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Why Does My Puppy Bite My Older Dog’s Face? [How To Play Bitey Face]

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Do you notice your puppy biting your older dog’s face, cheek, scruff, and neck while making growly noises, showing teeth, and in general making the most menacing looks and sounds a dog can muster?

Do you ever watch this situation and wonder why does my puppy bite my older dog’s face?

To the untrained eye, it sometimes looks like a dog fight, but make no mistake these two (Raven and Archer in the pic above) are having the time of their lives.

We like to call this game Bitey Face and it can be played anyplace at any time (not just in a doggy bed made for one).

QUICK RECOMMENDATION: My puppies have drawn blood with their teeth many times. The Milunova Pupr Pals™ Dog Toy is a plush squirrel puppet toy that helps to protect your hands from those sharp puppy teeth during play.

My puppy bites my older dog in the face!? What's Going On?
My puppy bites my older dog in the face!? What’s Going On?

So what exactly is Bitey Face?

QUICK TIP: Even if your pup’s like playing Bitey Face you may not want them engaging in this activity. One thing we do when we want Bitey Face to end is put our two puppies on a tie-down with their favorite chew toy. One of their favorites is Beef Collagen Sticks.

How To Play Bitey Face

You’ll notice your puppies will engage in this game on their own and generally follow the rules in the list below…

  1. You need at least two dogs/puppies to play this game.
  2. Rough play is the norm.
  3. Grabbing cheeks, necks, scruff, and faces is all part of the game.
  4. Growling noises while showing teeth are commonplace.
  5. The game of Bitey Face looks and sounds very scary, but most of the time it’s harmless play.
  6. Remember, a game of Bitey Face can escalate so you always want to keep an eye on the players.

Does this sound like the same game you mentioned when you were wondering why your puppy bites your older dog’s face?

Being a puppy Archer doesn’t have the best social skills and he tries to engage the other dogs in our house in games of Bitey Face.  Here are the reactions of my other three dogs:

Linus vs Archer

Linus will play the game, but he has his limits and you can see as well as hear his mood change when he’s done playing.

Archer will test Linus’ limits, but it’s sometimes wiser for the humans to get involved.

Make sure you (the human) break up play if you see a change in either dog’s mood.

Stetson vs Archer

Archer will try to engage Stetson in a game of Bitey Face but to no avail.

Stetson simply runs away or ignores Archer till he stops bothering him. (see just like in crate training, ignoring your puppy’s unwanted behavior actually works!)

Raven vs Archer

While Linus has his limits and Stetson calls “no joy” Raven will indulge Archer for a full 12 rounds of Bitey Face.

They will go head to head like a bout between Ali and Foreman. It’s the Rumble In The Jungle Baby!

Raven teaching Archer the Art of Bitey Face.
Raven teaching Archer the Art of Bitey Face.

How Are Humans Involved in A Game of Bitey Face

QUICK TIP: Another way to break up a game of Bitey Face is by separating your puppies and giving them both a puzzle toy to play with like the Dog Brick Puzzle Toy by Nina Ottosson.

If your dogs engage in Bitey Face it’s usually harmless, but you still want to keep an eye on your dogs to make sure a real fight doesn’t break out.

Here are a few things to keep watch for:

Watch your dog’s body language.  You might want to break things up if:

  • Either dog looks tense, moving stiffly, or staring.
  • Dog’s ears, mouths, and tongues are not in a relaxed position.
  • One dog appears to be trying to get away from the other dog.
  • One dog is always on the top of the doggy pile.

Rough play will sometimes go on for too long and one of the combatants can get overstimulated or aggravated with the other.

Not all dogs enjoy playing bitey face.

Always keep a close eye on your dog anytime he plays with other dogs.

If he’s playing bitey face make sure to break up play every once in a while to give the dogs a break.

A great way to break up a game of bitey face is by drawing your puppy’s attention away with his favorite toy or chew.

