Rough play question.

Hello,

We recently brought a 2yr old Staffy home from a local shelter.

He's an awesome dog, so smart and sweet.

He's only lived with us 3 or 4 days now and we're all still getting use to each other. Although he's as genital as can be for the most part I can tell he really wants to break free and play hard.

Problem is he's so strong and powerful he can be scary when he gets whipped up a little. He will stop as soon as you tell him to stop BUT he wants to play and I just don't know how we could do that without encouraging bad behavior. Do you avoid rough housing all together?

Good question, can u take him to a large area where he can run & Play? teach him about good play with treats. Hope it all works out for you both.

All staffies like tp play and because of the sheer muscle and power it can seem a little rough. If when you stay stop he does then thats great and as said before wide open spaces to play in and for tiring them out is fantastic. Plus doing simple training also helps to wear them out too, actually more so than a big run cause it keeps there minds active. I just purchased a Boomer ball from a recomendation on this site and thats been great!

Of course he will want to play rough all staffs do but as long as he stops when he is told to u cant ask for anything more, its great, well done! He sounds ace x

Great question as most books tell you you shouldn't encourage rough play with dogs and I can see where they are comeing from. However, it's not a rule i've followed too carefully (slap wrist) and my two love a rough and tumble or game of tug. But then again we all know doggy rules are slightly different for Staffies lol After all the books also say they shouldn't sleep on the bed and how many of us here have them on the bed (if not under the covers).

So my if i was you i would follow the advice on training and finding somewhere he can let of steam. In regards to rough play I've always had my dogs since little pups so have known them iside out by the time they got more powerful - so I'd just keep building that bond with him and once you know know what he's like and he's got the same trust in you then I don't see why rough play would be a problem - sounds like he's a great dog already

Why not try a boomer ball, or securely tie an old car tyre to a tree & let him swing from it - they love that & they put so much into it that they wear themselves out!

Take care, though, that you exercise his mind as well. Although you can tire a young staff out with play, they have remarkable recuperative powers & if they are bored they'll become a nuisance!

Try teaching the 'seek' command. Start by hiding treats around the room & saying 'seek'. Make them easy to find first of all. He'll soon find them. After a while start to make it a little different - place treats underneath things or on top of things. Then go on to pieces of fabric which you've held under your arm for a few minutes (don't put deodorant on!). Just scatter them on the floor (3 or 4 of them will do) and praise him when he sniffs them & especially if he brings one back.

Then use 3 or 4 pieces of clean fabric & only 1 with your scent on it, but this time, before you send him to seek, cup you hand loosely over his nose so that he is breething in your scent, then send him..........bet he'll spot which one is yours!!

Thanks All, for the helpful suggestions. Yes we do have a good sized back yard were we can play.
I picked up a few books and started reading.

We're very fortunate to have found him.

He sounds a great find!

My previous staffy was from a rescue home also, he also loved the rough play but i was lucky he would love to play rough but at the same time knew when he crossed the line! ... we would play and if he was a bit to rough i would say AH! or Ouch! and he would lick me and whine .. then he knew and he calmed down.
But as said above balls and toys etc they love to play with, we gave ours a huge water bottle from those water machines one summer .. kept him busy in the garden for weeks ! lol

When we wanted Bandit to calm down, we'd hold him still and gently stroke the soft area just inside & at the top of his back leg - he'd stop so suddenly it was amazing & he'd just stand there with a dozy look on his face! Dempsey's the same.

I throw the ball for kaiser that works a treat but when we cant throw the ball for him like when this icy weathers bout he likes his rough play but as said before i think its fine if they know enough is enough well done on the rescue