We’re just back from a short week with good friends Jim and Peg in northern Georgia. Heavenly! They live on a gorgeous 200 acre farm and we got to enjoy the fun of 80+ new born lambs, and none of the work, thanks to our hard working hosts. Maggie and Willie got to work sheep every day, along with numerous long walks with the seven resident Border Collies on the property. Basically, we ate (Jim A. is the best amateur chef I know), walked (two stunningly beautiful hikes and lots of dog walks) and worked dogs (Peg is one of the top handlers in the country and gave me some invaluable advice). Sounds rough, doesn’t it? Here’s a huge shout out to Peg and Jim for their gracious hospitality.
I thought you’d enjoy a sequence of dog play that I took with the camera on rapid fire “continuous shooting.” I originally inserted more photos, but then had to make them too small, so I’ve only included a few of the most interesting:
Here’s Willie in the center, playing with 14-month old (intact) Joe. (That’s young pup Henry running off happily in the foreground.) Joe thought mounting Willie was great fun, which is typical for dogs Joe’s age. When Willie mildly objected, Joe responded appropriately with a tongue flick.
Immediately afterward, Joe comes up to Willie with tail down, tongue flicking again. Note Willie’s high tail and “on his toes” posture.
Joe tried another mount, but this time Willie rises up too (a bit hard to see). Lots of vertical play can be a sign of potential trouble, but I had no worries here with any of these dogs. They all played beautifully the entire time we were there.
This play sequence ended when an older male, Cap, trots over. Note both the older males have high tails, but Cap’s is curled forward and Willie is now doing an appeasing tongue flick. Ah language of dogs! So much has been “said” here, right?
Switching taxons (from animals to plants), here are some of the many wildflowers that were in bloom when we visited:
I believe that this is Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia), surrounded by Toadshade or Sessile Trillium (Trilllium sessile). Any local naturalists want to confirm for me?
And here’s a flower familiar to many, White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), which will not make its appearance here in Wisconsin for another month or so.
Rose Lesniak- CDT says
In my business I carefully study the parent of the dog, and the dogs relation to the parent, in training and solving behavior problems.
I rarely get the opportunity to see and study dogs without leashes. Like in a park, facility or even group class.
It’s great knowledge for me to see your comments and observe the dog’s behavior.
Thank you. I think I’m in need of going out and smelling the roses.
Bruce says
Tricia – great analysis of the play pictures! I would love to see expert analysis of slow-motion, high-definition video of dogs running and wrestling. We ordinary folk probably miss a lot of signaling in real time.
Anyway, watching dogs play is one of the great pleasures of life. I took my new dog (1-year old female rescue, 50 pounds, probably a Ridgeback or Boxer mix) to a nearby dog park after our first visit to the veterinarian. There were about eight dogs at the park, all displaying loose, bouncy body language. Turns out that this group has been meeting every morning since the older dogs were puppies.
All of the dogs at the park were happy to welcome a playful newcomer, and they ran and wrestled nicely until tongues were flopping, and then ran and wrestled some more. I am so grateful that new dog has good inter-canine social skills. She even induced a huge, older lab mix to play like a puppy. Perhaps it was just the spring breeze, but I thought the old dog’s owner looked a little misty.
Unfortunately I am usually fighting traffic on the way to work when this wonderful group of dog people meets. Ah well, something to look forward to in retirement.
Did I mention that watching dogs play is one of the great pleasures of life?
Diane says
Sounds like a wonderful week. I agree with Bruce. The picture sequences were great and I would love to see more (and learn more). Play is like heaven to watch. Unfortunately, I got to see quite the opposite this past weekend when a neighbor’s dog stormed across the street and went after mine when we were out walking 🙁 Luckily no serious injury! (but serious concern)
Nic1 says
Lovely! BC and human handler heaven!
Hasn’t Willie got an awesome tail? Notice how it is raised like a flag with his tongue flick and not curled over.
