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Let’s talk about PLAY! Check out this playstyles video!
???? Dogs have a huge variety of playstyles and preferences for play partners. Just like you might like to climb rocks or compete in martial arts, while your friend wants to play a board game or badminton, not all dogs play the same. ????
And dogs who are good at reading other dogs’ signals for cut-off and comfort may adapt their play a bit to match. Other dogs…. are just plain RUDE.
Let’s take a look at this short compilation video of dogs playing. How would you label some of these play styles?????
Do you have a video clip to share of two or more dogs playing well together? We’d love to see them! And uploading throught our new apps couldn’t be easier!
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21 Replies
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I’m sure this is a great video to view. Unfortunately I cannot get any of the videos to play. It starts to play and goes black….
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That’s odd, @stomper16 Brenda – what device are you using? The video plays for me on both my laptop and mobile. I want to help you – can you give me a little more info?
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Yes very odd. I’m trying to view it on my phone Galaxy S10.
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Through your browser or the app? If the browser, try clearing your cache. If the app, try “hard quitting” the app, and restarting your phone then starting the app again. Fingers crossed!
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Same thing happens for me too ,with the same phone. The only way I can get it to play is to download it.
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Some play styles I observed:
Lot’s of rocking horse gaits
Self handicapping
Demeanor shifts
Play bows
Feint and parry
Side to side head movement
Quick freezes
Look away
Loose fluid movements-goofy movement
Soft bitting-good bite inhibition
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Super observations, @stomper16 Brenda! Glad you were able to find a way to view the video.
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I will have to take a video of my two dogs playing. At home they are playing great together but outside my big one plays too rough and she definitely thinks that my little one is prey, which unfortunately means that I’m not able to let them play outside together.
My Malinois is a rescue from Spain and she was poorly socialised as a pup and therefore has play skill deficits. Most dogs unfortunately don’t like to play with her. She definitely ignores their signals that they don’t like her rough play style and that they want her to stop.
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Hi Kristina! We’d love to see an (indoor!) video of your pups – please don’t put anyone at risk for videos! And my first thought, reading your post is that most Mals are too much for other dogs (and people too!). They are just… a lot. ????. Good for you, managing the interactions to keep your other dog safe.
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This is how it looks like when my big one tries to get my little one to play. She seems rude, doesn’t she? Most of the time it ends up in a never ending barking concert.
Hoping to still get an indoor video of them two playing
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@KTinaN Kristina – great video. I couldn’t resist putting it into slow motion. Let’s dial in on the little one’s (what’s her name?) body language.
What do we see, here? Observations, not interpretations first please!
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Ok I will try. I’m not very good at this yet.
My little one’s Name is Turbo.
I see ears back
It looks like he tries to keep an eye on her and doesn’t turn his back to her.
High wagging tail
I see just a head head shake not full body
I also think I see that his body weight is shifted back sometimes and curved body
He also looks at me
Head turns
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Good observations, @KTinaN ! Look again – this time, zero in on muzzle and eyes. What else is Turbo signaling?
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Agonistic pucker?
I see some whale eyes and short lips?
This is amazing I love learning how to read dogs body languages. It’s so fascinating to me.
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Nice work! And those facial signals are distance-increasing signals, right? If Turbo was signaling playfully, we would see meta-signals that say “Just kidding, I’m not actually threatening you.” Play-face and play-bow are two examples. Are we seeing those @KTinaN ?
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Here’s a quick tour through some things to look for on the slo-mo version – watch Turbo (the little):
:07 first pucker or snarl – hard to see because he’s facing away but the lips come up
:18 pucker to snarl
:30 freeze
:31 air snap
Other observations –
Lots of eye contact with cameraperson from both.
Wagging is arousal (think of it like a thermometer!) and short arcs are not play.
Moving to interpretation, the eye contact from both looks like asking for help – the Malinois may be saying “make him play with me!” and Turbo may be saying “Can I get a little backup?”
The nature of the barking – the pitch of the barks (on the real time video) – the Malinois sounds like attention seeking barking “hey… hey….hey” while Turbo’s bark sounds sharp and like a correction. (Indeed, it’s a bit surprising to me that he’s not making contact.)
Overall, while the Malinois does appear to be playful, in that his action is loose and appropriate for the size difference, and Turbo doesn’t seem truly threatened (there is some loose body language, in between stiff freezes) this doesn’t appear to me to be a mutually playful nor affiliative interaction. When I ask myself, “Would I put these dogs in a playgroup yard?” The answer is easily, “Nope!”
Why not? Because of the the size difference. Because traction (and therefore, speed) in a yard would be dangerous. But mostely, because Turbo doesn’t like the interaction.
@KTinaN Does that make sense? These two may play well together at other times… but in this segment, I’m not seeing the playful meta signals from Turbo that say, “just kidding”. What do you think? Thanks so much for bringing this video to our attention. This has been a great exercise!
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Wow thanks so much for this. I was wondering why they kept looking at me and your interpretation made me laugh but it makes totally sense.
They can play great with each other at home. She always lies down to play with him but I’m not sure what happened because Turbo shows zero interest in playing with her at the moment. He only tries to get her to play on walks but unfortunately I can’t let them play outside together just like you said. She is too crazy and I feel bad for them about this but safety first for my little one.
Just a random information if my English seems not correct or you are having a hard time to understand what I’m trying to say then that’s because English is not my first language ????
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Hi Kristina, you are so very welcome! Glad it’s helpful. And I’m really glad that sometimes, they DO play together! It’s always great to use caution when the size difference is so drastic.
And, I think your English is fantastic – if you hadn’t mentioned it, I never would have known you were not fluent from birth. Well done!
@KTinaN
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Thanks for sharing the video @ktinan and the slomo video @programdev
I see that turbo is barking directly at the dog, body is stiff, ears pinned back. Tail buzzing at the end. Quick head turns. And body shake. I was not able to see agonistic pucker and whale eyes on my mobile ( maybe i will watch it on the desktop)
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Brenda has mentioned a lot I see a s well
I also see some Jaw sparring I think. A predator play chase game with body slamming. A playful killing bite during game in the throat. Play Faces and some pawing. I will have to watch the video again. It didn’t work be well
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I think I also see the dog that is chasing to try and bite the other dog in his hind leg but I could be wrong
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