Should Dogs Be Allowed to Rough-house?

I recently took part in a conversation about letting dogs rough-house with each other or with humans. Several of the people I spoke with thought it was a bad idea to allow rough-housing, but I disagree. Throughout my lifetime my family and I have had a number of dogs, and each one enjoyed rough-housing with us and/or the other dogs. I can honestly say I’ve never seen any injuries caused by aggression to either the dogs or humans during this type of play. Perhaps that’s because we monitor them closely, and have very clear rules about how things work.

My husband and I have a beagle named, Daisy who loves to rough-house with us or her doggy friends. She’s always enjoyed this type of play, and we’ve never had any issue letting her do it. These are the rules Daisy must follow while rough-housing.

Rough-housing with humans

Some people say dogs use rough-housing to test their strength against humans or other dogs for dominance. That very well may be the case; however, I haven’t seen any issues arise from allowing Daisy to do it. We’ve always made it a point to be very stern with her doing the wrestling matches. If she bites too hard we let out a loud “no,” put her in a “sit and stay,” stand up, and walk away. We also refuse to play with her if she’s tries to force us to play.

Doing these things helps us remain in control and prove we are the dominant ones. They also show her that she is only allowed to rough-house because we are letting her.

Rough-housing with other dogs

Daisy used to be overweight and avoided rough-housing with other dogs. In fact, she would hide beside me to avoid it. However, now that she has lost 25 pounds she feels better, so she enjoys playing again.

When she is playing with another dog I always stay close to them to ensure things don’t get out of hand. If there is ever any signs of true aggression the play is stopped at once. I also stop play if I see any of the dogs tuck their tail, or roll on to their back because those are signs of submission, which means it’s no longer a playing match for that dog. Luckily, none of these things have never happened.

Daisy isn’t allowed to rough-house with strange dogs or with other humans because I can’t be sure of their temperament or reactions. Therefore, it’s just not safe.

I admit that rough-housing could be a bad idea for some dogs, and I think you should do what you feel is best for your dog because only you know what he/she is truly capable of. As for Daisy, I’m confident that I can rely on her training to ensure she can rough-house without incident, so I will continue to allow it until she loses the urge to do it.

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