turns, so Isay that they're flip-flopping
in play.
Maybe one puppy's chasing andthen the other puppy chases,
maybe one puppy's on the groundand the other one's tackling it,
and then they rotate, the otherone gets a turn to tackle.
So the wrestling, the chasing,and then you might notice some
play bowing.
(02:52):
Do you guys know what a playbow looks like?
I'll try to describe it, sinceit's a podcast.
But the puppy's front legs aredown and their rear end is up,
so their head is down towardsthe ground and their rear end is
up towards the sky.
That's a play bow.
And you'll notice those kindsof actions.
If the puppies are in factwanting to play and they're
happy, okay.
(03:12):
So a play bow again, where theylower the front end, the
hindquarters are up.
That's a signal or aninvitation to hey, I really want
to play with you.
You'll also notice, in healthyplay, relaxed facial expressions
.
So puppies who are engaged infriendly play have soft eyes,
open mouths.
They may even look like they'resmiling.
(03:33):
So if you could picture what ahappy dog looks like in your
mind, can you see that face, canyou see the relaxed, happy
tongue out open mouth, soft eye,look we want that look during
play.
So read your puppy's bodylanguage if you're seeing those
things.
So the play bows, the noodley,loose, bouncy movements, the
(03:54):
relaxed facial expressions, allgood things.
Okay, now puppies who play welltogether will take short breaks
as well, so they're going toallow both dogs to reset and
prevent overexcitement.
Some dogs need help doing thatNow with young puppies.
If you're just starting out andyou have a new puppy and maybe
they don't know all of thesesocial rules yet, then we help
(04:16):
them.
Whenever I get a puppy togetherwith another puppy for a play
date, I do the interrupting soI'll let them play for, you know
, a minute, two minutes,depending on if I'm seeing those
things that we just talkedabout, and then I'll put a treat
on both of their noses and lurethem away from each other and
we'll just take a little reset,a little pause, so I might have
them both sit, and maybe I havethem both to give me a high five
(04:38):
.
Or maybe, if I have anotherperson there, ideally helping
with their puppy, then we couldput them both on leash and work
with them on leash in separateareas of the yard or space for
just a minute or two and then weask each other okay, are we
ready to go back to play?
We release both puppies, okay,go back and play, and they get
to play again.
So we're playing and then wehave a little break and then we
(05:00):
play, and then we have a breakand we're teaching these dogs
how to self-regulate, that theycan bring themselves down to
calm and then go back to play,and then bring themselves down
to calm and go back to play.
Next let's talk about warningsigns of rough or inappropriate
play.
Now these things might include,first, stiff body language.
(05:20):
If a puppy suddenly stiffens orfreezes, it may indicate some
discomfort or possibleaggression.
If you see either dog withpinned ears or wide eyes,
meaning you're seeing the whitesof their eyes we call this a
moon eye.
So if you can see the crescents, you know, in the whites of
their eyes, meaning maybe theirhead is oriented one direction
(05:41):
but their eyes are looking in adifferent direction, okay,
something like that, those mightsuggest that your dog's no
longer really enjoyingwhatever's happening.
That play session is no longerfun.
Okay.
Also, if you're noticing theopposite of flip-flop, so
there's relentless chasing orpitting on the part of one of
the dogs.
Play should be mutual.
If one puppy is always on thereceiving end of the rough
(06:04):
treatment without reciprocating,intervention may be needed.
And that's where that play justfor a few seconds or minutes
and then we interrupt and calmboth dogs down, can really be
helpful.
Once you have both dogs on aleash and you're taking a little
break, let's say that you'reworried about doggy.
You're thinking you know what?
I don't know.
That doggy is having very muchfun.
Let them off leash first and ifthey go back to the other dog
(06:27):
to say, hey, I'm ready to play,let's play, great.
If they then kind of walk awayand say, okay, thanks, I'm out,
then you kind of know.
Another thing to watch for wouldbe growling or yelping, I guess
listen for, but growling oryelping without response.
