07/17/2025
Today Scout and Falcon got into a rousing game I call "bitey face." This is a common dog game, but one that often makes owners nervous because it sounds ferocious and there are a lot of teeth showing.
Most of this game involves making a lot of noises including growling sounds. There is teeth clacking and often head and leg grabbing.
It can be difficult at times to determine whether two dogs are having fun or stressing each other out. If you are worried, one easy test is to momentarily interrupt the behavior. In this case I said "hey boys" in a very happy voice (not a "you are in trouble" voice). They stopped and looked at me and then went right back to the game. Had they been getting stressed then it is likely when I interrupted the game one of them may have chosen to leave; but instead they went back to the game.
Now, this game does stress out my oldest dog, Skywalker, who finds this type of rough play annoying. He started whining and panting, so I moved Falcon and Scout outside to continue their game and Sky came back in and took a nap in my office.
If you have multiple dogs they do not need to be together 24/7. They will probably be happiest if they get breaks from each other.
