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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!