Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ella and Lily on June 18, 2010 at 2:34pm

There isn't much you can do to convince someone that doesn't want to listen. The best you can do is try and break Spike of the behavior if it is upsetting other people at the dog park. Most people don't understand that a herding dog is going to nip sometimes, but on the other hand if it is becoming an issue to the point that people think he is aggressive you should probably try to teach him that it is not ok to do that when you are at the dog park.

While Spike isn't being aggressive, try looking at it from the parents of the boxer's point of view. They feel the same way you would if the boxer was nipping and barking at Spike.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on June 18, 2010 at 3:35pm

Sometimes we need to accept that our dogs will not get along with every dog out there, just like humans, there are no valid reasons that could satisfy us, yes, sometimes young pups act out and needs to be corrected, if my dogs indeed behaved themselves and there seems to no triggers, I learnt to trust their judgement and remove ourselves from the situation, sometimes life is not all about who's right and wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on June 18, 2010 at 4:02pm

Let's see... your dog is chasing and nipping at another dog that is not enjoying the game and you think the other dog's owner should be OK with that. If your dog is engaging in a behavior that the other dog clearly does not like you should call him off. Eventually he will encounter a dog that will take it to the next level and possibly seriously injure Spike. (love the name by the way) It sounds like Spike might be bullying the other dogs even though he is just doing it for fun. Actually that is the very definition of bullying. So I suggest you use your training skills to teach Spike more polite behavior before he gets really hurt.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on June 18, 2010 at 4:46pm

Play is something that both dogs enjoy. Playing "herding" games is fine, if the other dog likes being herded. My experience is young labs love being chased, for example.

But if one dog is chasing another, and the dog being chased is trying to get away, I hate to tell you but that is harassment, and it's no more polite in dog society than in our own. Think about it: imagine if your friend told you that her daughter came home from school every day in tears because other kids were chasing her on the playground, and when she approached the other kids' parents, they said "Oh, but they are just playing."

Yesterday we were walking our dogs and stopped to greet a woman with a young English Bulldog. Sweet, delightful little dog. She lives with a cat who is her primary playmate, and she plays cat-games. She thought it was great fun to stand on her hind legs and swat Jack in the face with her paws, just like a cat would. She was clearly playing, full play-bows and all. And Jack did something he has never once done in the entire three years we've owned him: he pinned his ears back, stood his ground, and growled at her. She groveled, licked the corners of his mouth submissively, and swatted him in the head again. The woman, bless her, knows her puppy is rude and was not upset by our dogs' reactions. But we said our polite good evenings and left.

Once both my dogs and a border collie we were walking with ran into a smallish white dog that we all know. We let them off-leash to play, and the three herders started chasing the white dog. It started as play, with the white dog having a "Wheeeee!!!" look on his face, but as the chase continued, the white dog's reaction slowly changed to one of terror as he high-tailed it back to his owner. We apologized and leashed up our dogs and continued our walk. They were "just playing" but three-on-one was too much for the poor white dog.

So yes, if your dog's play is alarming other dogs, then he is not doing a good job of picking up on the polite rules of dog society and it's up to you to encourage him to play more appropriately and call him off the chasee. This is very typical Corgi behavior, but Spike needs to learn when it's ok and when it's not, and if he has trouble telling the difference it's up to you to intervene.

Boxers have their own issues, by the way: without fail, every one I've know rears on its hind legs when playing with other dogs and grabs them with those long front legs. My male Corgi likes playing this way, but many dogs do not.

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on June 18, 2010 at 7:26pm

Bear's first playmate was a Boxer and he LOVED to do this too. Boxers can do that goofy bucking bronco move and try to get their hind legs away from the corgi, it's pretty funny. When Bear has done this to dogs at the dog park that don't enjoy it, I usually grab a ball and play a little fetch to distract him.

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Permalink Reply by Chelsey on June 19, 2010 at 2:29am

Thanks all for ur posts the boxers do seem to be enjoying it. Its the owner that gets upset. I should have probably said that the owner wants their dog to stay right by their side, any time their dog comes up to Spike and I they come and get him. They like each other just fine and usually find each other in the massive dog park with 20 to 30 dogs running around.

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