Lively Dog Blog

Observations of the dogs in my midst…

Smitty is a 22-pound Jack Russell/ Scottish Terrier mix, approximately 1 ½ years old. Smitty joined our household at about six months of age. Prior to that he had a home in Tennessee, which he lost in a fire, ending up in a shelter, and then rescue. I fostered Smitty and kept him because he fit so well into our family.

Smitty loved to play rough with Fergus, and pulled out all the guard hairs on Fergus’ muzzle, with Fergus’ encouragement. After Smitty grew up, Fergus tolerated play infrequently, and Smitty seemed more easily cowed when they did play , less irrepressible (See image below.). I noticed a change in his play with other dogs as well: fewer Matrix-style Ninja moves and more avoidance when things got rough. He would avoid play with his lab friend Zee entirely, unless Zee lay down, which would cause Smitty to pounce with glee.

He seems to hate it when any dog tries to jump on his back. He will try to circle away and avoid these dogs. He has an air of being oppressed. One example is the Coton puppy, Teddy, whose favorite move is to jump on the back. Teddy is considered the brat of his puppy kindergarten class. Smitty does not like him at all. (Fig 3, below the fold.)

[Click the images for larger versions.]

Fig 3 a-c. Teddy is jumping on Smitty & Fergus. Smitty is looking worried, with closed mouth and whites of his eyes showing. In B, he is looking annoyed, with a tight mouth. In C., he is showing teeth and has a retreating body posture. Teddy is oblivious. [Fergus is giving an example of “splitting off,” or getting in between his dad and other dogs. Dad is also oblivious.]

Fergus, on the other hand, tolerates his rudeness and plays very gently with him. Note below how he is turning away, but is very relaxed.

Since Teddy works with us I wanted to get Smitty used to him. In play sessions with both my dogs, I would gently redirect Teddy away from Smitty’s back when he tried to jump, and hold him or direct him toward Fergus when either dog seemed frustrated.

Our breakthrough came when I put a toy in Teddy’s mouth and threw another toy for Smitty. Teddy raced after Smit, toy still in mouth, and on the way back to me a game of chase ensued, each still holding their toy. After a few rounds of this, where Smitty could enjoy Teddy without being pounced on, Smit started throwing play bows. The two wrestle nicely together now, as long as I am vigilant about the back jumping. Poor Fergus is now left out in the cold.

When with Fergus, Smitty is very confident and will rush into any situation. Sometimes I worry at his habit of running right up to any dog regardless of the signals the dog is giving. When he is alone, however, he is very timid and a little anxious. Fergus protects him from other dogs that are getting too intense, first by splitting off, then by growling if the splitting doesn’t work. I will put myself between Smitty and another dog, but I think Fergus is more sensitive to a potential problem than I am. He usually intervenes before I get a chance. I plan to work with Smitty both on approaching dogs more safely, and feeling more confident when he’s apart from Fergus.

See Part II: Fergus

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