Predicting Play or Problems in Dogs

Take a look at this video and watch the initial interaction between the two dogs (Akita 70lbs and Pitbull/American Bulldog 90lbs). Will they play or will a problem of huge proportions occur? Send me what you guessed and why. Then watch it all the way to the end to learn the twist to the complete video.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• dog
• to
• introductions
• body
• language
• canine
• videos

[KCDogguy]

Great and wonderful insight WolfHaunt! Right on the mark.



[KCDogguy]

Good catch and great read of the dogs. As the prior person indicated, certain breeds hold themselves a bit different than other. Pits and Akitas tend to have a more chest out stance and approach. There will always exceptions, but sometimes the breed characteristics need to be considered.

[Spazzcopter]

I got the impression that they had met before, as even though the akita seemed stiff, the pit bull was relaxed and wasn't showing many calming signals. He also didn't seem too worried by what I thought was a bit of a brush off of his partial play bow at 1:10. I wasn't completely sure until they parted, but I didn't see any signs that it was going to turn into an aggressive encounter. And from the end of the video I realise that what I thought was stiffness was simply how the akita holds herself.

[KCDogguy]

@Spazzcopter - Great analysis and good eyes! You're right, Akitas will tend to approach with a stiff leg chest out stance. Makes for fun introductions some times!

[KCDogguy]

@Spazzcopter I have trainer friends who think they no longer need to video tape interactions. I never fail to learn something from each and every dog interaction that occurs. Never will I ever say "but there was no warning at all!". Dogs always warn.....

[KCDogguy]

I never set up videos for dangerous interactions, just can't do it morally. However, if you film enough you will get a little bit of everything!

[xWolfHauntx]

@KCDogguy Thank you. =3 Lol I love your videos! I watch them all the time! This is a really good thing to do to teach people about dog behavior, I've been studying it for over 13 years, and I think all dog owners should at least know the simplest of postures/warning signs and all that. =)

[Randomnivity]

Easy read. No one's chest is forward, tails are high but not stiff, there's no stalking motion and the Akita was comfortable scratching. Pittie was respectful of the Akita's higher dominance but not overly submissive. Perfect interaction between 2 beautiful dogs.

[xWolfHauntx]

Absolute no brainer. The Akita was relaxed enough to scent mark and the Pit had a very relaxed stance and stride, no tenseness, which is really obvious in a Pit. When they come close, the Pit's face turns in a non threatening manner, as does the Akita's. The tail of the Pit is very relaxed even at that close space, if it were feeling aggressive, that tail would have been straighter. And lastly, the Pit's wide, loose leg stance when stopping in front of the Akita tells all is well. ;) No brainer.

[Maralo1]

I think the amount of space available for theses dogs to run and play and interact has a huge effect on the success of the interactions - too little space, a couple of born bar fighters, other things could have happened. Excellent video, as usual! Thanks for posting this stuff.

[Vermincelli]

this one is simple if you know Akitas. After peeing, the Akita did the typical Akita scritch. She wouldn't have been doing that if the dog approaching was a stranger. :)

[Spazzcopter]

@KCDogguy Thanks, I've been learning a lot about dog behaviour recently, and it's great to have your videos to test myself on! I love watch dogs interacting in slowmo, it really highlights how subtle and fast their communication is. Makes me want to take my camera down to the dog park and record some of the local dogs' conversations, goodness knows it's primetime drama down there sometimes and the owners are off chatting on their mobiles...they don't know what they're missing!