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Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  Animals play the hunt/stalk/kill action game just like kids play army, police, cowboys, etc. Just watch it for the time when they get too excited or one begins to get too heated or one too distressed and stop it with a no-nonsense manner - not angry ever - just mean it when you step in. Send them to their corners so to speak and take one out, get another involved in a toy but get them into something else and be firm but matter of fact about it. You are teaching them when you interfere in their interplay, you are unemotionally involved but it is time to do something else.
Any dog can get too prey-driven by the actions of another and sometimes just a certain yelp or sign of weakness or domination can cause a dog to escalate dramatically, winding up in a true fight with both dogs becoming predators. They are dogs and they are programmed to do that genetically so just watch for too-intense play that starts to see one going ballistic either way and step in soon as it become apparent. But hard play and tooth clicking and snapping is fine as long as it stays play. |
Totally agree !
I would add that I learned the hard way about my kids and playing with the pups and their toys at a young age. They would cause such an unsafe situation and tension among two of the dogs wanting the same toy that things got so out of hand that the dogs would fight. I took me a long time to get through to them that they were doing more harm than good and finally got them to stop doing it. But by that time it was too late, we had kayos on our hands over dog toys. Than my challenge to stop the dogs from fighting over a toy began. Gladly and with some hard work we have success.
Long story short, Don't rough play with the dogs and their toys. There are some serious issues that can become of it.