It’s endlessly fascinating watching dogs communicate and play. I ‘attended’ a webinar recently where the ‘play bow’ was thrown out into the arena. 90% of observations (anecdotal) when a bow was solicited resulted in no play! The theory instead is that the intention is to create space with the other dog. I have observed dogs engage in a bow whilst displaying aggressive signals (growls, barks, raised stiff tails), usually when confined. Is it a myth that all bows are play bows and where does the behaviour originate I wonder? Dam and pups?
Laura says
It sounds like a great vacation. I wish my husband and I could get back to north-west Georgia, where he is from, in the Spring. It’s lovely this time of year. His family lives in the mountains, about 5 minutes from the Tennessee boarder. We make it back in the summer, when I have time off for vacation and it is still lovely and much cooler than Atlanta. The dogs look like they’re having so much fun and yes, as a previous commenter said, watching dogs play really is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
em says
Beautiful play captures, and congrats on a much-deserved adventure. I’m never so happy as when I can travel with my dogs and seeing them enjoy new playmates is the icing on the cake.
@Nic1 I’m inclined to agree that not all play bows result in play, but I wonder whether that is because the bowing tends to be most frequent and most exaggerated between new acquaintances and when one dog is more interested in play than the other.
As to bows coupled with aggressive signals, I really wouldn’t feel comfortable assessing without seeing firsthand- and maybe not then!- but a bunch of explanations leap to mind (ambivalence on the part of the bower, play bow as metacommunication indicating that the aggressive signals are not meant literally, response to hostility on the part of the non-bower).
I do think there ARE such things as play bow look-a-likes that aren’t actually play bows, though. Even when he was young, Otis very, very seldom executed a conventional play bow, and then mostly at humans rather than other dogs. Nevertheless, I have photos of him executing what looks for all the world like a play bow- he is playing, and in bow position- but in those photos what I’ve actually captured is not Otis approaching a dog and bowing to solicit play, but Otis, eyes locked on his intended target but at a significant distance, descending into his “ambush crouch” position. Because he’s so big, (or perhaps on purpose to communicate his playful intent?) he often does this virtually in slow motion and spends a long moment in a bowing position on his way down. Now that he’s older and Sandy often spoils his play-ambushes by charging straight in toward playmates, he will often start his crouch, but then stand again without completing it in order to hustle before Sandy makes it all the way over to the approaching dog on her own. This isn’t a true play bow, I would argue, but it can look like one.
Photo of Otis bowing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47504277@N05/4385421064/
Photo of the final crouch position: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47504277@N05/4384658687/
Victoria Barber-Emery says
This is great. Thanks for the photo sequence. I am studying animal behavior in school right now. Articles like this are a great help.
Nic1 says
em, thanks for sharing those great pics and some really interesting observations of your own dogs. Otis’ behaviour seems like a really slowed down version of the first actions of the predatory motor pattern sequence? The ‘ambush crouch’ you describe. No stalking behaviour observed? Do you have any more pics you can share?
Interestingly, other dog to dog communication ‘myths’ were challenged (the lecture was entitled ‘3 myths of dog to dog communication’) such as calming signals. A tongue flick or a ‘look away’ does not indicate a dog is intentionally calming another dog down; most likely it may be an indication of its own stress or a possible ‘threat reducing behaviour’? So, with Willie’s tongue flick and high tail in Trisha’s Pic sequence, what was he saying? The other BC with the high tail raised over his back looked like he had become the play police and perhaps instigated a ‘calming signal’ from Willie, or a ‘It’s OK, I’m fine!’ ‘threat reduction’ signal?
I guess the intention with webinars like this is to try to educate dog owners to observe behaviour a bit like ethologists do as in ‘say what you see’ as opposed to ‘interpret what you see’. For example, when we say ‘play-bow’, we are determining the intention of the behaviour, even though we do not know for sure that was the dog’s original intention and the intention of a bow-like behaviour may be quite different depending on the context. Does that make sense?
