Dog Behavior, Part II: Fergus
Posted by lisa on Jun 25, 2008
Observations of some of the dogs in my midst…
See Part I: Smitty
Fergus, a terrier mix, came to me at 8 weeks, from a southern shelter. He’d been there for at least two weeks, so he was separated young from his mother. He did have a sibling with him. He is now 5 years old and 62 pounds.
Fergus was doing beautifully at four months, over his fear of children and other dogs and in puppy kindergarten, when he was hit by a car. He spent four days in ICU at Angell before they repaired his broken leg. He had to drop out of kindergarten and refrain from play for over two months. He healed perfectly but missed out on valuable time learning how to act with other dogs. He is also more anxious generally and likes to control the situations he is in, barking at anyone who raises their voice, hugs, or otherwise offends him. I prefer to think of him as he is in the first image, but he is more often cross, as in the second.
Notice the tight mouth, with corners of the mouth drawn forward. This is reminiscent of Smitty’s mouth when he was being jumped on by Teddy. Here, however, Fergus is peeved at a rude forklift. [Click images for larger versions.]
Fergus is exquisitely gentle with children and pretty good with puppies, but doesn’t know quite how to act with other adult dogs. He wants to play but doesn’t know quite how to invite it and tries to control the other dogs when they get too excited (in his opinion.) He has improved a great deal at giving and interpreting dog signals, but he may always be a little backward due to his anxiety. I try to take him on long treks with other dogs, as he seems happiest when walking or running side by side with them.
On the trail with his friends Abe and Autumn, Fergus is relaxed, tail up and curled, mouth open. He is in his element in the snow.
I may try Anxiety Wrap so that he can relax more in clicker class, and get more out of socialization time. In my Tellington Touch seminar last week I learned how to wrap dogs in various ways using ace bandages. I wasn’t sure it was possible to look more silly than Anxiety Wrap, but….
If it works, who cares? I’ll report more when I know.
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Your article on dog behavior was interesting and helpful. I recently adopted a Terrier mix from a shelter down south. I’m still getting to know her. I noticed when she meets another dog at the park, she does a “face off” or “show down”. If she and the other dog are off the lease, they stand like a statue and stare at one another for several minutes. My dog seems to hold the stare and stay still the longest. After several minutes, she all of a sudden runs towards the other dog and they start to play. My dog is about 10 months old. Is this behavior how they determine who is alpha?
Kristin, several minutes seems like a long time, but I don’t think it’s necessarily alpha. It’s hard to describe; it’s almost intuition, but there is some sort of different feeling when Fergus does a “face off” before breaking into play. I don’t worry at all, knowing that in a minute Ferg is going to break right and the chase is on. Somehow the dogs know, too. When Smitty runs directly toward the face of a new dog and stops dead, nose to nose, I really worry. That could set off an anxious or aggressive dog.
Maybe the difference is the direction of lean. Face off before play, leaning slightly backward or to the side. “Facing down” another dog, leaning forward like in the picture of Ferg and Smitty in the Part I post.
Does that make sense? Oh, and congratulations on your new baby! What’s her name?