I was talking on the phone the other day, to a friend who doesn't have any real experience with dogs. His family never had dogs, except for the occasional coonhound and barn dog, and he just never had the canine best friend experience. Honestly, he's not really sure that all dogs aren't waiting for a reason to bite, so he was aghast at the sounds he was hearing over the phone.
Wherever I am is where the dogs are going to play, so if I'm laying on the bed while talking on the phone, the bed gets converted to a wrestling ring. My uninitiated friend got bombarded with all the seeming growls, snarls, yelps, gutteral faux grousing, squealing (it must be a Terrier thing), frenzied barking and the sounds of general mayhem that accompany one very large and two medium sized dogs rolling around and pouncing on each other, tugging on ears, flews and ankles.
His reaction -- alarm and disbelief that what he was hearing wasn't a bloodbath -- got me thinking that probably a lot of people, even people who have dogs, aren't used to the energy and antics that can go into a multi-dog play session and might think it's something different and separate dogs that are only playing like dogs do and burning off a lot of excess energy that could be going into other activities like sofa shredding, panty raiding or counter surfing.
So, how do you know the dogs are playing and not mauling each other for real?
First, no one's getting hurt!
The object, though, is to be reasonably sure no one's going to get hurt, at least not on purpose, and learning to recognize the play signs dog make as opposed to signs of aggressive or defensive posturing can make forays to the dog park more enjoyable for you and your dog, as well as helping you keep the peace in a multi-dog home or aid you in integrating a new dog into your already-got-a-dog home.
One of the most obvious signs is the play bow. This is the universal invitation to party down among canines, front legs extended in front, maybe spread a little, chest on or near the ground, butt in the air, chin hovering just above the ground, ears perked. Now, what's that tail doing? If it's up and wagging, you're looking at a dog that's friendly and is probably going to be the one who initiates the games; tails that are wagging in a position closer to parallel with the ground are usually happy in the role of play leader or follower, they don't care, they just wanna have fun. Dogs who hold their tails down closer to their hocks and wag are most often indicating they're waiting for the other dog to initiate the game, not necessarily because they're submissive, because you'll find large dogs who do this with smaller ones realizing the game isn't going to happen unless it's one the little dog is comfortable with. Often that low tail wag is more indicative of good social skills than it is a submissive personality.
Once the game's afoot, how do you tell it's still playing?
Watch the dogs. If no one's trying to escape on a permanent basis, it's a pretty safe bet they're having fun. When one of the dogs takes a break from the action and goes to a solitary spot to rest, help out and distract the other one if he doesn't want to honor the time out. Pursuing the game when one of the players wants a chance to rest or calm down is the way a lot of fights start. Dogs are pretty smart when it comes to knowing when things are getting too intense, so reinforcing those voluntary time outs can save the occasional tiff, even between best buds.
When the vocalizations sound more like war cries than the sounds of play, check out the body language. If you're seeing pouncing and light-footed maneuvering, dancing in and out of reach, flopping down with legs in the air, more than likely it's all good, even if it sounds like an old fashioned collieshangie.
Provided by Pet-Super-Store, an online pet-store featuring dog training collars and underground dog fences.
|
Barking Gallery