There were quite a few videos (in slow motion too, which was incredibly useful) and pictures on the webinar with some interesting examples of dogs displaying bows that did not result in play. One example was of a dog behind a fence displaying a clear bow whilst barking and snarling at a dog on the opposite side of the fence, so possibly barrier or confinement frustration, signalling ‘Hey you! Back off!’ So, it was a bow, but not a play-bow. Not all bows are play bows and the intention of a bow-like behaviour depends on context and the display or absence of any other signals.
Therefore, it’s just a bow!
What I took away from the lecture was context is everything when studying communication signals between dogs. It’s a whole other language and I think I could become addicted looking at dogs play and trying to figure out what they are saying. It makes me realise how little I actually know about it!
HFR says
@em, great pix. Now that you mention it, it’s so often that a dog will crouch down as flat as possible to the ground with its leg’s tucked underneath its body when approaching another dog. Sort of a faux stalking postion, no? I notice it is mostly young dogs. My dog used to do it as a very young dog when we lived in the city and would often approach other dogs on leash. It was very annoying as it meant I had to stop too, but so cute. She eventually outgrew it. I know of one young dog now who does it when he sees my dogs on the trail from afar, but as he is getting older he no longer does it. I wonder why they outgrow it?
If you look at Otis in the first pic, it doesn’t quite look like the typical play bow. His front legs aren’t splayed, he doesn’t have a particularly relaxed facial expression and his body seems more tense. I’ve never seen or heard a dog growl aggressively in a play bow, but my dog does growl when she plays, so it’s possible I guess. Play-bows are so disarming for the bower, that it’s hard to imagine it’s anything but a sign of some kind of surrender. I can’t imagine how they could possibly defend themselves in that position. But some dogs are just confused. I know, I have one of them!
Love the pics and am very jealous of your vacation. I want to be friends with your friends!
H
Nic1 says
HFR,
‘I’ve never seen or heard a dog growl aggressively in a play bow, but my dog does growl when she plays, so it’s possible I guess. Play-bows are so disarming for the bower, that it’s hard to imagine it’s anything but a sign of some kind of surrender. I can’t imagine how they could possibly defend themselves in that position.’
It’s a bow, not a play-bow. That is what I was trying to explain? The word ‘play’ in front of ‘bow’ shapes our human interpretation of a behaviour that may not be the intention or reflection of the emotional state of the dog?
Lacey says
My last big dog had a favorite joke he liked to play. He would evaluate another dog’s posture, see that that dog was a bit anxious, and quickly lie down in the flat crouch. He would stay there until the other dog approached very close, then spring to his feet. The other dog would leap away, but he never pursued – just stood proudly, “laughing.”
Rebecca says
I have to say I’ve not given as much thought as most of you as to the way dogs play. My brain usually just views it as yes they really love playing, or no, that dog doesn’t really fit in with the dog he wants to play with.
I’ve been to a dog park a few times and some dogs are well behaved and some chased other dogs while the dog being chased seemed quite apprehensive in the position of being chased and the owners stood by and did nothing. I know if my dog was chasing another dog and the dog didn’t like it I would quickly call them.
Maybe I’m an overprotective dog parent. My neighbor and I discovered after a few trips together to the dog park with our dogs that they seemed to much prefer it be just the two of them so we pick a back yard and have our own dog play time with just our two and they love it.
Trisha says
Great discussion about play bows. Thanks for the photos, em, love them. No question to me that we have a lot to learn about them. I’ve suggested that play bows originate in early development, when the dam is weaning her pups. It seems common for dams to bend down on their forefront, thus blocking access to her teats, then begin to try to play with the pups. (Years ago, when I had breeding females, the pups often reacted as if surprised or frightened when their mother initiated play after bowing in front of them and thus denying them access to her belly.) As far as the function or message of play bows, I suspect that they might be somewhat like human smiles–often associated with one thing (happiness), but not always. Think of all the context in which you see smiles, and yet, in general, smile are associated with happiness, right? Possibly the same with “play bows”? Karen London and I have speculated that bows during play tend to create a ‘time out,’ and thus give dogs a chance to modulate arousal levels. Bekoff found that play bows were given most often by unfamiliar dogs to another, and immediately before behavior that could be perceived as aggressive in other contexts (thus, acting as metacommunication, or communication about communication.). My observations over the years appear to support that. Maggie and Willie virtually never play bow to each other, but visiting dogs often play bow to one of them when play begins. This is all yet another reason why ethologists argue that we should give descriptive titles to behaviors, not functional ones. In this case, we’d be talking about “Front Down,” or just “Bow” instead of Play Bow. (I find myself thinking of the same rules for human behavior: “Lip Corner Raise” for ‘smile’? Whatever we choose, imagine me doing it right now, and because I’m happy to be having this conversation, not because I’m nervous or using it an an appeasement signal!) FYI, I have a great video of an adolescent Aussie play bowing to my older BC, Lassie, over and over again during their first meeting together. It’s in the Art and Science of Dog Behavior DVD.
