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Mixed signals—what are they really saying
I was watching these few dogs and these two kept catching my attention and how they interacted. Body language was very interesting and I’d love to know when you guys can see… there seems to be a little bit of mixed signals between the two dogs.
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8 Replies
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ooh these are fun videos, @ruthabigailparadisepaws – do you work at a dog daycare?
My interpretation – the Lab is definitely trying to get the Weim to play and the Weim is like “nope.” I love how s/he doesn’t escalate but just stands firm and then the Lab moves along… If it were to continue, I’d think about interrupting the Lab and helping them find another play partner so the Weim doesn’t keep getting pestered.
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Yes it is a daycare/boarding/training facility!! Yea it was very interesting to watch. I agree with your interruption! ???? kind of silly . The lab is Cooper, and the Weim is Tito.
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Knowing that Tito and Cooper are together in a daycare environment gives another piece of the puzzle. @ruthabigail, can you give us more hints about the relationship to put the attempted play into further context, such as is this the first meeting, or do these dogs know each other well already?
My two dogs often look like something out of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom when they rough-house, which might well alarm spectators who don’t know this is mutually negotiated play.
We can certainly be keen observers of dog body language watching these interesting videos but knowing who these dogs are to each other can be helpful too. With only snippets to go on, fuller interpretations can be challenging.
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These are good captures @ruthabigailparadisepaws !
Rather than give a lot of answers at once, I’ll ask a couple of interesting questions:What do you think of the stress level of each dog? (One is clearly more stressed than the other – but it is a shut-down level or do you think there’s a chance of an interaction going well?)
What do you think of the “air space” between the two dogs throughout the interaction?
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It looks to me like the white dog is trying to play and the first technique didn’t work so she tried another technique in the second video. I wonder if the black dog finally wanted to play. I’m guessing not. I love watching dogs interact with each other. Thanks!
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I agree @laurentraci, that while Cooper (the yellow lab) was pushing the play they were able to try a couple of different approaches. In the second video, there seemed to be communication between the two instead of the one-sided demand to play in the first.
@david, thank you for getting me thinking about “air space”. Do you mean the distance between the dogs and how they choose to increase or decrease that distance as they interact?
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Yes, that’s what I mean. Some dogs give none and it can be a real problem in situations like this but I see something really positive in the way this yellow lab shows his enthusiasm and desire.
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I work at a doggy daycare and see this type of thing a lot. Cooper is definitely trying to get Tito to play (lots of play bows and bouncing around), but Tito seems tired/ cautious of Tito (he did a butt tuck to Cooper in the first video). If Cooper tried a calmer approach, he might’ve gotten Tito to play with him. Tito wasn’t totally put off by the situation (did look like he would engage in some play by copying the air jumps Cooper was doing), but he wasn’t quite into it as seen by him not actually pursuing play. Tito did a shake off in the second video, and Cooper didn’t like charge into him. There was good air space. I see some dogs that will literally jump over the heads of others or ram bystanders while playing.
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