The Milunova Pupr Pals Dog Toy is a plush puppet toy that will protect your hand with its bite-resistant layer, just in case your puppy comes over with a little too much enthusiasm.

If your dog is still overstimulated you can try leashing him or putting him on a tie-down and giving him a chew like a Yak Cheese Dog Chew until he calms down.

That’s Bitey Face! So, how about your dogs?

Does your puppy grab your older dog’s face, neck, and cheek?

Do your puppies enjoy a good game of Bitey Face?

Tell us a little about the doggy games your furry friends like to play in the comment section below.

UPDATE: We’ve learned over time that friendly games of bitey face can often escalate. A quick tip for puppies engaging in bitey face is to remove collars so your puppy’s jaw does not get stuck in the collar of the other puppy. You also might notice that some puppies modify the game by biting and dragging the other puppy by the collar.

Another safety measure is to use the PetSafe Break Away Collar which will break free if the collar happens to get snagged on a puppy’s teeth or any other object like a kennel, fence, bush, crate, etc. 

Keep your puppies safe and always supervise playtime.

Why does my puppy bite my older dog in the face? Raven teaches Archer how to play bitey face. Here are some puppy biting training tips when a puppy engages an older dog in a game of bitey face. Of course we want to make sure everyone is safe and the game doesn’t escalate into a dog fight. #puppybiting #puppybitingtrainingtips #puppybitingstop #puppybites #puppybitesolderdog #biteyface
Why does my puppy bite my older dog in the face?

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75 Comments

  1. Great article thanks! Our older lassie collie tolerates bitey face from border collie pup but I’m trying to keep the harness out of the game! Thanks for the resources I am going to do my research.

  2. Just a funny comment. Came here and got exactly what I needed so thank you.
    Yesterday was a big bite face day and my older 85lb pound dog was getting VERY fed up and I did my best. No one was hurt.

    Though while my 6lb poodle puppy was distracted with something else she very gently and I mean with such care..attempted to hump him. Very slowly. While staring at me as if it was wrong.

    Just needed to share that with someone. Again, thank you for this. I’ve been really worried I was doing things wrong and this really helped.

  3. The grammar police just could not help themselves from (needlessly) commenting on this article. Sigh. First, thank you for the article. For some people, such as those with dyslexia, spelling and grammar will always be an issue. Second, and more importantly, I fully understood and appreciated the explanations and suggestions being made and felt no such frustration about grammatical errors. We have a new puppy trying to play bitey face with our older dog and couldn’t tell how much was play vs aggression. The suggestions here will be very helpful in ensuring play doesn’t turn into a fight.

  4. What if new puppy always wants to play bites face but older dog never wants to. Do I just never have them play together? As it is I’m always keeping puppy on a leash to deter the bitey face game from starting.

  5. Thank you for being so polite. I totally agree with you that every article on this site needs professional proof reading. Unfortunately, writing, grammar, spelling have never been my strong suit and this blog was originally only meant to be a way to update my friends and family about the puppies I was raising for guide and service dog schools. I recently implemented advertisements and affiliates to help recoup expenses and the site is now showing a profit. Among other things getting an editor/proofreader is on my to do list. Hopefully I can get most of the articles on the site updated in the coming weeks/months.

  6. I am not trying to be rude, but I do have to tell you what I thought when I read this. This was a decent article from a content perspective, but the grammar and spelling are really frustrating for the reader. There are so many mistakes in this article!
    Professional proofreading should be a standard step before publishing. You are in the communication business and should really attempt to communicate clearly. Basic spelling and grammar are communication 101.

  7. 4 1/2 month old puppy played bitey face with other same age puppy, but now jowls are all swollen with scratched, bite marks. Is this okay?

  8. I have the same problem with my 3 year old French Bulldog and 4 month old Pug Puppy. My Bulldog ends up with wounds and blood on his face, but doesn’t correct her or yelp or anything. He just rolls over onto his back. Sometimes he tries to walk away, but she keeps pursuing him and biting. I separate them as soon as she starts biting. I think she is learning that when she bites, the fun stops. I’ve never had 2 dogs before, this is very unpleasant to watch.