em says
@ HFR and Nic1
Yes, Otis absolutely is engaging in a faux-stalking sequence when he crouches. I searched and can’t find a picture of his “serengeti stalk” posture, but he really does look like a lion as he picks a target, fixes his gaze, stalks slowly forward in a semi-crouch before coming to a stop and bowing down into a full crouch as he waits for an approaching dog.
I’m always a little surprised by how few dogs seem to find this frightening- to me it looks very disturbingly like predatory stalking behavior, but something about the way he does it evidently sends the signal that he is playing, not actually stalking.
Once his target gets close enough, he pops up and makes a short charge forward. He then swerves to the side and dashes past the target dog in a semi-circle. Occasionally the target will not respond, and he’ll make a big loopy circle before trotting back for a more low-key greeting, but in a surprisingly high percentage of cases, the target will leap toward and chase him as he passes. He’ll usually run for ten or fifteen seconds or so with the other dog in pursuit, but sometimes more. Sometimes there’s tackling and wrestling, usually instigated by the other dog, but often not.
If I had to interpret this play behavior, I would call it play-hunting (stalk, pounce, chase) and like play-fighting seems to be an inhibited and almost ritualized version of instinctive behavior. I would also interpret Otis’ play as particularly socially balanced- he is usually (but not always) the stalker and instigator, but by encouraging his target to chase him in turn (he will self-handicap by running more slowly to let slower dogs keep up), he is reversing roles and ceding the “upper hand” by allowing the “prey” to become the “predator”.
I wish I had a video or photo set of the whole sequence, but I find that I only seem to have it in pieces. I can, however, offer the following array of play captures for anyone who isn’t sick of seeing and hearing about my dogs.
Here’s another picture of stalking, this one showing the typical distance chosen by Otis in his ambush crouch, awaiting the approach of his favorite playmate: https://flic.kr/p/7FsvEF
Here’s a video of Otis enticing Sandy to chase, in this case using a squeaky ball. The end of it shows a lovely young husky who zips in to grab the dropped ball, then offers an interesting social behavior by leaving the ball on the ground and turning to lick Otis’ muzzle. https://flic.kr/p/s2mVcH
On the topic of gestural interpretation myths, I have this video of Otis rolling onto his back in play with Sandy. I maintain that it is not a true submissive gesture but a play gambit. https://flic.kr/p/rH32yP
Finally, here’s my favorite, though unrelated, video of Otis self-handicapping in play. Don’t look if you’re squeamish about dogs playing with sticks, but this is Otis and Sandy sharing a stick he could easily take from her at any time. https://flic.kr/p/rJMDKC
Nic1 says
@em. What awesome dogs:) Sandy and Otis play beautifully together yes?
I agree regarding rolling onto the back seems play behaviour in that context.
What behaviour follows the muzzle licking by the Husky? I noticed he lay down before licking Otis. Again, often interpreted as ‘submissive’ behaviour. Is it ‘threat reducing’ or appeasement in that context? Potential conflict over a resource possibly defused?
And the stick ‘caring and sharing’ just cracked me up. Particularly when there was a MUCH BIGGER STICK behind them!
Thanks so much for sharing those pics. and vids I really enjoyed them and I am constantly amazed at how much I still have to learn about such a wonderfully familiar but very different species.
