I have a twenty-two pound 12 week male lab (Bandit) and a fifty pound 3 year old Australian shepherd female (Chilli). I’ve had bandit for about two weeks.

They get along pretty well. Bandit is the alpha. During their play sessions they get pretty rowdy. They run, bite each other and wrestle.

Recently, bandit has become very vocal and growls a lot. Chilli has also been doing the same and by night time, they are very loud and end up barking and barring teeth. But I can’t tell if this is negative, aggressive behavior or if it’s just play. Normally they get along fine and play well but it eventually gets louder and louder and a little rougher and rougher.

Should I be concerned about this type of behavior? I usually break it up once it gets too loud and separate the two. Will this growling get worse or is this just normal play?