'Miss Manners' of the canine variety

[gcv-border]

Just a few days ago, I witnessed my older dog administer a 'correction' to a new canine member of the household. It was very impressive.

 

Torque is almost 9, and I have had him since a pup. About a month ago, I got a ~13-14 month old female who can sometimes be a little snippy - particularly if toys are involved. [We are working on it.] Torque had brought a toy in from outside. I was about to go and pick it up to put it back outside, when I saw Natt run over and try to swipe the toy from where it was lying on the floor in front of Torque. In an instant, T had somehow used his head to flip Natt head over heels. It looked very much like a judo throw where the feet fly up in the air and then the person lands on his back as the result of a 'throw'.

 

Torque has also been known to growl and snap when Kiefer runs into him, but that is more normal. The judo throw was quite unusual.

 

What types of corrections have you witnessed in your dog pack? And when and why.

 

Since my pack has increased to 3, I think I may witness more 'corrections' - even though it is peaceful 99% of the time. I would like to be more informed going forward.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[Islanddog]

My previous dog, a gsd with serious prey drive, needed some strong 'no chase' training in regards to our three cats, BUT, once that misunderstanding was cleared up, she really was great with them. Her method of correcting them, surely illustrated this.

 

If they tried to steal her left over food she would run to us and whine, get our attention, basically SNITCH, and we would put her food away, which satisfied her.

 

If the cats were not getting along with one another, she would 'body block'/walk between them, and diffuse the upset.

 

This never failed to impress me, since her first impression of cats was "edible".

[Gideon's girl]

Gideon will grab Micah by the ruff and haul him away from trouble. He pushes the cats with his nose, if they are causing trouble.

[Cass C]

Lily elected herself official cat wrangler. She follows them around the house and just watches the majority of the time, but if one of them meows or is somewhere they aren't supposed to be she will come and alert me and lead me to the cat. On the flip side if her cats start fighting she gets between them and splits them up knocking one over with her nose if need be. However she never puts her teeth on them.

 

With other dogs she tends to become the fun police if they get too rough for her liking she will go bark at them and try to break the other dogs playing up. Sometimes even grabbing the other dog to pull them away from playing. We just don't let her watch other dogs play rough. However, she is fine if she's involved and playing an 'approved' game like chase.

[gcv-border]

Hah, DH told me something that I forgot. When Kiefer gets obnoxiously barky (like when DH comes home), Torque will grab his snout to shut him up. I have never heard a yelp from Kiefer so I think that Torque knows how to apply the correct amount of pressure without hurting him.

[mbc1963]

My old dog, Buddy, had been a street dog for a couple years before I got him. I'm not sure what his life was like, but he was the KING of dog flipping. He never bit the other dog or caused any real harm, but if another dog got too "in his face" (charging at him, or barking near him too much, or, hell, just looking at him the wrong way) he knew the precise maneuver to flip them belly-up so quickly that you couldn't even see what he was doing. Then he would stand over them, staring in their eyes and snarling for 20 to 30 seconds. (Felt like forever!!)

 

Whoever he flipped NEVER committed the infraction again, I'll tell you. Buddy's language was absolutely understood by all the other dogs. Not so much by their owners, of course.

[gcv-border]

My old dog, Buddy, had been a street dog for a couple years before I got him. I'm not sure what his life was like, but he was the KING of dog flipping. He never bit the other dog or caused any real harm, but if another dog got too "in his face" (charging at him, or barking near him too much, or, hell, just looking at him the wrong way) he knew the precise maneuver to flip them belly-up so quickly that you couldn't even see what he was doing. Then he would stand over them, staring in their eyes and snarling for 20 to 30 seconds. (Felt like forever!!)

 

Whoever he flipped NEVER committed the infraction again, I'll tell you. Buddy's language was absolutely understood by all the other dogs. Not so much by their owners, of course.

LOL! Isn't it amazing how fast the maneuver is. I couldn't even see what he did. I wasn't sure if the flip was a planned action or just a mistake. For Torque, I am not sure he planned it. It may have just been some instinctive thing.

 

Thanks for letting me know that it is an actual movement in canine martial arts.

[CptJack]

The type of correction you've seen first hand is probably 90% of what I see - air snapping, basically. Molly does some body blocking fun police stuff, where if a dog (or cat) is getting too rowdy or engaging in behavior she knows isn't supposed to be happy she'll bark at them and body block.

 

My household is generally pretty peaceful too, though. Kylie's a wee bit correction happy (she has a space bubble more than the others) but since the other dog's respect it, it's just not a big deal.

[MyRuna]

I have seen my senior (15 yrs) sheltie/aussie mix, put her open mouth over the back of my BC Runa's neck and push her into a down position. It happened a couple times, when Runa got too excited and kept bumping into her. Shayde seemed to be telling Runa, "Enough. Calm down".

It shocked me a little when it happened, but Runa is very respectful now. She gives Shayde her space and is trained to wait for Shayde to always go first. They get along great, sleep together and clean each other.

[WickAndArtoo]

When we first got Artoo he was a adult stray dog and for the first week or two he resource guarded everything (treats, toys, space, me, the bed, chews, food you get he gist!) well he always snapped but either hit air or was gentle enough that he was clearly not hurting Wick. Wick is like the biggest goofiest puppy at 1 years old (at the time) and although shocked sometimes and confused by the corrections since he is a "sharer and player" he just kinda acted like they never happened. The funny part was that he realized Artoo was guarding and so instead of going for the stuff with his mouth he would stand as far away as he could while still using his abnormally long legs to paw the toy away from Artoo playfully. It worked because Artoo began to realize Wick was just trying to play and meant no harm and he never guarded again. He lets Wick take whatever he wants and Wick never takes anything that he doesn't plan on sharing. If they have chew toys they never steal from each other but the second one leaves it the other snatches it as fast as they can.

[WickAndArtoo]

When we first got Artoo he was a adult stray dog and for the first week or two he resource guarded everything (treats, toys, space, me, the bed, chews, food you get he gist!) well he always snapped but either hit air or was gentle enough that he was clearly not hurting Wick. Wick is like the biggest goofiest puppy at 1 years old (at the time) and although shocked sometimes and confused by the corrections since he is a "sharer and player" he just kinda acted like they never happened. The funny part was that he realized Artoo was guarding and so instead of going for the stuff with his mouth he would stand as far away as he could while still using his abnormally long legs to paw the toy away from Artoo playfully. It worked because Artoo began to realize Wick was just trying to play and meant no harm and he never guarded again. He lets Wick take whatever he wants and Wick never takes anything that he doesn't plan on sharing. If they have chew toys they never steal from each other but the second one leaves it the other snatches it as fast as they can.