Mobbing occurs when two or more dogs attack another dog. Mobbing can occur in the context of social play, ritualized aggression, and serious fights.

31 Day-Old Pups Mob During Social Play

Louie, 3 Year-Old Adult Male, and Lear 16 Month-Old Dog, Mob Bianca 3 Year-Old Female During Social Play

The “pin” or pinning behavior is used during social play, predatory play, ritualized aggression and real fights.  Like so many other forms of play, it is good practice for pups to be both the dog doing the pinning, and the one being pinned.  Knowing when to submit, is crucial to keeping the peace in dog to dog interactions.

26 Day-Old Puppies Practice Pinning and Being Pinned

                                 59 Day-Old Puppies Practice Pinning and Being Pinned

                              8 Month-Old Puppies Practice Pinning

Body slams and hip slams are a form of rough play. Puppies practice modulating the amount of force they use with each other. Some dogs enjoy rough play, others do not, some take offense and may respond with defensive aggression.  Opportunities for socialization with other dogs is crucial for pups and adolescent dogs to learn to “read” the comfort level of the dogs with whom they interact.  Puppies taken away from their litters too soon, or deprived of play opportunities after they leave their litters, miss crucial opportunities for learning how to interact.

43 Day-Old Puppies, Hip Slam

                    8 Month-Old Pups Body Slam

A freeze can happen in the blink of an eye (or camera’s shutter), it is a moment when two dogs decide to fight, flee, or play.

39 Day Old Puppies Freeze

                     8 Month-Old Puppies Freeze

                    Mother and 16 Month Old Son Freeze

                              Play Follows The Freeze

Puppies Jaw Wrestling 43 Days-Old

Puppies Jaw Wrestling 8 Months-Old

Jaw Wrestling is a type of social play, it can also be seen during ritualized aggression. Puppies learn to employ bite inhibition if they want this type of play to continue.

puppy-jaw-wrestling-12>Click here to see the video

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Jaw wrestling is the earliest form of deliberate social play we observed in this litter of puppies. Their eyes had just opened at 11 days. They had previously utilized smell and sensitivity to temperature to find each other and lie next to or on top of one another at rest. This was the first observation of the puppies actually playing.

These two early pictures of jaw wrestling, a form of social play, (which later can also be ritualized aggression) were taken a day or two after the video.