This photo was contributed by Kelley Kasey. The German Shepherd Dog and the Lab are having an interesting encounter. Please describe the behavioral displays each dog is exhibiting.

 

 

 

©Kelley Kasey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Marco De Kloet

Chief and Andor play together frequently. In this instance it appears that they have been playing but neither of them is entirely comfortable with continuing the interaction. Andor is doing the most obvious distance increasing signals, Chief’s are more subtle, suggesting he is still relatively comfortable interacting with Andor.

Chief the Belgian Tervuren
1. Ears angled back, suggest some emotional conflict or uncertainty
2. Soft eyes
3. Relaxed Tongue
4. Weight shifted slightly away from Andor, as distance increasing posture
5. Paw lift suggests uncertainty and peaceful intentions

Andor the GSD mix
6. Body curved away from other dog as a distance increasing behavior
7. Ears angled back suggesting conflict or uncertainty
8. Muscle tension ridge above mouth
9. Tense lips
10. Paw lift suggest uncertainty, may be lifted in preparation for moving away.

© Marco De Kloet

Chief, Belgian Tervuren on the left, and Andor, German Shepherd Dog on the right, are both adult male dogs.

Interpretation of the original photo, which is actually the fifth and last in the series:
Wicked continues to self-handicap.  He is showing some mild forms of annoyance, but nothing that even begins to suggest that he might tell Casper  to “knock it off”.  Casper’s tongue flick is a sign of uncertainty, or emotional lack of confidence which suggests he is aware that Wicked is beginning to lose patience.

Key to fifth photo in the series:
1. Tongue flick, suggesting some uncertainty
2. Soft eyes
3. “Riding up” the first stage in an effort to mount Wicked again.
4. Wicked’s ears are back, but not in a way that suggests a threat.
5. Wicked continues to lie down, even cocking one leg out to the side, which means he is still self-handicapping, to allow this social play interaction to continue, even in the face of Casper’s continued rudeness.
6. Whiskers are flared, suggesting some degree of arousal/annoyance in Wicked’s attitude.
7. Soft eyes
8. oops…I added an extra arrow!

Casper is pushing the “puppy license” behaviors to the ultimate limit of ridiculousness. Wicked is amazingly tolerant. He continues to “self-handicap” which allows the interaction to continue.

Key to fourth photo in the series:
Wicked:
1. Wicked’s ear is forward, suggesting a lack of tension
2. His lips are long, even though his mouth is now closed.
3. Casper maintains a bit of agonistic pucker in which his teeth are revealed even though his mouth is closed.
4. Casper’s tail is lowered suggesting some uncertainty about his precarious position
5. Wicked’s tail is slightly raised suggesting he is still within his tolerance limit for Casper’s over-the-top obnoxiously rude behavior.

Casper, the Dachshund, is still aroused. He maintains his agonistic pucker, but now his lips are more open, suggesting a less serious threat. Wicked is lying down, which suggests that he is again “self-handicapping”. The two dogs are beginning to jaw wrestle, which is a form of social play. Wicked is more relaxed about it than Casper is.

Key to second photo in the series:

Casper:
1. Long lips, mouth open, teeth are bared.
2. Some puckering of the nose, so his agonistic pucker is still apparent.
3. Whale eye.
4. Ears are angled back.
5. Tail is raised, indicating arousal.

Wicked
6. Paw lift, while lying down (appeasement, or distance decreasing signal)
7. Long lips, mouth wide open, teeth are not bared.
8. Ears are pressed back indicating some tension
9. Wicked is lying down and turned to the side. He is self-handicapping, which suggests that he is enjoying, not just tolerating the interaction. If he was truly annoyed he could simply leave, or correct the obstreperous puppy, who is stretching his “puppy license” to the hilt.

Wicked and Casper are still playing but a moment when they are both tense. Casper is issuing a warning, Wicked is moving away, but his gait is still playful, suggesting that he wants to continue to play.

Key to Second Photo:

Wicked:
1. Short tense lips, mouth open
2. Ears pressed back
3. Wicked’s shoulders are curving away from Casper the Dachshund
4. Playful “rocking horse style” gait, moving evasively to keep the game going

Casper
5. Agonistic pucker
6. Ears pressed back
7. Short tense lips, mouth closed

All photos in this series ©Marco De Kloet
Wicked the almost-3-year-old neutered Lurcher is playing with Casper, an 11-month-old, in tact, Long Haired Dachshund. Casper’s play style is rude, as can be seen in each of the 5 photos in this series. He is persistently trying to mount Wicked, who is being very patient with the youngster. The mounting in this instance is simply a form of play arousal. This is not a dominance competition. Wicked could easily put a stop to the annoying behavior at anytime by simply standing up and moving away, or issuing a gruff warning. The fact that Wicked continues to self-handicap helps the observer know that this is still play. There may also be some degree of “puppy license” still in effect here. The Dachs may be getting away with some of his rudeness because he is still perceived as a puppy, that license won’t last much longer and with less patience adult dogs might already have run out. More likely, Wicked is enjoying, not just tolerating the interaction.

Key to first photo in series

1. Relaxed ears
2. Clasping in the act of mounting
3. Tail Down
4. Relaxed lips, mouth open
5. Ears back out of the way
6. Lying down is a form of self-handicapping, or “leveling the playing field” when an adult dog plays with a puppy or a large dog plays with a much smaller dog.

I won’t always have the a series of photos as context for the photo of the week, but this time around I do. I think the additional photos will help participants make sense of the interaction. I’ll post my interpretation of the original photo of the week on Sunday, May 11, and post a new photo for interpretation then also.

Please respond to this picture by either describing the interaction or listing the behaviors you note in the posture and actions of the two dogs.