Dogs "correcting" each other.
Mitsu (my 4 mo. old shiba) and Kratos (my adult dalmatian rescue) adore each other, but they both see each other differently (imo). It seems to me that Kratos enjoys having a playmate, but we have seen a little bit of jealous big brother syndrome and a little bit of a regression in training - nothing extreme, and we were able to work this by increasing the amount of training lessons he received each day. Mitsu, on the other hand, absolutely adores Kratos in a way that still surprises me. Even though they both get separate, individual time with both me and my husband, and even though she is not with Kratos 24/7 (and they are crated separately), she is incredibly bonded to him and whines for him if they need to be separated or if he goes for a walk without her.
They play together very well. Kratos is normally pretty gentle and Mitsu thinks she's a big dog in a small body (typical shiba). Sometimes, their play does get rough and (on Mitsu's side) very vocal - growling, barking, making all sorts of noises. But they never fight. And if things ever seem to be getting *too* rough, especially since Mitsu is still young, I separate them for a brief amount of time. Neither of them are aggressive, with either food or toys, but they are never together when unsupervised and I always separate them for feedings (esp. since Kratos came to us with an overeating/problem with competitive eating that even living with us alone for three or so years before Mitsu has not been able to help - he has a corrective bowl and we feed him in small amounts, otherwise he pretty much just swallows anything and everything whole).
However, every once in a while, during play, Kratos will accidentally step on Mitsu's paw. This tends to happen when one dog is 90 lbs and his playmate is a 10 lb shiba that thinks she rules the world. Mitsu's usual response was to cry out and walk away. The past couple of times this has happened, though, she doesn't walk away - she lays down the law by barking and giving Kratos a firm nip.
Kratos likes to pretend that he is big and macho, but really, he's a big baby and will hide behind me if anything gets too scary for him. So when this happens, Kratos backs off and usually comes to me with a somber expression. So far, all I do in that situation is give him a pet, tell him it's okay, and let him go back to playing when he is ready (usually in the next minute or two).
But I wonder - should I be correcting this? Is this simply dogs being dogs and communicating with each other in each other's language? Or can this eventually be a problem?
Mitsu is going to start a once-a-week doggy daycare soon (where she will have shiba playmates!) - should I worry that she'll fail temperament screening if she "corrects" another dog like this? (Up until this point, I haven't seen this during playdates.)
Sorry for the length - thanks for any advice!
They play together very well. Kratos is normally pretty gentle and Mitsu thinks she's a big dog in a small body (typical shiba). Sometimes, their play does get rough and (on Mitsu's side) very vocal - growling, barking, making all sorts of noises. But they never fight. And if things ever seem to be getting *too* rough, especially since Mitsu is still young, I separate them for a brief amount of time. Neither of them are aggressive, with either food or toys, but they are never together when unsupervised and I always separate them for feedings (esp. since Kratos came to us with an overeating/problem with competitive eating that even living with us alone for three or so years before Mitsu has not been able to help - he has a corrective bowl and we feed him in small amounts, otherwise he pretty much just swallows anything and everything whole).
However, every once in a while, during play, Kratos will accidentally step on Mitsu's paw. This tends to happen when one dog is 90 lbs and his playmate is a 10 lb shiba that thinks she rules the world. Mitsu's usual response was to cry out and walk away. The past couple of times this has happened, though, she doesn't walk away - she lays down the law by barking and giving Kratos a firm nip.
Kratos likes to pretend that he is big and macho, but really, he's a big baby and will hide behind me if anything gets too scary for him. So when this happens, Kratos backs off and usually comes to me with a somber expression. So far, all I do in that situation is give him a pet, tell him it's okay, and let him go back to playing when he is ready (usually in the next minute or two).
But I wonder - should I be correcting this? Is this simply dogs being dogs and communicating with each other in each other's language? Or can this eventually be a problem?
Mitsu is going to start a once-a-week doggy daycare soon (where she will have shiba playmates!) - should I worry that she'll fail temperament screening if she "corrects" another dog like this? (Up until this point, I haven't seen this during playdates.)
Sorry for the length - thanks for any advice!
Comments
If the doggie daycare knows anything about behavior they will understand the difference between a correction and bullying.
My two Shibas occasionally have to dole out small corrections to each other when one oversteps a boundary. It is quick and they usually go right back to playing.