Nic1 says
Trisha – thanks for articulating so clearly what I was trying to communicate (not very well!) about giving descriptive titles as opposed to functional titles to observed behaviours.
I Googled ‘meta communication and play bows’ and a blog post of yours from 2012 was the first item in the search list.
https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/play-bows-as-meta-communication
Awesome. 🙂
A great video here of Leo and Willie meeting and playing for the first time with Leo displaying lots of bows…
Harriet says
Hi T
You bring out the botanist in me altho the dog pictures were much fun. Think the trillium is not T sessile (botany book says leaves are not mottled) but perhaps T viride with sessile, mottled , plant about 10+inches tall. Not found in Wisc. But Georgia is definitely in its range
foam flower- perhaps, but hard to tell about the flowers. They should be on a long stalk. And the leaves are basil, with shallow lobes. But if not this, what? H
Harriet says
Oops,
That trilllium has a dark red flower with whorl of 3 mottled leaves (missed the flower the first look). How about “wake robin” Trillium recurvatum? H
HFR says
Oh my gosh! I love your dogs, @em. I just want to run up and hug Otis, the big galoot. Seriously, thanks for posting.
I see what is meant by not describing what you see with words that describe the function. It totally makes sense. I love the idea of bowing beginning with the mother trying to keep pups away from her belly and may explain why it sometimes fades as they get older. I also love that the mother will use play to keep the dogs away. Kind of sweet.
So interesting about the stalking. Especially since I’ve rarely seen two dogs do it to each other at the same time. It’s like whoever crouches first gets the upper hand because he gets to pounce while the other dog has to walk s-l-o-w-l-y forward trying to determine the exact instance when that will happen.
Years ago, I made a video of how my older dog would hold onto a bully stick by one end. My other dog, who was only 6 or 8 months at the time and much bigger than her, would chew on the other end while she was holding it in her mouth. Here’s the strange thing: The entire time she was holding it while he was chewing, a low growl would emanate from her throat. Not an aggressive growl, but definitely a growl. He just kept on chewing and I realized after awhile that she was enjoying it. I actually think it bonded them in a way that just play couldn’t. She had to trust him not to yank it out of her mouth and he had to trust her that her growl was like purring and not anything else.
Yes, I could watch dogs play all day and night and for eternity.
Love this blog!
em says
@Nic1 Thanks! Sandy and Otis do have a great relationship and I feel so fortunate that they play so well together.
As to the husky, you know, it was a while ago and I don’t remember exactly what happened after the muzzle lick in this particular instance. I’ve watched video several times now, trying to determine whether Otis was giving her a hard look or posture before she licked his muzzle and I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so. I can say that muzzle licking, ear flattening, head ducking, rapid tail wagging, lying down, and rolling onto her back is typical greeting behavior from this particular dog- she is lightning quick and very impulsive and vigorous in play- she does not seem to fear Otis and will usually follow a licking display by dashing around and jumping up on him in an excited way, which he tolerates. In this particular case, I THINK she grabbed the ball and ran with it for a few seconds.
Her greeting has always struck me as puppyish behavior, though she has retained it long into adulthood. Otis doesn’t generally engage with her in play (he generally won’t engage with puppies, either), though Sandy will, and they will play jostle-running, wrestling, and tooth fencing games in short bursts. She doesn’t put on quite as an elaborate submissive display for Sandy, but she does often crouch, and low wag or roll over on first approaching.
If I had to interpret her behavior, I’d guess that her submission/appeasement behaviors are part of a “charm offensive”. She is quick, impulsive, and physically rough in play, and older dogs in particular could take her style as an affront. By pulling out all the submissive social signal stops early, she seems to head ill feeling off at the pass, so to say.
It certainly seems to work- she is almost universally greeted with pleasure, even by dogs who don’t generally welcome that play style. It probably helps that she compounds the good feeling by not overstaying her welcome- her typical m.o. is to zip in, make a big submissive display, play like a maniac for a short burst if she can get any takers, and zip off again.