  9. Bitey Face might be a great game if both dogs are enjoying it, but my 4 month old piranha pug puppy keeps attacking my 3 year old bulldogs face. I can’t leave them alone together for a second. She will launch herself at him and then hang on, like a shark. He rolls over onto his back and tries to kick her off, but she hangs on. Even when she draws blood, he doesn’t yelp. Sometimes he seems to enjoy the game a bit, but mostly it looks like he is getting stressed out by it and tries to walk away, but she keeps going at him like a crazed vampire bat. I’m scared he is going to get an infected wound and mostly keep them apart unless I’m able to watch and supervise. As soon as she starts attacking him, I pick her up and put her in her pen by herself. She seems to be learning, slowly that biting him ends the fun, but in the mean time, I feel very bad for my poor older dog. Bitey Face is not a fun game in our house and I don’t care if it is ‘normal’ dog play, I’m not allowing my dog to get his face and ears ripped up every day. I think this article is a bit irresponsible in supporting this kind of rough play.

  10. I have a 7 month old black Lab and a 6 year old Golden Retriever. The black Lab is a lot for my older dog so I always monitor them when their together. If I can’t monitor them then I separate them with the crate, tie downs (when I can keep an eye on them, but not 100%), or just keeping them in separate rooms. I also use my leash extensively to control our young pups behavior and to keep him from overwhelming our older dog. Hopefully that helps, good luck with your training.

  11. I need some help I don’t have a comment on your training I need some help with training I have a 13-month-old chocolate lab and she is chewing holes in my 12-year-old black labs face her jaws she’s got big huge sores and I don’t know how to stop the puppy from doing that Can you please help me

  12. Wolves do this in the wild to induce vomit from the parent so the puppy can eat. That’s all it is.

  13. We keep our puppies on leash almost 100% of the time when their inside so we can keep them under control around our older dogs. Also, you should give your older dog a place to go to get away from the puppy. Our older dog, Stetson was able to do this by jumping up on the bed.

  14. my new puppy (3 months) bites and twists all along my older dog’s (3 yrs) neck. he has several scabs along his neck now. it doesn’t look like he’s having fun when she does this. it looks like he’s holding back from snapping on her because he knows she’s a puppy. but, he doesn’t yelp or anything. he does look angry and shows his teeth, and will “give it back to her” in terms of opening his mouth onto her face, but he doesn’t clamp down. it does not look or sound like he enjoys when the puppy plays this game. how do I ensure he’s safe, but also let them bond by way of rough housing? I try separating them, but that isn’t possible 24/7. thanks!

  15. I have a 8 month old puppy (very hyper) and a 2 month old puppy (also very hyper) both of them love the game. But the younger puppy have razor sharp teeth and it’s braking the skin on my 8month old puppy. (Face, legs, ears, nose have open scars) he doesn’t seem to be bother by it at all… he just keeps on playing and looking for the younger puppy to keep on playing… should I be concerned?

  16. Um…..sorry but I don’t think his will help me because my puppy bites my dog’s EYES and he would whining in pain and my puppy would also pull his ears and face. So this didn’t really help me out.

  17. Oh my gosh! I have a 4 year old male bulldogge and a 5 month old female. She latches on his jowls and sometimes rides through the air. He just goes about his business, though, he has scabs and bite marks. He allows her to chew on his ears too. I am forever breaking them up and then wondering why it bothers me so when my male doesn’t seem to mind at all. I wish I knew if this will stop without intervention when she is older or if I need to stop this behavior now.

  18. I have a three year old bulldog girl and 15 week old bulldog boy and I am having exactly the same issue as you, my poor girl is scratched and cut on her cheeks and neck but doesn’t seem too bothered. I’m hoping the pup will grow out of it.

