How to Tell if Dogs are Playing or Fighting

Telling apart two dogs that are playing from two dogs that are fighting may be quite challenging especially for novice dog owners. Perhaps, the main issue derives from the fact that dog play often focuses on mimicking postures and vocalizations often used in dog fights. Indeed, there are many playful acts of dominance that can be incorporated in play and observed by attentive owners. The main difference therefore from a play session and a fight derives from its overall level of intensity.

Play sessions among dogs are often rough exhibitions of growling, running, biting and posturing. Dogs often resort to playful displays of dominant body postures such as placing a head or paw on the other dog's shoulders or even pinning him down. A good dose of prey drive then may also kick in, as the dog's chase each other or bite each other's legs as they move to run.  This all takes place with excited sharp barks, growls and  playful nips to neck, ears, tails and legs.

A typical play session may be initiated by a posture known as the ''play bow''.  One dog will therefore crouch down keeping its forelimbs very low and its rump high in the air with the tail wagging in anticipation. The other dog will respond positively by running towards the dog displaying the play bow and an exciting play session takes place. 

During play sessions dogs will also engage into some submissive  and at times, misleading postures such as rolling belly up in a fake surrender or pretending to innocently sniff the ground in a fake calming signal. The play game choreography therefore features both displays of dominant and submissive body postures often used by both dogs interchangeably. 

As mentioned earlier, the main difference between  fight and play resides in the intensity level. Play involves bites or better nips, that generally do not break the skin nor cause pain. These play bites stem back to when the dogs were puppies and learned ''bite inhibition''. Indeed, when pups are still in the litter, they learn fast that a too hard bite,  may cause a sharp yelp in their litter mate with a fast withdrawal from the game. The puppy therefore quickly learns that next time, he should be ''softer mouthed'' in order to play. 

Dogs that are removed too soon from their litter, refrain from learning this very important lesson. These young dogs may play too rough causing pain when they playfully bite their owners or other dogs. However, they can be quickly taught that this is not acceptable behavior  by using the same method its litter mates should have used: a sharp ''ouch'' followed by an abrupt ''game over''. The dog will quickly learn its lesson.

A dog fight often causes significant pain and the bites will break the skin and often draw blood. If the dog victim of such bites is of lower pack structure it may act very frightened, often screaming and surrendering belly up and  sometimes, even urinating. On the other hand, if the dog is of equal pack level, it may fight back with intensity, making the fight last longer until one of the tow submits. These fights are often challenging to break apart, with a high risk for re-directed aggression towards the people trying to separate them. 

Vocalizations are much more intense, there may be deep growling accompanied by snarling and teeth showing. Hackles (the hair on the dog's neck and shoulder) may be raised. Yelps of pain may be sharp, even tough some dogs may be so  much into the fight that they may not show pain even though the injuries are evident. 

While the difference between a play session and a fight may be easy to recognize with some knowledge about canine body language, one must always consider that sometimes even a play session may escalate in intensity and develop into a full flight. Any escalation in a play session should be therefore interrupted safely by distracting the dogs before it is too late.

Dog parks are notorious places for dog fights to take place and this often is attributed to the fact that dog owners are often too distracted in talking to other dog owners or reading a book than paying attention to their dog's interaction with other dogs. Often, dog parks also feature dogs with poor manners, rude behaviors and little social skills which may create the ideal right grounds for a fight to occur. Often, dog owners will point their finger to the ''bully breeds'' when they are totally unaware that their ''friendly Labrador'' was the one that really provoked and  initiated everything. A careful eye on a dog's  behaviors and its interactions with other dogs is therefore a must. One second of distraction may turn a playful game into a bloody mess.