When Play Goes Bad: Theories on How Play May Become a Fight
Believe it or not, to the best of my knowledge there are no scientific articles on this topic. If you know of, or come across any in your travels, please send them my way. Without direct study, data collection and statistical analysis, it is hard to say exactly what happens when play escalates to fighting. Fortunately our understanding of canid body postures and the signals they transmit help out tremendously when figuring out what goes wrong.
From previous posts we learned of and saw video examples of the numerous ways dogs initiate play, the definition of play, and how dogs maintain play and clarify agonistic behavior during a play bout. With all these signals designed to prevent fights, it’s hard to believe one could break out. Yet, it happens and there are multiple theories as to why.
One theory is that the dogs involved aren’t play bowing enough (Hetts & Estep, 2010). Without a clarifying signal, the play partner could misinterpret a bite delivered in the play context as an aggressive act (Bekoff, 1995), become defensive and respond with a truly aggressive behavior.
Another possibility is that the dogs aren’t actually playing. As discussed in the blog post titled: What IS Play?, Bekoff (1974) defines play as mutual and fun for all. Each member should take turns soliciting and ending play (Hetts & Estep, 2010), movements should be relaxed, and no one is trying to leave or hide (Bekoff, 1974). If one member of the dyad is pinning or in constant hot pursuit of the other - that is NOT play. It is bully behavior and should be stopped, or, preferably, prevented.
It is also possible that familiar dogs will put up with a lot more rough play from one another than non-familiar dogs. As a human example, my friends and I can say things to each other that outsiders may find rude. Our feelings aren’t hurt because we know the other is kidding. However, the same words said by a stranger to one of us would probably elicit a defensive reaction. The same may be true for dogs. Rover will put up with bites and side-to-side head shakes from his housemate Fluffy, but not from the neighbor’s dog Fido.
Pain can also elicit an aggressive response during play. With all that romping around, someone is bound to get hurt once in a while. The injured dog may feel threatened and respond with an aggressive threat. If the other fails to acquiesce despite these signals, play could escalate to a fight.
Finally, although unlikely, some dogs may be misinterpreting the meaning of a play bow (Hetts & Estep, 2010).
Do you have other theories? Send me your comments!
References
Bekoff, M (1974). Social play and play-soliciting by infant canids. Amer. Zool., 14, 323-340.
Bekoff, M. (1995). Play signals as punctuation: The structure of social play in canids. Behaviour, 132, 419-429.
Hetts, S. and Estep, D. (2010, January 18). How play might turn into a fight. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://animalbehaviorassociates.com/blog/42/canine-behavior/canine-play/how-play-might-turn-into-a-fight/. (2010, October 25).
Related Posts
How Dogs Initiate Play: Descriptions & Video Examples of Play Behaviors
The Amazing Multi-functional Play Bow
Video: Example of Appropriate Play Behavior in a Group of Dogs of Various Sizes
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