Help with this video

If he is instigating the "play" then I would find nothing wrong with it and go with "you asked for it".

I have to admit, I was concerned with the teeth for playing with such a little pup, but she did not seem bothered to much till he caught the ear, but then he stopped, as if, "oh crud that was not suppose to happen".

I would watch it just to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.

And for what it's worth, Kord is vocal, not as vocal but he "mutters" as my husband calls it when playing with us.

Yeah the snarling had me more than the growling, but he never really clamped down on her or anything.  He and Coke do the same kind of thing, they wrestle with their mouths open, growling and sort of putting their teeth on the other's face and neck but I can stick my hand in between if I want, no real biting.  But, I don't know if it's appropriate for a puppy, you know?  However when I watch the pups play with each other they are really rough!  When Nikon was 7 weeks his littermate bit his ear and he had a scar for a long time.  So....I don't know!

When I'm deliberately playing with Ana, I crate my dogs (otherwise Nikon want's to join in since it's the same toys he likes).  She's really only out with my dogs maybe 1-1.5 hour total and most of that is outside in the yard time or pottying.  If she's out of the puppy pen, usually I put my dogs in their crates.  She's out right now but only b/c my dogs are sleeping so she's trying to eat my rug.

I cant answer your questions, but just wanted to add that Nikon is behaving the same way as Bailey does. When my neighbors pit bull puppy used to play with him all the time, it looked EXACTLY the same as what Nikon and Ana doing. I have a video of it around here somewhere, but it was the same growly noises, showing teeth, mouthing, and the puppy always coming back for more. But, if the puppy screams then he would stop right away. And he was always gentle, even when the snarling teeth were on the puppy's neck, he wasnt really biting. Bailey acts like this with any dog that is showing "puppy behavior". There will be growling and showing teeth, mouthing, and then suddenly it will just stop and they go about their own buisness

sl2crmeg

I don't know much about much, Lies...but are your dogs watching Kill Bill?? I thought I heard the music in the background :)

OK....earlier I was watching Kill Bill.  Then, while I was editing pics and trying to encode this video, I kept hearing that whistling tune.  I was so confused b/c I was watching Law and Order.  I kept pausing the computer to listen and see if my neighbor was watching it.  Then I'd re-start the vid and hear it again.  It took me several minutes to realize the whistling WAS from the video, duh!

Nothing I saw concerns me.  Nikon's body language is appropriate and the teeth and vocalization are just his personal style of play.  Rex is very snarly when he plays with Belle and it took some getting used to.I think Nikon showed good dog skills in dealing with Ana's puppy attack. :) His immediate stopping of play when she cried is more evidence that he's well socialized and has good bite inhibition in the appropriate situation.

JackieG

Nothing I saw concerns me.  Nikon's body language is appropriate and the teeth and vocalization are just his personal style of play.  Rex is very snarly when he plays with Belle and it took some getting used to.I think Nikon showed good dog skills in dealing with Ana's puppy attack. :) His immediate stopping of play when she cried is more evidence that he's well socialized and has good bite inhibition in the appropriate situation.

I'm not concerned with what I saw either.  Lots of curvy behavior with their heads, open mouths with tongues out, some pawing from both dogs.  all in all, not exactly a rough encounter - I watched with the sound off, too, and saw nothing that concerned me.  I'm with Jackie on this one - normal canine play.  Most adult dogs are very tolerant of pups this young, and while they can play roughly, I didn't see anything that would make me think that they both weren't having a good time.  Feel free to film any time and show me - I've been running play groups for a very long time;-)))

Thanks guys!  This type of stuff is out of my league.

Nikon can be dog aggressive but with him you typically know instantly if it's a dog he will tolerate or not.  He's basically been ignoring the puppy, but getting more playful as she is being more bold and instigating things.  She is intimidated by the boys playing, which is fine by me because they are rough and I'd worry they'd crush her by accident!  I wasn't sure whether I could assume he would treat her differently because she is a puppy, but that seems to be the case.  He is also extremely tolerant of my in-laws dog, normally the type of dog he would despise but he seems to also have figured out that their dog is very old and in too much pain for play.  He will walk over the dog like it's not even there.

 I have to agree with everyone else. It looks like your basic puppy play. His reaction when she whimpered was classic. I bet he's more gentle with her after that. Its not something I would worry about.

BTW, kudos to Coke for checking on Ana. That was precious!!

 I'm no expert but I would also agree with nothing seemed out of place to me.  Nikon looked very relaxed chilling on the couch and if he was really annoyed I would have expected him to be tenser along with not showing near as much interest in continuing with the play.  Seems like when I see dogs that are warning other dogs off they seem a lot sharper and quicker with their displays. 

 On another note Kirby is also a very growly dog when in play.  He even often growls while running after a toy while playing fetch.  Oddly with as vocal as he is with growls while playing, if he is truly annoyed with another dog, he is warning growl is so faint you can barely hear it.

I was glad to read the other responses because it all looked like normal play to me too.  Nikon's reaction when he accidently hurt her was good to see.  He knows now he CAN hurt her; and will likely play more cautiously. 

OTOH, I could also see as Ana gets a wee bit bigger and could be more annoying...you might want to keep an eye open that play doesn't get escalated by Nikon. 

Heidi is extremely growly and vocal when at play.  And, I can also tell the difference (now) when their play turns into annoyance and gets escalated...usually because Bruder has taken a step to far.

Thanks guys!  Things have changed over the past few days.  Nikon is far more tolerant of her, starting to actually have fun with her.  At first he basically ignored her, but would run over and bump her away if she made a move for his toys.  This is really my problem.  My other dogs don't care about toys, so I guess all of our toys just sort of became Nikon's since he's the only one that plays with them.  Now I can see he basically thinks they are his.  So, I've had to limit which toys are out.  When I play with the puppy I crate the other dogs (and likewise when I'm working Nikon).  As of yesterday, he's really loosened up about the toys.  He's even bringing toys to her and they each tug on one end, which doesn't last long since he's five times as big!

Yesterday Ana started joining in with Coke and Nikon when they chase and wrestle in the snow.  I heard her barking (which she really hasn't done at all) so I went to the window and saw her chasing right along, barking at them and throwing herself right into their game.  If I open the door for her to potty and she doesn't want to go out she will just sit there and refuse but then Coke and Nikon run out (never missing an opportunity!) and she bolts right after them.

I'm not sure how long I'm keeping her.  Probably another week.  Two at the absolute most.  We're traveling over Christmas.

 That is totally play. My dogs play like that on the couch too. Nikon would put her in her place if he needed to.

Play the video back with no sound. It's very obvious. The bites are open mouthed. Pawing at each other is very friendly play behavior. The tongue licking Nikon does is reassurance that it is play (calming). Dogs will often stop in the middle of their rough housing to reassure each other that it is still play.

To me, it looks like those two really enjoy each other.