So while some growling isnormal, don't be too startled by
that, because there are somevery vocal players.
(06:47):
My dogs are labradoodles andthey're pretty vocal when they
play.
So there's some grumbles andplay growling.
That's happening.
But if you're hearing thatescalate or maybe there's some
yelping or a distress signal,that happens definitely.
Play has become too rough and wewant to intervene and stop that
.
When to intervene?
Let's go on to that next.
(07:08):
Not all play fights requireintervention, but it's crucial
to step in if one puppy is beingoverwhelmed consistently or
they are trying to escape or getaway and they can't.
So maybe they're the one that'sconstantly being chased.
I would not let that go on toolong.
I would interrupt that If theplay is escalating into real
aggression.
So you're getting more deep,serious growls, lunging, biting.
(07:30):
That's no longer playful.
I'm interrupting.
So a good note for you guys torecognize would be okay.
How do I know if this is a playgrowl or a mean growl?
Any noise level that starts toescalate, I interrupt.
So let those puppies play alittle bit.
Yeah, there can be a little bitof a play bark like hey, come
on, play with me, or a littlebit of play growling, but if it
gets noisier, like they start toescalate in their vocalizations
(07:53):
, I'm stopping play.
When you pick playmates, makesure that you pick somebody for
your dog that's roughly the samesize and energy level.
You'll have much better successthat they're going to have a
positive play date.
If you find that you have amismatch, so you're starting to
let these dogs play and youdon't think it's going well,
it's 100% okay to end the playdate and then just try to find a
(08:15):
different dog to come play withyour dog.
Just like in humans, not alldogs get along with all dogs and
that's okay.
If you do happen to have amismatch, don't stress, don't
panic about it.
It was worth a try.
And if you're really nervousabout it in the beginning, a
good idea to start the play datewould be to always have those
dogs meet between a barrierfirst, so that way they're.
(08:36):
If they've never met each other, have them meet with a baby
gate or an exercise pen or afence in between them.
Watch their body language withthe barrier in place before you
actually let them get together.
That will be a good way toprevent any kind of scary
behavior from happening becauseyou're not letting them be
together to play until both dogsare showing you that loose,
(08:57):
noodley, happy, friendly,relaxed face, smile, body
language.
Okay.
So start with a barrier when youfirst introduce them.
If their body language ispositive, great, let's let them
in the same space to play.
If you see the negative signs,then let's not even go there.
Let's let them in the samespace to play.
If you see the negative signs,then let's not even go there,
let's not even put them together.
I don't think it's going to bea good matchup and you'll
(09:18):
prevent all of this reallynecessary intervention,
hopefully.
Anyway.
Now, if you are, you think it'sgoing well or you think it's
okay, let's get these puppiestogether.
They look happy and thensuddenly you need to intervene,
intervene again.
It's okay to stop it at anypoint.
Now, how to pause or redirectbehavior?
We want to use a calm but firmvoice.
You can use a little foodreward, put it on both of their
(09:40):
noses and lure them away fromeach other.
You can put them on leashes andwalk them away from each other.
You can use an exercise pen orsome kind of barrier where one
puppy's in the pen and onepuppy's outside of the pen.
We just want to create spacefor both dogs to relax and come
back down to a calm zone beforewe let them then get back up
(10:00):
into that energized or playfulzone.
Hopefully that gives you a fewtips to get started.
By learning to read yourpuppy's body language and
knowing when to step in, you canhelp them develop good social
habits and ensure that they playin a way that's fun and safe
for everyone and they'll enjoythose puppy play dates.
All right, you guys have agreat rest of your week and
happy training.
Thanks for tuning in to thepuppy training podcast.
(10:23):
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a littlepatience and consistency, you
can create a loving bond and awell-behaved pup who's a joy to
have in your family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review and share it withfellow puppy parents.
(10:43):
For more resources, visitBaxter and Bella online.
Until next time, happy training.
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