  19. I have a 5 month old King Charles Cavalier, Hearts, that keeps biting my 8 year old Japanese Chin’s, Yoshi, ears and scruff around his neck. At first, Yoshi seemed to be annoyed but would end up running around and playing like he was a young pup again. It has been 2 months now and the puppy’s aggression has increased and we have noticed that Yoshi’s hair is getting shorter and thinner. It appears that the puppy is trying to exert dominance over my Chin, taking every one of his toys and biting chunks of hair till he yelps. I know he’s just a puppy and he needs to be taught, but I don’t know how. If I reprimand him when he does it, my Chin thinks I’m reprimanding him and starting to show signs of depression. Any mindful suggestions are appreciated.

  20. We have an eight year old chocolate Labrador female named Holly.. We recently got a golden doodle female called Poppy and she is over two months old. Poppy is constantly jumping up at Holly and biting her face.. Holly growls and walks away. Poppy is also doing this to our little Grandsons. It’s very stressful dealing with this. Any advice would be to much appreciated. Thank you Patty.

  21. Congratulations on your new puppies! If these were my puppies I’d manage the behavior of the larger puppy with a leash that way you can control her behavior and not allow her to get too rough with your little pug. Good luck with your puppies!

  22. It’s tough to tell without seeing your dogs, but it could be that they’re playing bitey face. We do always monitor our puppies when they are playing to manage their play so it never gets out of hand.

  23. I have a tiny 10 week old pug puppy Bailey and a larger (about 3 times her size or more) 10 week old Pomsky Puppy that has HUGE paws. They ABSOLUTELY LOVE each other and LOVE to play but my Pomsky Pounces on my Pug and she even caused 2 bruises on her back! I can tell they just want to play but a 15lb puppy pouncing on a puppy that weighs less than 5lbs and be really dangerous, especially if she has her belly towards the sky (and she loves to play like that), .that could kill her. she also kinda bullies her aquite a bit and tries to Pin her down. Every time we separate them ALL tgey do is cry to get back together. I even got a Doggy Playpen so they could still play and run around but they just CRY to be able to actually PLAY Teeth on Teeth and Fur on Fur! What can I do to STOP the Bullying

  24. My dog does little tiny bites to my other dog on her cheek. Not aggressive at all. Just wondering why?

  25. Congratulations on your new puppy! When my puppies play to rough I make sure to keep a close eye and separate them whenever necessary. My Stetson is like you’re 6 month old. He never corrects the puppies and just lets them chew on his jowls. Good luck with your puppies!

  26. I just got an 8 week old female olde English Bulldogge and I have a 6 month old male olde English Bulldogge. They play bitey face and she is so rough with my make that she leaves his jowls bleeding. He hasn’t corrected her at all. He mouths her and he has cried twice, but she doesn’t stop. I have been intervening when she gets too rough with him. How can I help to stop her from leaving him bloody? Should I stop play when she’s clearly had enough? Help, please!

  27. Our elder statesman in our house is Stetson. He’s 12 years old and would rather not have puppies around anymore. However, that’s not an option since we raise and training puppies to be service dogs. So what do we do? We keep our puppies on leash when in the house or use containment options like crates, x-pens, and tie downs to control our puppies. This way it’s Stetson’s choice whether or not he wants to interact with the puppies. After our puppies learn the rules of the house (one of them being not to bother Stetson) we allow them more freedom.

  28. I just got a Jack Russell, Mini Pincher, Yorkie mix. She is very aggressive + dominant and I have an 8 yr old nice Boston Terrier that does play sometimes. I see some teeth marks all around her neck and I feel terrible. Should I redone this type of puppy and get a calmer breed more for my 8yr old?

  29. I’m glad I read this but I’m still worried. We got our puppy a good few weeks before she was suppose to be taken from mom due to some issues with the breeder and their landlord. Our Saint Bernard is 13 years old, he can barely get around let alone stop her when our pup gets to be too much.
    So how much is too much? How do we teach her when too much is too much? She does the same thing with the cats, grabbing them by the head and neck and dragging them.

