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My puppy bites my older dog in the face!? What’s Going On?
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 your ever watch this situation and wonder why does my puppy bite my oder 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 anytime (not just in a doggy bed made for one).
So what exactly is Bitey Face?
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…
- You need at least two dogs/puppies to play this game.
- Rough play is the norm.
- Grabbing cheeks, necks, scruff, faces is all part of the game.
- Growling noises while showing teeth is commonplace.
- The game of Bitey Face looks and sounds very scary, but most of the time it’s harmless play.
- 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.
How Are Humans Involved in A Game of Bitey Face
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, 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.
One thing we’ve done with our dogs when they become overstimulated during a game of bitey face is give them both a chew toy or treat to allow them to relax and have a little timeout. One of our favorites that will occupy our dogs for a long period of time are bully sticks (affiliate link).
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.
Why does my puppy bite my older dog in the face?
janet Amighi says
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.
Susan says
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. .
Edith R. says
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.
Becca says
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.
Jim Johnston says
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.
Tabitha Kohl says
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.