# Carlos, Bridget and games



## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Carlos wants to play. I'm just not 100% sure he knows how to play with Bridget and if he even wants to play with me or my GF. I brought a holee roller because I heard it was his favorite and it allows Carlos to bite it without me having to worry about Bridget swallowing it. 

So we start to play and here is how it went. Carlos completely ignored the ball if Bridget was not around. Bringing Bridget into the game made Carlos want to play to, but only if Bridget had the ball and only to try to take it from Bridget even if that meant biting Bridget. I tried to do tug with just Carlos and again he wouldn't take it unless Bridget was playing and if Bridget was playing he'd want to bite the same part she was biting even if that means climbing over Bridget and or knocking her off or biting her to get that same side Bridget has. 

This is nothing like the type of play I set up with the labs who I allowed to visit or the husky I used to own. I don't really get it. For now, I can't let Carlos into any game he might enjoy because his way of playing upsets Bridget who tries her hardest to ignore but at times she fails to do so. To keep him safe I can't allow them to play together until he at least learns not to bite on her. 

How can I teach Carlos how to play with me alone? I'm thinking that might be safer. In his crate I dangled a toy fox that his mom said he never tore up. After a hour he never once pulled the fox down into the crate despite the fact that I had it hanging there.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Just let them be dogs. 
Seriously your over thinking this 2 dog thing WAY too much!

Let them play, they will have a few scuffles, figure out who is in charge(between the 2 of them without you involved) and then they will be happy, or at least not unhappy, together. 

Some dogs never play the same as their new companion, doesn't mean they can't play....but it does mean that you need to allow THEM to figure it out.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Just let them be dogs.
> Seriously your over thinking this 2 dog thing WAY too much!
> 
> Let them play, they will have a few scuffles, figure out who is in charge(between the 2 of them without you involved) and then they will be happy, or at least not unhappy, together.
> ...


Alright. I just worry about the loud yelping Carlos does whenever Bridget bites him. She gets sick of him jumping all over her and trying to bite at her. Then he'll run away and not want to play anymore for about 15 minutes only to return to do the same thing.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

He will then quickly learn some manners. Don't worry it doesn't sound like she is out to do harm but is rather communicating.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

bridget246 said:


> Alright. I just worry about the loud yelping Carlos does whenever Bridget bites him. She gets sick of him jumping all over her and trying to bite at her. Then he'll run away and not want to play anymore for about 15 minutes only to return to do the same thing.


Yep, he is playing....it's what dogs do. It also sounds like he has quickly figured out that you will break it up, so goes away. 

You need to just sit back, allow them to make noise(communicate) play as they will and actually bond. Your not going to be able to force or train anything....other then making them annoyed with each other and thus turn into them disliking each other quite quickly. 

Remember we talk to each other, so do they. B isn't going to hurt C when they are just playin unless he forces it...then you know what? He will have deserved it....and the other way around!:wink:

If I broke up play time every time Keeva yelped she would be the biggest bully EVER....they know what they can and can't get away with. I like allowing them to set the rules for each other. She knows not to bug Leo, Brody or Dixi when they have a bone, but also knows as long as she stays polite Rhett will share with her.....if I were to have broke up each time Leo, Brody and Dixi had told her no then she would be pushing it each time one of them had a bone/toy...because she would know I would step in and save her little butt. As it is I let them do as they want to her(with me watching of course) and they have never hurt her...just put her in her place!:wink:


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I agree with Scarlett O', the more you interfere, the more problems could arise and longer it will take for them to figure out their social roles. Just monitor them (not like a hawk, they will sense your anxiety) and only break it up if its a REAL fight. If you are not sure it is a real fight or not, its not. A real fight is serious.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

In addition to what Abi said, some dogs are just screamers. I know a big malamute who yelps and screams like she is being murdered when another dog just knocks into her during play (no, it is not a physical injury thing). You can see that she is perfectly happy and not scared or frightened because she immediately returns for more. It's almost like that ONE kid at the park who is REALLY loud when they play. 

He still isn't sure about Bridget and he is also a boxer. Boxers do have a hard time finding other dogs who can play with them sometimes because they tend to play differently from a lot of other breeds. 