  30. I have been re-homing older dogs for a decade. I like to have at least three dogs around. I know when a new arrival starts playing bitey face with the other dogs, things are going well. The last new dog come in when he was 10 and I had two 12 year old dogs. It was only a few weeks after Matar arrived that they all got playing bitey face. Lots of fun to watch dogs enjoying themselves.

  31. We adopted a new puppy a month ago. My older dog (3yrs) has been great with him. This new puppy loves to play “bitey face” and one day I wasn’t paying attention our 6 month old broke the skin of our 3yr old. We had to take our older dog to the vet since the bite left a huge gash on his face. We’ve finally had the ok to take the cone off our older dog, everything’s healed. However our 6 month old is still trying to play “bitey face” way to rough and our 3yr old has basically given up on teaching him when enough is enough. I’ve tried multiple things and nothing seems to work.

  32. My 12wk old pit loves to play bitey face & bitey legs with our 9yr old pit. Our 9y/o just lets the 12wk/o keep biting him even pulling at his neck/cheek skin. We don’t always watch them play when they’re outside. Since the 9y/o doesn’t teach him, when do we intervene? My hubby says it’s also because he’s jealous of the older dog.

  33. My poor 6 year old Shih Tzu Cocoa has his eyes scratched by my 1 year old Yorkie Teddy repeatedly and the vet bills are financially ruining me. Cocoa can’t seem to correct the younger pup’s behavior . He jumps up and his front paws go right on Cocoa’s eyes ! Scratch eye over and over! 8 year old Shih Tzu Happy has no problem snapping at Teddy so he’s never had an eye injury. .

  34. I’m glad to read this. I was thinking my puppy 11 weeks, was overly aggressive, He barks, lounges, and nips. My 6 year old grabs him rom behind with his paws, and holds him down with his jaws Puppy jumps up again and lounges again. I worry puppy will get hurt and intervene after a couple of minutes, Puppy goes in x-pen. Everyone goes to sleep. How much is too much for a small puppy? Do they just grow out of it? Its interesting that they don’t recognize body language, I can see when my 6 year old wants to play and when he doesn’t but puppy is oblivious.

  35. I went to a puppy class last week. Heard this behaviour is normalnin pups, but does not mean that you can’t decide it’s not tolerable for you and your family ( pups included). The teacher said that when puppy is with older dog it should have a leash that is tethered to you. So she does not go bother the older dog too much. I have a 3.5 month old and a 1.9 year old dog both American bullys ( pit bull mixes) . I personally don’t enjoy the game bitey face in the house ( I enjoy a calm home) I don’t like it outside either because it escalates and my older one gets quite rough with the pup upsetting the pup and the pup doesn’t quit. I’ve decided I don’t want bitey face period. My puppy is crate trained and I use the crate often whenever she is not able to be supervised by me, when she is calm she is out lying around with us on the sofa ( with a leash on) or doing training with me and other dog. She goes on 2 walks a day to help get some energy out. I stop all bitey face games even though my older one would accommodate Her she does not tell her to stop ( they both just get ramped up). I use my voice to stop them then my body to break them up ( since it’s usually the pup not listening at the voice command) if the pup still goes I use a stay bottle ( this really works) then I follow through by making the pup sit and claim the older dog as mine. All that is done withpught anger, just calm confident direction. If the pup goes at it again I’ll usually put her in her crate with a kong to chew on or tether her to me if I’m not busy. This has worked a lot and my 3.5 month old puppy listens to me More.

  36. My 4 mo old lab puppy plays bitey face with our 4 year old hound mix but his loose skin on his throat is pink from all this play and must be raw even though it never bleeds what should I do?

