My Dog Bites My Other Dogs Neck: Is This Normal Play or Aggression?

Okay, so the other day I noticed something kinda weird going on with my dogs. I have two pups – a playful Golden Retriever named Max and a slightly older, more chill Beagle named Buddy. I caught Max biting Buddy's neck, and I was like, "Whoa, what's happening here?"

My First Reaction: Panic! (Slightly)

My first thought was, "Oh no, are they fighting?" I jumped up and yelled "Hey!" – you know, the classic dog-owner intervention. They stopped immediately and looked at me with those innocent puppy-dog eyes, like, "What? We weren't doing anything!"

Observing the Behavior

But I decided to keep a closer eye on them. I noticed that it wasn't really aggressive. Max wasn't growling or snarling, and Buddy wasn't yelping or trying to get away. It looked more like…play? But still, a little rough, right?

• I observe that Max usually initiates it.
• Buddy, though older, seemed to tolerate it, to a point.
• Sometimes, Buddy would even gently mouth back at Max's legs.

Doing some Digging (aka Googling)

So, I did what any modern dog owner would do – I grabbed my phone and started Googling. I typed in stuff like "dog biting other dog's neck" and "why do dogs play bite necks". I scrolled some forums, and watched a few videos.

Figuring It Out (I Think!)

From what I gathered, it seems like this neck-biting thing can be a few different things:

• Play Behavior: Apparently, it's a pretty common way for dogs to play, especially puppies. It's like their version of wrestling.
• Dominance Display: Sometimes, it can be a way for one dog to show they're the boss. But it didn't seem like that was the case with Max and Buddy, since Buddy's the older one.
• Just Plain Fun: Maybe they just like the feeling? Dogs are weird, man.

My conclusion and Action Plan

I concluded that, in my case, it was mostly play behavior. But I still wanted to make sure it didn't escalate. So, here's what I've been doing:

• Supervising: I keep a closer eye on them when they're playing, especially when Max gets mouthy.
• Redirecting: If it seems like Max is getting too rough, I redirect their attention with a toy or a command. I use some commands "Leave it!" or "Settle!"
• Positive Reinforcement: I reward them when they're playing nicely together, without the neck-biting.

So far, so good! It seems like they're learning to play a little gentler. It's all a learning process, for both me and the pups!