by TremontD » July 14th, 2008, 6:20 pm
I am fascinated by the language of the canine. Every move they make is a signal or a message to us and their counterparts. I used to tell my trainer that I wished a manual would come with our dogs...kind of a dog dictionary! I've spent countless hours in the classroom and on the field studying behavior and still have so much to learn! I am by no means an expert, and please know that everything that I post here is my opinion based soley on what I've learned through study and observation. The signals are subtle...a tilt of the head, a twitch of the tail, ear position, eye contact, body movements, and on and on. I've whelped only two of my own litters, but learned so much from watching the dam teaching the pups. Most importantly, playing is an act of learning the behaviors that the dog will need as an adult for self-preservation. They're also clearly establishing pack order right in the whelping box. Even my adult dogs hone their skills by playing or "play fighting." It's during this play that you will see all of the moves used in real fighting...just to a lessor extent, and there have been times when I've had to step in as the leader of my pack of 6 (I include my husband in this number) to restore order.
When my high-drive female, Ahnya, was 10 weeks old I brought her to my mother's to meet Katie...a 6 year-old Yorkie. The first thing my Ahnya did was walk right over and very purposefully position herself with her head over Katie's back. I couldn't believe I had witnessed such a perfect display of dominance with a 10-week old puppy! Dogs are ingenious opportunists!
Breed also highly influences behavior. My herders will actually circle each other and come in from behind. They think they're stealthy! There is very clear order here...right down to the omega (my poor old American bred shepherd. Yes...I'm a pointy eared fan!