  37. Hi, I have an mini dachshund (male 10months) and we just got a standard poodle (female 14weeks) they play this bitey face game all the time and it is generally her that is biting his neck and pulling him or his ear and pulling (sometimes she also does the shaky head whilst holding him) as he has trouble reaching (Sometimes she will lay down to let him get on top for a while and get her) however I have noticed teeth marks and cuts around the mini dachshund’s neck. I haven’t seen signs during play that he isn’t enjoying it and when I break it up if I am unsure he will go back for more. Though I am concerned that she is biting too hard and am not sure what I should be doing in this case? As he has a few open wounds and scabs on his neck now.
    Any advice would be great!

  38. My puppie of 10 months does it all the time to my 3 year old girl.. but when they play with toys he really bullies her

  39. We just got a 17 week old boxer puppy to join my 3 year old male boxer and 9 1/2 year old female boxer mix. The transition has been wonderful. My new puppy and the three-year-old played “Bitey Face” all the time. The problem that I’m having is my three year old is completely enamored with the new baby, and will not put her in her place. While petting my three-year-old the other night I was mortified to find the entire underneath side of his face and neck covered in sores! Some little, some not so little. I would like to think that when it gets too rough he would teach the new baby that it is not okay. But that is not the case. He allows her to continue biting him and leaving broken skin. They have a large fenced-in backyard where they are often outside together so they are not always under my direct supervision. How do I stop this? And why is he letting her hurt him? The puppy does not appear to be being mean, merely playing. But I think it is too rough.

  40. Just got a 3and half month lab puppy as company for my 11 month lab.Problem is little one bites at older ones face when playing.Noticed he’s marking him and looks sore.He doesnt seem to bother he is such a calm dog(11 month old)

  41. I really feel that every dog should be thoroughly trained on remote recall. If a dog cannot obey a remote recall then it should not be off leash. This is primarily for their safety, owners’ safety as well as the safety of other dogs. This is a critical skill for dogs, and owners and can be taught by a qualified trainer.

    Teaching a dog manners is a boon for everyone. I know it’s not a snap, but just like children need to be taught how to be civil, dog owners need to invest in their dogs training in order to get desired behaviors. Most especially with spirited or working breeds.

    Best to all!

  42. My two 7 month old labs are each about 50 lbs and play this all the time. I get worried their big teeth will hurt one of them. But tails are wagging and the seem to enjoy this game. But..outside. Way too rough in the house!

  43. So glad I read this. My puppy has been playing bitey face since we got him and has caused my older dog to get hot spots where he’s bitten him. They both love playing it, I think the younger one just doesn’t know quite when to stop.

  44. I have a 14 month fox lab named Bentley and he is the most submissive dog in the world. He was lonely and got a second dog. Ralph is a 13 week old husky. The love each other and get along fine. But the play fight doesn’t seem right at this point. Bentley being the older dog, does not correct Ralph or yelps with the bites only at times of real pain. He is very gentle and isn’t aggressive at all. And has always been bullied by little dogs. I have been leaving them to it because I understand they have lots of energy to burn and like to play fight. But Ralph has made his testicles bleed and his lips are all swollen or also bleeding at times. He neck has loads of dried bite scabs where Ralph has bit him. I Would love some advice as I haven’t seen anything on the net regarding this amount of damage. My vet just explains that they need to find the place in the pack but Bentley doesn’t challenge for pack position ever. The pup attacks.

  45. Thank you for raising and training a service dog. Your Bella sounds like my Stetson. He doesn’t do anything and will let puppies hang from his neck. When my puppy starts playing too rough I step in and break things up. Good luck with your SDiT!

  46. Hi!
    My SDiT is a 16 week old Texas heeler puppy and she loooooves to play bitey face with my older lab Bella. The problem is Bella is the sweetest most patient pup I’ve ever met and the puppy will sometimes bite down too hard and draw blood. Bella doesn’t seem to care but it’s very distressing and seems that the puppy doesn’t know her limits as Bella isn’t teaching her. Do I step in when this happens and remove her and let her calm down or just stop them from playing this game altogether since she’s being so rough?

