Dog play - how rough is too rough?

Hey everyone!   

I'm new around here - I've been searching the internet to see if I can find some advice on a particular problem but am not really finding any of it particularly useful... especially seeing as most behaviour problems seem to be a 'different kettle of fish' when we're talking about bull breed dogs.  Whether that is true or not, don't know.  Sometimes I think yes, sometimes no, I guess it depends on the problem   

So a little background, we have a 2.5 year old male, staffy x mastiff.  He was a rescue dog who we took on around 10 - 11 months ago.  He is the most loving super dog ever, however his previous owners obviously didn't bother with him much as he had zero basic obedience, zero socialisation (both towards dogs and humans).  He hadn't been exposed to much and was probably a back yard only dog.  However, we've come a long way since we've got him.  Other than with other dogs - we still don't let him off leash in public.

Enter a small female foster pup named Monkey.  She is around 4 months old and we've had her since she was 7 weeks old.  She is a staffy x but we're unsure what with.  Things were going well between the two and we decided to keep her.

I'm just after a little advice on staffy play.  A few points to make, she is in puppy school and also attends doggy daycare once or twice a week to interact with different dogs - I am determined to ensure she is socialised and a well balanced dog.

With other dogs at puppy school and daycare, she plays great... with our male and also my sisters border collie - she just does not know when enough is enough.  I step in frequently with our male to ensure he can have time out away from her, she is crate trained also so he gets plenty of space from her.

During their play, he will bowl her over, hold her on the ground/pin her down, bite her neck... he lets her up and continues.  I have on the odd occasion seen him hang onto the skin on her neck and drag her along - is this normal??  She seems to be having a great time and readily comes back for more!  He has made her yelp once or twice but always backs off afterwards, and the first time was so freaked out he ran away!

Is play this rough normal?  My other question is it why she doesn't take a hint when he has had enough.  I've stepped in numerous times when he has clearly had enough, but she will continue to chase him and chase him and nip his legs/neck/ears until he can get in the house.  Is she bullying him?  I know he can get his message across as there was a small incident with a bone that had been buried (long ago before Monkey was with us) that he unearthed last week, she of course came over to investigate and see if she could get it off him and he growled - a very fierce growl, she got the message and left him to his bone.  So why does he not do this and provide a correction when he has had enough play?  But will do it for a bone??

They will sleep on the floor sort of together sometimes, but I feel he doesn't trust that he won't get a bitten ear from her so it never lasts long.  And I guess I wonder why they don't seem bonded in any way?

Had anyone else had any experience with adding a second dog that can spare me some help?? (sorry for the essay and thanks for reading  )

It really all sounds very normal to me and they do play very rough. The pup is still learning her boundaries and if she goes to far the male will let her know. As for the bone they are sometimes territorial over food.

Sounds perfectly normal. My two were similar when they were younger - the dragging on the cheek; pulling on legs; neck nibbles etc. You're doing the right thing by stepping in when you need to and giving time outs when necessary. It takes persistence and consistency. If my two get a bit carried away now, a firm "enough" is all it takes to get them to relax

Thanks for your reply's... I'm glad other people have had similar situations.

I did notice the young one had a few small marks on her neck where he has obviously dragged her along too roughly - we always supervise and there hasn't been any yelping so I'm not sure how that happened. Should I be worried about this?? It doesn't seem to have bothered her.

I'm beginning to wonder if we should start reinforcing his position within our household to ensure she knows her place - I'm beginning to think there is a power struggle going on between the two of them.. she is a very feisty wee character!!

I wouldn't worry about the marks. Suki always seems to have a few scratches from playing

Hi, it sounds pretty normal for this breed at these ages. They can make tons of loud noises as well.
Time outs and down stays can work wonders for them both when they get over exuberant.
Beware of triggers like high value treats (bones) squeaky toys, doorbells.
If this sounds a little over the top just let me know and I will ramp it down...... Never leave them alone together when you leave the residence. I had 2 male American bulldog brothers from pups to senior age and never had an unsupervised incident but after I became aware of the deadly possibility of a treat under the couch being discovered while we were away and a fight ensued, I never left them alone in the yard or house while we were out.

My Thor and Loki did get into a few scuffles over the dozen plus years we had them but I was always there to intervene. Thank God!!

I recommend anyone who has 2 bull breeds to invest in a parting stick.

Again, I emphasize that if this is the wrong content for this forum, please notify me and I will refrain from this chatter since I am a newb here.

I follow the philosophy that one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Sounds normal to me too. your boy is reating correctly to the yelps so he knows when it's getting to rough. The relentlesness of the pup during play is to be expected, they have boundless energy and seem to just go on and on.

I always felt that when the tail stops wagging then it's on like donkey kong.
but if the tails back & forth a million miles an hour then it's just shenanigans
like these 2 muppets