Okay, first stats: 3 month old American Bulldog, 3 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
I only let my dogs play fight in two locations, the sun porch inside or on the grass outside. I've discouraged it enough to where I have (relative) peace in the house and can enjoy an evening by the fire without it turning things into a wild WWE free for all. No problem there. But I do have a few other concerns, but they may be no big deal, just thought I'd get some insight.
The first is the pup is very vocal when he fights. It sounds like he's growling/throaty while they play (if you weren't familiar with him you'd swear he was attacking her) whereas the Staffie is completely silent (very quiet dog in general). It doesn't bother me really but I'd imagine at puppy kindergarten it will make quite a scene, should I be discouraging it somehow? Is it a sign of aggression or just how some bulldogs are?
The second thing is that when the pup bites the staff he does it hard enough to make her cheeks get scabby. I've been trying to get after him (holding his muzzle, looking him in the eye and saying "no bite" in a stern voice) and he's being SORT OF good about it but he's still biting and holding occasionally. The staff could care less and appears immune to any pain, if she is having pain she doesn't show it. My major concern isn't the scabs but when he gets older those little scabs could become flesh wounds. I'm hoping he'll grow out it.
Thirdly, my staffie loves chasing squirrels (I gave up trying to teach her otherwise, she absolutely enjoys the hunt) and while she's doing it the American Bulldog pup will chase her and be constantly nipping at her cheeks while she does her best to ignore him, intent on her hunting. Kind of annoying because they're running around and I don't really know how to get him to stop. Sometimes yelling "NO!" will shake him enough to stop, sometimes not. I don't want this behavior to get engrained. I bet an electric collar would work wonders but I don't think its at that point yet.
One problem with yelling is that my Staff sometimes thinks I'm yelling at her which I'm not. Hmmm....
-- mr c
I only let my dogs play fight in two locations, the sun porch inside or on the grass outside. I've discouraged it enough to where I have (relative) peace in the house and can enjoy an evening by the fire without it turning things into a wild WWE free for all. No problem there. But I do have a few other concerns, but they may be no big deal, just thought I'd get some insight.
The first is the pup is very vocal when he fights. It sounds like he's growling/throaty while they play (if you weren't familiar with him you'd swear he was attacking her) whereas the Staffie is completely silent (very quiet dog in general). It doesn't bother me really but I'd imagine at puppy kindergarten it will make quite a scene, should I be discouraging it somehow? Is it a sign of aggression or just how some bulldogs are?
The second thing is that when the pup bites the staff he does it hard enough to make her cheeks get scabby. I've been trying to get after him (holding his muzzle, looking him in the eye and saying "no bite" in a stern voice) and he's being SORT OF good about it but he's still biting and holding occasionally. The staff could care less and appears immune to any pain, if she is having pain she doesn't show it. My major concern isn't the scabs but when he gets older those little scabs could become flesh wounds. I'm hoping he'll grow out it.
Thirdly, my staffie loves chasing squirrels (I gave up trying to teach her otherwise, she absolutely enjoys the hunt) and while she's doing it the American Bulldog pup will chase her and be constantly nipping at her cheeks while she does her best to ignore him, intent on her hunting. Kind of annoying because they're running around and I don't really know how to get him to stop. Sometimes yelling "NO!" will shake him enough to stop, sometimes not. I don't want this behavior to get engrained. I bet an electric collar would work wonders but I don't think its at that point yet.
One problem with yelling is that my Staff sometimes thinks I'm yelling at her which I'm not. Hmmm....
-- mr c
I don't think it's aggression...she doesn't sound angry when she does it...just very excited. She makes the same sounds when she's playing with some of her toys.
