Dog Behaviour: The Play Bow

The Play Bow is an essential part of dog communication that is observed in dogs of all ages. If you want to understand dog behaviour in more depth, the play bow is a great place to start.

So why is your dog doing a play bow?

It’s actually a wonderful method of communicating that dogs use from a very young age. It is a behaviour that has also been observed in other Canid species - such as wolves and foxes. It is characterised by a dog putting their front end on the floor, with their back end remaining in the air, in a bowing position, often accompanied with a wagging tail.

Here are some of the reasons that dogs may display a play bow behaviour:

- Initiating play.

This is the reason most owners know a play bow, your puppy will do this to initiate play with another dog or human, it’s a “hey, I want to play with you” and is often reciprocated by the other dog as an acceptance of the offer.

- Apologising for “rude” play.

If a dog gets overexcited during play, causing another dog to disengage or perhaps show them that they’re unhappy, you might see a play bow as a “sorry about that”. It’s a way of showing that they didn’t mean to overstep, after all, dogs are always learning how to interact with each other. You may also see this in young puppies toward an older dog as an apology if play gets overexcited.

- Establishing intentions.

If your dog is wrestling or rough playing, a great way to ensure it’s all friendly is to watch out for the play bow. Dogs will often bow during rough play to say “this is all friendly, we’re just playing” and check in with each other, with each dog reciprocating the bow to agree on this intention.

Golden Retriever puppy displaying a play bow to a Jack Russell puppy to initiate playful interactions.

Understanding this behaviour can help you to read your dog, how they're feeling and what they want. If a dog is barking at you whilst play bowing, for example, it may be safe to assume that the bark is non-aggressive and is an attempt to gain your attention to initiate play. In young dogs, play bows are often followed up by 'zoomies' with the dog tucking their bum underneath them and running around as fast as they can.

Does your dog play bow?