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Scraping or Scrapping? Observe & Interpret!
Check out this cute video of Bond and Tutu (the dachshund). What do you notice Tutu doing that might be a bit unusual in this context? ???? Why do you think she does this?
In what other contexts might this behavior occur, and why?
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30 Replies
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Is he marking his territory?
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Ohh I never saw this in play yet. I see the scooting in the rear feet. Super cute. I am just going to guess- does it have anywhere to do with the glands on their feet. I don’t know how it is used in that context of play but I know we usually see it after a dog dies his/ her business. This is a great learning opportunity for me – please share what is the purpose or why:)
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Cool capture of an interesting behavior! I’m looking forward to thoughts. I like where @pawsup Krista started going.
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I’m enjoying the feedback thus far!
Take another look ????to see if you spot some other significant behaviors the dachsie does in the video clip.
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Interesting! I have not ever seen this except for as mentioned, after elimination. I beleive it is to cast their scent further after eliminating.
I would only guess as a possible marking for the interaction and playmate. It also seems it may be directed at the camera person, but still just a guess. I would further guess if it is for marking, likely due to higher confidence/status possibly.
The suspense builds!
Thanks for this share!
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Thanks for playing, @jenz ! I agree about spreading their scent (through pheromones in the pads of their feet) as well as leaving a visual cue, when doing this pawing behavior after eliminating.
I will tell you that Tutu the dachshund is not a pushy, status-seeking sort of dog.
She loves to play with Bond, including sharing one tug toy together.There are some other behaviors besides the paw scraping that I think are interesting…
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It appears there is a possible anal sniff, and possible genital sniff. I see the other dog do several kicks as Tutu is in that area.
I also noticed what appears to be a head over, but hard to tell from the angle.
Nothing else right now is jumping out at me! I will watch again tomorrow on my laptop!
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Yes, @jenz , those are the same things I noticed.
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I notice that Bond seems to be very clearly communicating MINE ???? with the toy. She’s non-confrontational about it, but clear. It almost looks like the Doxie is goin’… “Hey, can you make her share!?”
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Neat observation, @programdev . Bond will sometimes entertain himself with a toy, will sometimes guard half-heartedly, but then regularly SHOVES toys invitingly in other dogs’ faces (including Tutu’s) to try to entice a tug game.
[PS the snake emoji cracked me up]
0:32
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@virginiad – my dogs love that snake toy! – And, sorry about misgendering Bond. With all his rolling around on his back, you’d think I would have noticed. LOL!
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Bond says: “no problemo!” He’s fluid.
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???? Inclusivity at it’s finest. Thanks for the grace, Bond!
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I have some additional behavioral tidbits to share, thanks to Tutu’s mom. She notices her doing the back-paw scraping ????when she’s excited, and or a combo of excitement and a bit of nerves. As an example, she did it when she discovered a feather on the sofa, and when she came across a ‘foreign’ item like a big stick in the yard.
Will post some ideas/interpretations tomorrow. ????
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Hi folks! ( @pawsup @jenz @Shari @programdev @david )
I wanted to add some final thoughts to this thread. Wish I could say I know definitively why Tutu displays the back-paw scraping behavior, but I don’t. Tutu is not a confident or pushy dog. She loves playing with Bond, including with a toy as part of the play. ???? To me, she looks like she’s longing to get in on his independent fun, she is excited, and likely in some conflict. Rather than a full, forward launch into the fray, it almost seems like she’s dispersing some excess energy via her back legs.
It was interesting enough to me that I asked some other learned colleagues to weigh in. Here were some of their thoughts:
➡I’ve seen them do it when ramped up, separately from eliminating. There’s a lot of chin over, deep sniffing, rehearsing arousal behaviors there. (from Carol B.)
➡Excitement, and perhaps some self suppression. Letting the hinds slide back instead of springing the torso forward. If she dug in instead of scraping, she’d be springing forward into her playmate. I’ve seen this in dachsies… may simply be a product of heavily weighted fore-body being the center of gravity, with long back on short “git-away sticks” that isn’t much of a lever. (from Jen W.)
➡I believe the behavior might require a certain disposition and level of stimulation combined. Little dog was using a lot of self control to contain itself, energy needed to go somewhere. That scraping must mean other things than what we define. (from Ray N.)
So, what do you guys think?
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Interesting stuff. Also interesting that, despite lots of educated opinions, the answer remains, “We’re not really sure!” Haha
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Amen, @shari . I kinda like that there’s a lot we don’t know, in the sense that it keeps us humble, and curious, and challenged to dig deeper and explore more. ????
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Yes, @Shari and @virginiad
Viva la mystery.
It’s humbling and freeing to know we can’t label EVERYTHING. ????????
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These are awesome additional thoughts, fascinating and make sense. You rock, @virginiad
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This is such a great discussion and it’s true; we must be continually curious and observant.
The scraping had me wondering… since it’s often a territorial behavior in the context of “post-elimination”… it’s a BIG DOG move, you know? I wondered if in this context it might be a playful “HEY LOOK I’M A BIG DOG” kind of like we see with the other “rude” behavior like anal poking and chin over. A rude behavior meant to illicit a reaction. Just a thought. I’ve seen dogs do some pretty odd things in an attempt to get another dog to play.
In any case, this is simply fascinating and I’m super happy with the convo we’re having over it all.
Well done, @shari @virginiad @david @jenz @pawsup !
Keep it coming, everyone – do you have other ideas about this behavior?
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I had the same thoughts @programdev and you put them into words so perfectly. I can see the territorial component of the marking behavior fit into the context here.
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Yeah, intriguing idea @programdev . “Look at me, look at me!” That could very well be! But when I think about her doing the same behavior when discovering a big stick by surprise in her yard (and knowing her timidity), it keeps me leaning toward excitement+conflict. (If you fast-forward to the :40 sec mark of the video below, Tutu shows just how timid she is when she first sees the ‘bunny sock’ that I used to make a scent trail.)
I’m listening to Alexandra Horowitz’s book, Being a Dog, now. She’s talking big time on the topic of olfaction. ???? I’ve always kinda thought excess marking and ensuing paw scraping was coming from less secure dogs, rather than confident ones. But perhaps it’s that some dogs feel a greater urgency to share more details about themselves with other, future passersby! ????
1:11
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Love the thinking about olfaction here. So good. My Joy (11yo intact female Aussie) is a marker – urine, feces and scraping. She pees in water, on her bed (when she’s trying to keep other dogs off) and she scrapes almost every bowel movement. She’s not, in any way, nor has she ever been, cautious, anxious or fearful. She’s bold: socially and environmentally. She just believes in advertising, I guess!
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She sounds like a fabulous Amazon Warrior!
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Here’s a thought about the behavior. As most of know dachshunds we’re bred to hunt out badgers. Their feet were designed to push dirt behind them while digging in tunnels. Could this just be a display of an image behavior just like a border collie showing different behaviors due to herding instincts
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I, too, was wondering about some kind of behavioral ‘drift’ @bmacwatt . So I went on Youtube last night to watch a bunch of videos of dachshunds digging. None used their back feet at all. Oh well!
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I meant to say Innate behavior not image behavior
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It’s great you are thinking about the origin of that behavior in Daschunds, specifically @bmacwatt – love this! It would definitely make sense as an innate excitatory behavior for them. I wasn’t thinking about that. I like your reasoning, for sure.
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Wow! That is so subtle. Super interesting to see outside of marking. Is it just a happy kick of the feet or is he trying to spread pheromones? The comments from everyone are so interesting. Learning so much! Thank you!!
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