# Too Much Bitey-Face Play



## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

I know that goldens love to play bitey-face but sometimes I'm concerned that Mr. C plays bitey-face too much.

He's really good with smaller dogs and will let puppies use him as a squeaky toy but every now and again his bitey-face play drives me up a wall. I'm sure it has caused some concern for other dog owners.

It is so hard to get him to settle down when he is all excited playing. Should I put him on the leash and leave when he gets like this? I will tell him to play "gentle" with smaller dogs but he doesn't listen 100% of the time.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I'm not sure if you're using "bitey face" they way that I think of it. I think of bitey face being when they are both lying down and making growly, groaning sounds and lifting their lips and gnashing teeth (not hard!). In that case, I don't see it being a problem to let him play that way. 

They aren't on the floor, but this is Japer (on the bed) and Danny playing bitey face:


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 31, 2009)

Oh yes, we have the same thing going on between Lennon and Erica.
She use to be so calm until Lennon came along, every night when we sit down for dinner they do the Bitey Face, but they don't hurt each other. It just sounds and looks worse then it is. It really bothers my DH so I understand how you feel about it.
I only have this one pic, but at times it seems like they are killing each other!


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Yes, these pics are the bitey-face that I'm talking about. 

The bitey-face coupled with the excitement and not listening when I tell him to knock it off bothers me. I know that he loves other dogs but not all other dogs and their owners love him or his bitey-face.

If I leash him up and take him away is that really teaching him to stop or should I do something else instead?


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I guess I don't understand what the problem is. There's nothing obnoxious about bitey face and I don't see why it needs to be stopped. I mean, if you're ready to leave where ever you are, then you can leash him up. If the other owners don't understand bitey face and are getting upset, then they can leash up their dogs and leave. 

Sorry, I just think of bitey face as a much quieter (not noise-wise) play than having them run around playing tag and possibly injuring each other unintentionally. It's much more controlled on the dogs' part.


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## Jax's Mom (Oct 16, 2009)

My crew plays bitey face all the time. The can get pretty loud with their noises, especially Jax, and Boone being a close second. It is cute for awhile but can get annoying if it goes on too long. I usually yell enough...and they get the point. If they arent listening, then try by breaking it up with a fetch game or giving them a kong or something to keep them busy on other things. In general though, its not dangerous.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

A game of bitey face in our house is just playing but if a dog off the street started "playing" with my dog like this I might get a little worried. If I get tired of my two playing like this I sometimes break it up with a little training...get out the treats and do a few sits, downs or whatever.
I love bitey face pictures :uhoh:


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Our two play bitey face everyday at about *5:30 PM*!!! LOL It sounds horribly vicious and nasty but never actually is. When they get too excited and too into it, we put an end to the game in case it escalates. It never has though. They have a large square orthopedic Costco bed which has been nicknamed "the wrestling mat" because this is where all their tackles and playing takes place!


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## The_Artful_Dodger (Mar 26, 2009)

Dodger and Annie play bitey face and chew on each other all the time, but if a stranger dog tried it with either of them I think they would freak out. Annie would tell the other dog off....Dodger would run to me for help.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Gabby and Quinn (or Teddi) play bitey face all the time. I don't intervene unless Gabby uses less than desirable language. Usually she grumbles and makes noises, but when it sounds snotty (more snarky) I stop her and tell her I didn't like her tone. She is an alpha so I try to control her in that regard.


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## jimla (Oct 9, 2008)

Great bitey face pictures!


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## Lisa_and_Willow. (Dec 18, 2007)

Puppy bitey face!










Bitey face is an everyday occurance here. For some reason being towel dried really sets them off! 

I think people with a single dog can be quite worried when they see their dog being all snappy and noisy with another. I have removed Diesel before when he has been playing with other dogs as the owner was a bit nervous. Diesel can get pretty vocal during his play!


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Lisa_and_Willow. said:


> I think people with a single dog can be quite worried when they see their dog being all snappy and noisy with another. I have removed Diesel before when he has been playing with other dogs as the owner was a bit nervous. Diesel can get pretty vocal during his play!


Thank you. I think this is what I am feeling. I worry about what the other dog's owners will think of my boy when he wants to play bitey face and their dog doesn't. 
Today we met a beautiful chocolate Lab who could more than hold his own with Cocasse. I noticed that the other dog was really interested in playing with Cocasse's ball but of course my guy wanted to play bitey face the entire time. Thankfully, the lab's owner said that his dog would let Cocasse know if he's had enough but I noted he took his dog to the other side of the park away from my dog. 
I think we are becoming lepers at the park because of Cocasse's bitey face play. On a positive note, Cocasse will stop bitey face play but is ready to go again in a second's notice.


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## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

Found this thread and wanted to check on this. When they play bitey face do they ever put there mouths on each others necks? My sisters dog still does this to Koda and the other day he actually dragged her a bit and she wimpered. He stopped right away but it scared me...should I be worried?


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Tucker's "best friend" at the dog park is a husky mix named chloe. Huskies do this a lot..they tend to grab the back of the neck or the throat...GSDs seem to grab the throat. I got scared at first but learned to watch Tucker's reaction...if he's wagging and going back for more, I let it go. The owners of the dogs at our park are really good at intervening as well. If he yelps or whimpers it's usually because someone accidentally got too good of a hold on him or nipped him.

If it's just a whimper and then your dog is right back at playing, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But I do watch Tucker like a hawk... a "mommy hawk". LOL.


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## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. We are always right over them when they are playing. My sister yells at him everytime he grabs her there too, we just wanted to see if it was normal or not.