We take our dogs over to Abi's quite often. They all get along but when we first get there Buck and Rhett have to work some things out between themselves. It's loud (mostly because Buck just has a huge set of lungs on him so any noise he makes is ridiculously loud) but they aren't hurting each other. Once they get things all figured out in the first few minutes we have no more problems. We just have to allow the two teenagers to work things out for themselves because, if she or I step in (cuz our husbands don't care... Hahaha) and put a stop to the bickering, they will just keep at it. It's like they have a set argument they go through every time and if we interrupt it, they will find a way to go back and finish the argument later. We let them get through the whole thing at once. Does that make sense?

Yours isn't going to be the same as ours but it just sounds like two dogs sorting out the rules to me. They just need to figure each other out. BECAUSE he annoys Bridget, I would make sure that they are never left alone together. You at least need to be there for their interactions. Abi and I, even though they get along very well once they sort things out, would never leave Buck and Rhett alone together. Even though we are confident they wouldn't hurt each other, why take the risk of one injuring the other?


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I agree let them be dogs. They need to teach each other how to play. You will know if they get in a real fight, no mistaking it. If Carlos keeps coming back for more I would say he is just fine with Bridget.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

We got Shade when he was 4 and Rocky was 2. Rocky had never played with another big dog and Shade had never played with a human or with a toy. When I would wrestle with Rocky and throw toys around for him, Shade would get scared to death and run in the other room.

But he would leap on Rocky and start wrestling him while making the most god-awful growls and noises you'd ever hear. People would think he was killing Rocky when all he was really doing was playing (but really rough). Rocky had no idea what Shade was doing. He ran fleeing from Shade at first. We called Shade "Harrison' because he kept body slamming Rocky to the ground with these huge tackles while growling, but it was just the only way he knew how to play. 

Now, every morning I have to sit on the floor and wrestle BOTH dogs. Shade is still shy about it, but he does let me wallow him around a little bit and hand him toys which he carries away and makes piles of. And the boys love to wrestle with each other and a lot of times Rocky starts it. He will bounce on Shade and start something, and then take off running and make Shade catch him and roll him around the ground until they are both exhausted. Shade has learned to tone it down just a little or Rocky yelps and grumps and quits playing. It just took some time for both of them to learn how to be dogs together.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

From what I've seen (and experienced from the retriever angle) most "bully" breeds and retrievers have a distinctively different play style from other dogs and need to learn how to play "well" with others. When our Golden was younger, he would get a bit "heavy handed" when playing. He soon learned that other dogs wouldn't put up with it. Then I got to see him in a "pack" of retirevers playing at a park. Dear God! It was like watching a free for all at some of the more "violent" sports. Body slams that sent dogs rolling, bouncing on to other dogs and the noise sounded like a they were trying to kill each other. Yelps, screams, growls, deep throated barks. But except when 4 young ones barreled into an older dog a little too hard, tails were wagging and big doggie grins where everywhere. A few other breeds tried to join and soon gave it up as a bad idea or were left battered (but not bloodied) on the side lines with a kinda of dazed look to them.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Celt said:


> From what I've seen (and experienced from the retriever angle) most "bully" breeds and retrievers have a distinctively different play style from other dogs and need to learn how to play "well" with others. When our Golden was younger, he would get a bit "heavy handed" when playing. He soon learned that other dogs wouldn't put up with it. Then I got to see him in a "pack" of retirevers playing at a park. Dear God! It was like watching a free for all at some of the more "violent" sports. Body slams that sent dogs rolling, bouncing on to other dogs and the noise sounded like a they were trying to kill each other. Yelps, screams, growls, deep throated barks. But except when 4 young ones barreled into an older dog a little too hard, tails were wagging and big doggie grins where everywhere. A few other breeds tried to join and soon gave it up as a bad idea or were left battered (but not bloodied) on the side lines with a kinda of dazed look to them.


Hahaha, isn't that the truth!?!? It's like Brody trying to play "propperly" with the others...and the reason that his BFF is the cat, be wants to bat, stand on back legs, etc...not roll around on the ground and slobber on and be slobbered on!Lol

It's like when Jess and Nick come over....none of our dogs truly play together....Keeva and Rhett play like herders(Keeva is a loud mouthed one...but still say style), Leo has to flaunt a toy in everyone's face till some one take it away from him, Dude just wants the humans to pet him and the dogs to leave him alone....and Buck...well Buck wants to run around baying at everyone or with a ball in his mouth!!LOL


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