Becca and Durgin of West Forks

Perhaps one of the most frequent questions we are asked is how to introduce a new, younger puppy into a home where there is another dog. Our advice is to simply let the dogs work things out on their own, within reason. There's a lot of good books on the market about dog behavior, and our library contains a good number of them. Some of what I'm writing here is gleaned from those books.

Perhaps one of the most important things is for all dog owners to be aware of basic dog communication. Dogs have a highly developed language between themselves and it consists for the most part of physical signs and behaviors. Some common behaviors are actually calming signals and include yawning, licking their lips, keeping their heads turned and not making eye contact, and of course there is the familiar tail wag. We all assume a wagging tail is a happy tail so here is a little more information but it's not been edited for dogs with docked tails or pointing breeds!:

■Relaxed tail: Relaxation and comfort.
■Hanging horizontal but not stiff: A sign of attention. The dog sees something interesting.
■Hanging horizontal but stiff: The dog is confronting an intruder or someone or something unknown.
■Upright tail: This is a sign of authority of a dog that shows itself dominant.
■Upright tail and turned over the back: shows trust and self-control.
■Downward and close to the hind legs: If its extremities are rigid and it wags its tail slightly, it shows "I'm not feeling well". If its legs are slightly bent it's a sign on insecurity.
■Tail hidden between its legs: Fear or submission.
■Raised tail and slow and rhythmic movement: The dog is on guard.
■Wagging lightly: Is their normal welcome.
■Wagging with broad circles: "I like you". When two dogs are mock fighting this movement confirms it's a game.
■Wagging at a slow speed: When it's being trained it means "I'm trying to understand you, I want to know what you're saying but I don't understand yet". Once it finally understands, the dog wags its tail faster.
■Short and slow movements: Shows that it's pleased. Sometimes its only wags its tail a few times when it's on the floor.
■Wagging fast: Excitement to a desired activity or object.

When dogs interact with other usually it is a good idea to let them tell each other what is and what isn't appropriate. For instance, butt-sniffing, rough playing, barking in each other's ears, mounting, and other actions that dogs do would not be acceptable in human company, but are perfectly normal dog behavior. You do need to know when your dogs behavior is annoying, scaring, or angering another dog and it is your responsibility to do something about it. Often distracting your dog by calling him away or squirting him lightly with water (this acts as a shoulder-tap, not a punishment!) is enough. If your dog is too excited or intense, take him a few feet away from the action for a light-hearted but calming time out. This is NOT punishment, it's a cool-down period.

Sometimes there are dogs that just do not know how to communicate with another dog. Perhaps they have been overly coddled, or not been with other dogs enough. If other dogs snap at yours, or if you are calling other people's dogs 'aggressive' stop to consider your dog's actions and what he/she may be communicating. Maybe your dog "getting in the other's face or space. Perhaps he's not responding to calming signals or indications that the other dog does not want to interact. Or, if you find you have a dog that is trying to 'protect' you as demonstrated by his behavior of getting up upon you and crossing his body over yours, sitting in front of you, looking away and growling, or other things - he is thinking of you as a prized bone.

If you find that your dog is "protecting" you, consider that your dog thinks of you as a valuable resource that he must guard, like a prized bone. He has taken possession of you. A lot of owners unknowingly will encourage this behavior by stroking their dog, telling them "it's allright". While the person means it's allright no one is going to hurt me... the dog is thinking it's allright to be possessive of you. Many things we do without thinking are actually communicating the wrong message to our dogs. Do you sit and absently continue to make body contact with your dog, over and over, throughout a conversation with another person? Your dog is in control in that situation. Try not patting them for a minute or two and see what happens!

When there are more than two dogs involved, a third dog will often act as an interceptor. I see this a lot here when ATB are running together. Two dogs will stop and stare at each other, trying to read the body language of the other. Very often this results in a frozen posture for a second or two until one play bows or shows a sign it's time to play. In the meantime, another dog will just simply run between the two as if to break any potiential developing stress. When Steve and Stephanie were up for a visit last weekend there were several Brittanys running around getting acquainted and reacquainted. It was interesting to me to see young Piper run in and out of the adults. Dog language!

The absolutely worst thing to do in my opinion when two dogs meet is to yank up the lead without any slack and hold the dog next to your body. This communicates to your dog that you are afraid, and if the dog thinks you are afraid, then that sets a lot of things in motion. Especially if your dog is being approached by another who is off leash. You don't have to let go of your lead or allow your dog to lunge but keep some slack in the lead so that your dog can at least reciprocate the sniffing going on. WATCH for physical signs of fear and true developing aggression but don't teach your dog to be afraid of meeting other dogs.

It may sound really strange but I will often mirror calming signals back to our dogs that I happen to observe them doing. Sometimes the dog is trying to calm themself, other times that dog is trying to calm you or another dog. It's been especially helpful for me to do this when pups are on the way, and momma dog is looking for reassurance!

ATB's good friend Julie Harris often passes along wonderful books about dogs to read. One of my favorite ones is written by Turid Rugaas who wrote "On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals". This woman is an internationally renowned trainer and writer who has devoted her life to dogs, their behavior and their well-being. She's spent years studying the communication of dogs including their communication with owners! My book is well worn and literally dog eared as a valuable resource.

I'd like to thank Dee and Linda Hobart for letting me use a photo of their two gorgeous Brittanys, Durgin and Becca to inspire me to write a little bit about dog communication tonight. Durgin will be 4 this summer and is out of Molly and Smoke. Becca is one of Molly and Jack's pups born back in January. They are living life to the fullest in West Forks, Maine - truly God's country if you ask me! Speaking of photographs and beautiful Brittanys, hope you've checked out the changes to our website. Still working on it but hope to finish up by the end of the month which is, come to think of it - next week! If you have a special picture(s) you'd like to include in one of the galleries, send it along. In the meantime, take care and God bless you and yours, John, Ann and our canine crew!

POP QUESTION:  Who are some of Durgin and Becca's ATB relatives?!