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Client Needs Help! Are these dogs fighting? – Video discussion
Your client Rachel just sent in this video and says she is worried that her dogs are not getting along. ???? Here’s a bit about the dogs:
- Roxy, the 12yr old German Shepherd, has some pain in her joints and shouldn’t be stressing them.
- Rachel’s Berner boy, Alf, is new to the home. He’s 8 months old and super energetic.
Rachel’s worried as she often hears them growling at one another. She wonders if Alf is being dominant and that’s why Roxy keeps biting him?
Check out the video Rachel sent.
Then, post your OBSERVATIONS (look for body language signals – avoid throwing in an interpretation, at first). What do you see?
1:34
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12 Replies
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Call out tail motions and height, body movements, direction dogs are facing, mouth movements, activity level… And more! Any observation helps towards interpretation later.
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lots of curvy bodies and wagging tails…
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loose bodies/not tense, look aways, giving space
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Rough playing is accompanied by loose body status on both dogs, excited barking with “flagging” tails on both ( it’s not wagging stiffly). Alfiw does actions that invite -not DEMAND- play by older dog. Roxie is responding to Alf’s invitation with ears forward, body relaxed. One very slight concern: dogs aren’t alternating roles as submissive or dominant- Roxie is consistently D and Alf is always S, ideally they would exchange these ‘roles’ from time to time. Still it all looks playful, not fight-inducing.
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Both dogs have loose body language. Tails are wagging at an even pace, not super fast, not still. When both are standing, their heads seem to be around the same level. Lots of curved motion.
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Some feint and parry movements and jaw sparring..
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You guys are crushing it with these observations. Given all of these good points, who wants to take the first shot at interpreting the situation for the mock client?
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Great observations here! I also see the Berner self handicapping and also lots of parallel interactions, space and most important breaks in between. Which is good play behaviors!
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I don’t think there is any dominant behavior, it looks like nice play to me with the Berner inviting without being rude to the other dog. Some dogs are vocal when they play, I would keep looking at observations of play and look for good signs, breaks and space and watch arousal level.
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Great job with observations! ???? And @PawsUp Krista, spot on with play as the interpretation. And it does appear the Berner boy is handicapping himself.
If you’re a professional trainer, or studying to become one, what language would you use, to educate your client?
Remember – she’s WORRIED about her dogs FIGHTING. Practice your scripts here!
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I would suggest to the client to always first supervise the play always because I see the older dog has joint problems and pain. Pain can bring the dogs tolerance down and the dog can react quickly. Use management when you can not supervise, you can use baby gates and give each dog some kind of enrichment, example stuffed kongs. Having a younger dog with energy give them other outlets for exercise like maybe a dog walker or day care. I would explain that what I see in this video is okay but it might get too rough because the older dog has pain in joints, so stop the play and redirect the Berner to give the other older dog a break. Look for relaxed play, loose bodies, breaks. The age difference can make this difficult. I had a Berner and a 14 year old dog and we managed their play all the time!
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Great tip, @PawsUp
I would explain that what I see in this video is okay but it might get too rough because the older dog has pain in joints, so stop the play and redirect the Berner to give the other older dog a break. Look for relaxed play, loose bodies, breaks. – Krista C.
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