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## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

Murphy loves to play bitey face with my brother's GSD Abby. He chews on her face and neck and she gets covered in spit but she just lays there and lets him do it. Or course she does get him back eventually. Its very fun to watch them play. When she gets sick of him she just sits on him hahaha


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## Pemphredo (Nov 14, 2011)

LOL I don't think anything is wrong with it. My chihuahua (Chablis) and Sharlette play this but Chablis is unsure of how rough to get and Sharlette is real submissive to Chablis so it turns into a real slow open mouth teeth touching no sound play and it looks more like they are making sweet passionates with each other LOL


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## Pemphredo (Nov 14, 2011)

Then there are times Sharlette gets confused and tries to play bitey face with me...... let me let you know it isn't as fun as they make it seem LOL


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## Bella's Mama (Jun 12, 2011)

31lb Bella plays bitey face with her 80lb aunt Rocky. Let me tell you, we worry more about Rocky than Bella.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Great pics everyone. Since I started this thread I'm glad to report that Mr. C has learned to cool it with the bitey face play. Since he only feels comfortable playing with smaller breed dogs I've worked with him at home to be more gentle. When we play tug or other games at home, I've introduced the word "gentle" and we stop playing immediately. He knows to stop.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Love all these pics!! Ranger loooves to play bitey face and man, does it ever get loud! Especially when he plays Blue...we get quite the symphony of wails, moans, and grunts!

Here are some of my favourite bitey face pics of Ranger:

The Ultimate Bitey Face









Little Scout who was tough enough to bitey face with Blue and Ranger









Ranger always looks like he's about to kill another dog









3 way bitey face









And even scarlett learned to enjoy bitey face once she stopped being scared of ranger...and she quickly became the best at it since she wasn't afraid to use her weight!









Who's the biggest baddest toughest dog?!


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## logan_c (Nov 10, 2011)

Is it ok that our GR puppy (~11 weeks) plays bitey face with our full grown Aussie? When they play it is very active with the occasional yelp in pain from each of them. We let it continue at times, but sometimes they both start barking and now the puppy barks more often even when not playing bitey face. So our concerns are:

The barking - should we separate them when they begin to bark (too loud for us)? My wife is a professional who works from a home based office, barking really doesn't go over well.

The puppy is biting us more often now (b/c bitey face games?). We need to start teaching him to not bite us - believe we'll use a soft mouth with treat method of teaching "no bite"

How much bitey face is too much between the two of them?

Thanks!


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

The bitey face doesn't have to involve a lot of barking. You could work with them on toning down the barking. The biting humans shouldn't be allowed. There are very good techniques for that. You can find good descriptions by searching on this site, via Google, or in a dog training book. It should be fine for a puppy to do BF with a grown dog as long as you trust the older dog. But keep an eye on them both. If one seems to stop enjoying the play, it's good to divert them to something else.


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## Deber (Aug 23, 2011)

As our pups mature we are getting more and more of the bitey-face times, very loud and with all the teeth showing it looks like they want to kill each other, but tails are wagging, no bitting down, so all in play. But it is like two titans crashing and you can hear their bodies hit and slide to the floor. If you didn't know this was play it might look scary, but they love this and always done in play.

In our case it is good we have the two so they are equal in this play. Don't think the yorkies (who do play with them) would like being slammed into by them! But interesting the goldens lay on the floor to play with the little ones and are very gentle when it comes to them. 

With the yorkies the goldens will lay on their sides while the yorks jump all around, everyone's teeth exposed and all having a good time. I love the bitey face pictures!


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## janababy (Jan 2, 2012)

I had that problem with my dog Buddy at the dog park. We had a little fenced in area that I would take him to for a small time out. He would have to sit and watch all the other dogs playing. He eventually go the message to calm down.


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## EddieWouldGo (Mar 25, 2014)

Eddie is my first dog EVER - I've mentioned before that I was a 'cat-person' before him - so I had never heard of Bitey Face the first time I took him to the dog park. One little white dog wanted to play Bitey Face and Eddie who is sweet, mellow and gentle lay on the ground totally submissive while the other dog was 'biting' him. I was horrified and decided immediately that I didn't like the other dog - LOL! The owner of the other dog even excused his behavior saying "I don't know what's wrong with him - he never does anything like this". Clearly, he had no clue they were just playing either.

Now every time Eddie and this dog are at the park they play like that - however, Eddie has now become more assertive and is taking part in the Bitey Face game, which to my horror I thought was him being 'mean' to the other dog. The truth is, if you've never experienced a game of Bitey Face, it could look like two dogs fighting. But some of the other dog owners at the park exclaimed: "oh look, they are having so much fun playing together!!" - that was the first time I heard the term 'Bitey Face' and the light bulb went on  Since then Eddie has played many games of Bitey Face - I do stay nearby, I was told by our trainer that if the dogs 'latch on' with their legs and hold the other dog in place to intervene as it becomes a dominance game rather than just playfulness. I also don't like to hear growling from the other dog and will intervene if that occurs (Eddie NEVER growls)!
Anyway, just my two cents...


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## Mos20 (Jun 9, 2013)

I always called it "Scrunchy Face" lol. My last golden did it too whenever I told her I was going to eat her feet. : ) My current golden bites so hard. I know in her mind she's playing but boy does it hurt some times. Does anyone have a good training technique just to lessen the power. I don't really mind my hand in her mouth as long as she's not so rough. I've tried telling her gentle and moving away so she knows I'm not playing with her If she's that rough. I've also tried a little bitter apple on my hands, but then she just goes for other parts. Any tips ? Thanks!!


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