Read your dog’s play body language better than 99% of owners
The dogs aren't fighting.
You just don’t speak Dog (yet)
By Jenna Romano
Sometimes the most dangerous thing in dog play isn’t the dogs. It’s the guardian who panics.
Here’s how it usually goes:
You’re watching two dogs play a beautiful, chaotic game of “Body Tackle” in the grass. Then it happens. 😨
The two dogs lock eyes in a frozen stare-down. Everything gets real serious, real quick. There’s so much tension between the dogs that your heartrate feels like it’ll combust.
Your immediate (human-brained) thought is: Intervene. Distract. Give everyone a time-out.
Your instinct is wrong… usually.
The majority of dog play behaviors that average guardians – and let's be real, most ‘trainers’ – mistake for danger, dominance, or aggression are simply natural, essential parts of healthy dog play interactions.
For example…
Darwin forbid a dog should hump another dog during play because… Gasp! He’s ‘dominating’. (dun dun dunnnnnn)
But actually, humping (formally called “mounting”) is a perfectly safe, normal behavior in dog play. And both sexes do it. Sure, we step in if mounting is an early signal that the dog is becoming overstimulated and overwhelmed. But at that point, it’s time for a decompression break, not a correction.
Any person, whether they call themselves a trainer or not, trying to convince you that humping inherently needs correction, or that the mounting dog is trying to ‘dominate’, would do well to hit up Google Scholar (see: any flippin’ dog play behavior research paper in the last 25 years).
Rules to Play by
THIS IS FILLER TEXT.
While pouncing, tackling, and body slamming are perfectly normal, healthy dog play is not incessant motion; it's a fluid cycle of
PAUSE → HOLD TENSION → RELEASE TENSION→ INTERACT
When observing dogs playing, you should be constantly looking for breaks or pauses approximated at the three-second to thirty-second mark.
Often, these pauses look like tense stare-offs to guardians. But stiffening or stare-offs between dogs are not inherently a threat. Tension is normal and perfectly healthy. Your barometer for how much is too much is not the stiffness itself, but the resulting communication.
Is one dog trying to disengage but can’t?
Are we seeing repeated stress signals and eye aversion?
Is there successful negotiation between playmates?
I’m not saying “never intervene” in dog play. I’m saying, before you interject yourself in a conversation between dogs, you better be able to understand what’s being said. Too many guardians are interrupting healthy dialogue between dogs simply because the guardians don’t speak the dog language.
So I built the thing I wish existed years ago.
2 HOUR DOG PLAY BODY LANGUAGE MASTERCLASS BELOW
Become so INSANELY good at reading dog play behavior, people think you’re a trainer. 🤯
In the dog behavior video below, I meet with dog owners to review their dogs' cases.
We cover:
what dog fighting vs good dog play looks like
how guardians can play with dogs without their dog biting or nipping at them
dog decompression signals like pauses, shake-offs, and sneezes that indicate a dog is calming himself
stop dogs playing too rough
what to do about humping during play
how leashes may affect safe dog play
breed-specific play-style differences
resource guarding toys vs healthy competitive toy play
Play vs Prey (hunting)
and how to improve dog-owner play sessions
This isn’t surface-level “look for wagging tails” advice. It’s 2 hours of high-level canine behavior literacy.
If you’re the kind of guardian who wants to understand dog behavior, not just manage it, then this video is for you.
More Resources About Dog Body Language
🎥 How to Read Dog Body Language & Behavior This dog behavior video goes over EASY ways to read your dog’s body language to understand how your dog is feeling. Improve your communication with your dog and read your dog's stress and happy signals.
🎥 Complete Guide to Dog Stress Signals In this dog body language video, I give you the complete analysis of all dog stress signals.
📝 FREE List of 50 Enrichment Ideas for easy, realistic ways to meet your dog’s mental and emotional needs without buying a bunch of gear, adding hours to your day, or wondering if you’re “doing enough.”