  47. I was chatting with one of my other friends who has a boarding facility and runs a service dog school. She called the game Nom-Nom. I hadn’t heard that before, but when she started explaining it she said: “…my dogs jump up on the bed facing each other play biting going nom-nom-nom-nom…” After that it all made sense 🙂

  48. I swear, I thought I made up the name of this game when I first saw my girls doing it! Bitey face is simply the perfect name for it. Ever since they were puppies, they both bare their teeth and sort of scissor their teeth and snap at each other. It was scary at first, but now I realize it’s their little way of being close. They’d much rather play-fight than snuggle up to each other.

  49. Bitey Face can look aggressive, but usually it’s harmless play. However, it is a good idea to keep an eye on your dogs playing bitey face to make sure it doesn’t escalate into a fight.

  50. Omg love this, this is exactly what my pup and older dog does, I got worried that it’s rough and the pups aggressive, she makes some real growls. it’s put me at easy that it’s just bitey face!!!!

  51. Thank you so much for your reply 🙂

    Yes, some friends they would not dream of trying it on – they have given the overt ‘don’t you dare’ signals which they have respected.

    It is barrelling into new dogs with this behaviour I worry about most. They seem oblivious to subtle doggy body language, and my male dog in particular is drawn to dominant males (interesting both their usual Bitey Face ‘targets are huge entire males).

    Not to mention to social embarrassment of them not leaving their friends alone(!) and fear it will go too far.

    Will they just grow out of it? If there is anything I can do to help them learn faster I am willing to do it!

    Many thanks

  52. Bitey face can escalate so it’s important to always keep an eye on and manager your dogs. I’ve been lucky to have two older dogs that are totally opposite. Stetson allows the puppies to play bitey face and he just tolerates it. Linus will also play bitey face, but eventually teaches our puppies when the game is over it’s over! He will give the low rolling growl which most of our pups understand means game over.

  53. When Archer engages Raven in bitey face nowadays she’ll jump on the couch to get away. Archer (training to be a service dog) is our only dog not allowed on the furniture so he knows when any of the dogs are on the couch or bed play time is over.

  54. YES! Have finally found a description of what our two, now 9 month old Border Terriers do. It has been worrying me. They have two friends who they adore, a huge entire male Golden Retriever, and another huge Black Lab. Both older dogs socialised with mine when they were tiny and are EXTREMELY tolerant of Bitey Face. The Retriever occasionally joins in, but mostly both stand there being frenzy licked / nipped by two BT pups without a care in the world. Sometimes they try and walk off after a while, which is hard with two puppies hanging from your face. The pups forget they are 9 months now, not 9 weeks.
    My concern is that the game gets frenzied and the licks turn more and more into nips. Not a problem, for these wonderful accepting friends, but our two have decided this is a good game to play with ANY large breed, and understandably others do it like it. Especially now they are too old for Puppy Licence.
    My (neutered) male is especially drawn to doing this with new acquaintances who exude dominance, although the (neutered) bitch can join in and get as frenzied too.
    I am on edge when this happens as I know one day it is going to end in disaster.
    I do call them off, distract, restrain, reward etc, and with their friends they can go for walks without Bitey Face for a while if I’m on the case. However, I worry when they run off at 90mph to greet an unknown dog with the game.
    Any advice you can give is VERY welcome please.

  55. Our puppy Lily plays bitey face with our older dogs Bella and Harley. Bella mostly avoids and ignores. Harley full on plays. He has taught her to know when he’s done though Lily can be stubborn and ignore his cues. She’s a handful! I’m hoping with training and the help of our older dogs she will become a good addition to our household.

  56. Bitey face is Raven and Archer’s favorite game, but it can get out of control so it’s a good idea to always keep an eye on your dogs when they play.

  57. Thank you so much for this, my pup loves playing bitey face with my 5 year old. Thought she was bullying him at first, so glad I’ve found your blog.

