Improper Herding Instincts?
Lance has a cousin who is a pug and I think is trying to herd him. Marcus has been coming over to play and the more I watch them and see how annoyed Marcus is getting with Lances improper herding instincts I wanted to get some imput on what to do. I will tell them stop them from playing and tell them to settle down and they do. When they start playing again, Lance is right back at it going after Marcus's back leg, mouthing it, it looks like he wants to make a meal out of his leg!!! There are times that I feel like I need to tell them to seperate and their are times that I let Marcus handle it and let him tell Lance he has had enough. Would love to hear what other people think about this.
See video posted below .......
See video posted below .......
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
-
Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
-
I can just picture this but I could see Marcus doing this to that nice "chicken thigh" that corgis have...I guess if it's all in fun and neither get carried away....it won't hurt! It's good that Marcus does let Lance know...maybe if you're there at that time and he doesn't back off would be a good time to step in for the correction?
-
-
Lance constantly wants to chomp on Marcus's leg, its just not fair to Marcus. Luckily they will stop and go lay down when we tell them to, but when they play I just wish Lance would find a different metod of playing with Marcus.
-
Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
-
If I don't like the way mine are playing I put a stop to it. When Izzy (corgi) plays with Misty (doberman) I thought it looked too rough and would only let them play while Misty was laying down. I was afraid a 75 lb dog jumping on a 24 pounder would be bad and don't like a 75 lb dog running in the house. They caught on pretty quick and now play the way I want. I watched your video and they seem OK but I would probably stop it after a few minutes just because I think that it would be enough rough play.
-
Permalink Reply by Beth on
-
Actually, it seems to me more like a wrestling move than a herding thing. Lance is "top dog" and he's trying to flip over Marcus, and Marcus is resisting. You will notice in the video that once Marcus rolls on his back and stops resisting, Lance stops trying to grab the leg.
Both mine do this when they wrestle each other. Jack is bigger and stronger, so when Maddie has had enough she jumps up on the couch and lays down. But she will actually initiate the wrestling by barking at Jack, then rolling on her back. He starts by chewing on her throat (I think it's a ritualized thing where she starts in the "surrender" position so he knows she's not challenging his position). Then they rear up, grab each others legs and try to flip each other over, and it may or may not end in a chase. Maddie is ALWAYS the one to break it off, and also always the loser. In fact, on the one occasion where she managed to flip Jack, he walked away in a huff. LOL
Anyway, I would just intervene if anyone is getting hurt or they seem so wound up that they are losing self-control. I've seen other non-herding dogs do similar leg-biting when wrestling. If you just remember that the wrestling is a ritualized "fight to the death" that will normally end on its own when one dog is the clear winner, and monitor the play from that point of view, it should be fine. If the losing dog (in this case Marcus) is trying to get away and Lance won't leave him alone, then I'd step in.
-
-
Here, if you watch these two, they are definitely not herding dogs, and one is going to town on the other's leg near the end of the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nP2hQot09s
The thing where the big one lays its head across the little one's throat is exactly what Jack does to Maddie. This sort of play-fighting ritual is encoded in the dog's DNA; they all know the rules! That is not to say that every dog likes it, but any "mock fight" ritual among social animals has certain rules that the animals are born knowing to keep injuries to a minimum when animals in the same group are sorting out rank.
-
Permalink Reply by Cooper, Nora, Grady, Izzy & Jax on
-
Cooper and Nora play like that ALL the time!
-
-
I am thankful that Marcus and Lance have each other to play with. :)
Marcus seems like he has had enough and will sound rather aggravated with Lance!!! Luckily Lance seems to know when to stop.
-
-
My concern is that Lance seems very persistant with going after Marcus's back leg. I want to make sure that it doesnt ever escalate into anything and they continue enoying playing with each other.
-
-
I was watching mine from a ringside seat today, and not only do they gnaw on each other's legs, but Maddie had Jack by the throat and was chewing on his loose skin there pretty good. As long as Lance knows when to stop, I'd let them go. Marcus will tell Lance if he's had enough, and Lance will gear it down a notch to keep the game going.
Dog play is very rough, by our standards, but it's what they do. As stated, it's a mock fight, so they go through the motions of hamstringing each other and pinning each other and tearing each other's throats out. It's all fake.
-
Permalink Reply by Mel K on
-
Watching Caleb play with his favorite playmate Tiki (Lasa Apso/ Standard Yorkie) would make many people panic. And then when Rayne, the boxer/pit joins in oh no, watch out.
They both get rough and tumble and both will let the other know when it's enough. And sometimes Rayne will decide they've been playing too rough and toss both of them off each other with her big block head. :)
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