  58. Every once in a while Archer over steps his boundaries in a game of bitey face. In these situations if our dogs aren’t resolving the game on their own I will intervene and calmly put the aggressor (usually Archer) on leash and keep him by my side for 5 minutes to calm down. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!

  59. I’m glad I was able to find something in this but it still gives me no help. I have a VERY active lab mix puppy about 3 1/2 months who is non-stop in our older dogs face. The older dog hates it and growls at her most of the time but the pup doesn’t stop. Our older dog has even nipped at her and she cowers in defeat only to start up again 2 minutes later. This poor older dog is being harassed and we can’t figure out how to stop this behavior. Pulling her away is obvious, but she seems to have a one track mind.

  60. Stetson liked playing bitey face as a puppy. I even think I have some video of him battling Linus, but in his older age he avoids the game like the plague.

  61. my 2 younger girls have never done this, however, they do this to one another, which is why their beards are messed up. it maybe b/c Evie is so much older than the 2 younger girls and has never really played with other dogs much. she is more a people person.

  62. I think it all depends on the dogs and puppies involved. Some puppies don’t understand when to stop and some dogs are not tolerant of puppies. I make sure and monitor all play time between my dogs and puppies.

  63. Thank you for addressing this! Sometimes I am hesitant to break up the play fight in fear that they won’t be able to work it out. In a dog pack do the Alphas stand by while the pups play and intervene if it gets too rough? Do they referee? I want everyone safe for sure but do you think puppies can learn personal space from the other dogs without us stepping in?

  64. YES! Archer tried to do the “lion tamer” trick too! All a part of the fun filled game of Bitey Face 🙂

  65. It’s the same with my dogs. They all know the others boundaries. Archer (the puppy) knows the difference between Linus’ (the old man) play growl and his “okay, I’m serious now” growl.

  66. Yeah, my pup loves bitey face, too! My older dog loves it; just not first thing in the morning. It cracks me up when he chases him off with the doggy equivalent of, “Not before I have my coffee, kid!” The puppy adds a related game I refer to as “lion tamer” sometimes by seeing how much of his head he can fit inside the older dog’s mouth. When we first got him most of his head fit . . .

  67. I’m not sure how big Remy is. Probably at least 25 pounds already. He goes to the vet on Saturday for 3rd round of shots so he’ll get weighed then.

  68. We haven’t allowed any rough play since Sampson injured himself because he loves this game so much and jumps around like he was 8 weeks old. But when they did, Delilah would often times go for Sampson’s heels! She’s wise and sly that one.

    Interesting observation, with my two they would get as rough as two buck fighting for the same doe, but the minute that someone yipped because play got a little too rough, they would immediately stop. I took at as they knew their boundaries, but I’m not really sure, all I know is I didn’t really have to worry about one hurting the other.

  69. I can picture in my mind your two playing a game of Lazy Bitey Face! That’s so funny! I guess it’s the no-contact version of the game.

  70. Adelle used to play Bitey Hair with you too 🙂 Archer and Raven are a match made in heaven! At least that’s what Archer thinks…Raven not so much…

  71. When Archer tries to play Bitey face with Stetson he will just lick him in the face, but Stetson will just jump up on the couch or bed to get away. Raven and Archer are another story. I bet Remy would like playing a game of Bitey Face with Archer. Although Archer can go pretty nutty. How big is Remy?

  72. My 1-year-old lab mix and 5-year-old beagle love to play Lazy Bitey Face. They just lay on the bed, not even close enough to reach one another, and do the growling and exposure of teeth. They look like they’re having a ton of fun, though!

  73. My parents dog tried to play this with me! He would play “bitey hair” while I was laying on the ground. So great to see Archer has somedog in the house to play with!! Raven and him are so cute together!

  74. Remy does this with the puppies in his training class. He tries to do it to Ace but gets growled at from the old man. He manages to lick him in the face when they are outside though, which Ace tolerates.

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