Whether her behavior is intended as meta-communication (“look, I’m going to bounce around like a maniac and that’s slightly rude but I respect you and really, really don’t want to fight so don’t take what I’m about to do the wrong way”
or pro-active appeasement “oh, hi! I know that was a very rapid and slightly rude approach, but I’m really not threatening so don’t be mad, ok?”
or very rapid response to social signals from slightly offended dogs, “oh, sorry! I see you’re a little mad, but don’t get really mad, ok?”
what I think it’s NOT is a seriously anxious or fearful social response. She doesn’t moderate her excited and rough physical play behaviors afterwards, or avoid contact with the dogs she rolls over for or muzzle licks- indeed she seems happy and comfortable in their presence.
Oh, jeez, I intended this to be a brief response, but I seem to have written another epic- I just can’t seem to control myself when it comes to this topic!
em says
Ok, one more thing and I swear I’ll shut up 🙂
I watched the video again on my much larger work monitor and while I still don’t remember for sure what happened in this particular instance, I’ve seen this scenario often enough that I can confidently tell you what WILL likely happen next, depending on what Otis does.
The video ends with Otis standing facing the ball a few feet away, and his husky friend having licked his face and moved off a few feet before turning back to face him and the ball.
If Otis turns his head away from the ball, she’ll grab it and run. (This is what usually happens).
If Otis grabs the ball himself, she’ll chase him.
If Otis stays where he is, eye on the ball, she’ll dash off and play with someone else.
Ok, ok, that’s it for now, I swear!
rheather says
I love the videos and pics of Otis and Sandy. I’ve been reading about Otis for years so it’s fun to finally see him.
Two places I’ve found to hone ‘what is that dog doing?’ skills are http://www.eileenanddogs.com and the Facebook group Observational Skills for Training Dogs. Eileen has a section on dog body language with videos and blog posts. I like to watch a video, note what I saw, then read the comments on what everyone else saw that I totally missed. And they really stress describing the actions you see before describing the dog’s emotional state on the Facebook group. It helps keep the drama down.
HFR says
Does anyone else remember that cartoon where a giant bulldog has a little dog buddy who keeps trying to get his attention and jumps back and forth over his back? That’s what that husky sounds like to me. It’s really adorable to watch, altho I have a feeling she would be an incredibly annoying (but lovable) person. 🙂
Bruce says
Em – The description of your husky’s “charm offensive” and vigorous style of play is spot-on for my year-old, 50-pound Red Dog. Her “charm offensive” includes bouncy body language, play bows, lying down (with smaller dogs especially), nose bonking, play-barks, and the “offensive belly-up position” (lie on back to draw the other dog in, and then pounce). If needed, she also deploys muzzle licking, looking away, yawning, scratching, and the classic expose-belly-while-flicking-tongue -with-one-paw-up. She just doesn’t understand it when another dog chooses not to play.
We recently added a remarkably spry 15-year old Sheltie mix to the household (don’t ask). Sheltie mix had been an only dog for most of her life but Red Dog is determined to win her over. Last night Red Dog spent the evening issuing every calming signal in her repertoire, and eventually the old Sheltie mix curled up back-to-back with her. Playing is still out of the Sheltie mix’s comfort zone, unfortunately.
Red Dog passed a big milestone today. I had her off-leash in a huge, partly-fenced field when she flushed a rabbit. After she chased the rabbit for about a hundred feet, I called her name and she broke off the chase and ran back to me! This was her first off-leash encountered with a rabbit, so there are not enough exclamation points to express how happy her glorious recall made me. Treat jackpot!
Patricia, I owe you a great deal of thanks for this outcome. As I mentioned before, Red Dog is the first dog I have trained using strictly positive methods. So far, so good!
Nic1 says
@em. I think we’re all fascinated with this subject, don’t worry. 🙂
Bless Trisha for allowing us to indulge in our geeky dog exploits on her blog.
The Husky girl’s behaviour is interesting because it’s almost to the point of being over bearing and obsequious.
It fascinates me because if the dog’s are engaging in meta communication, I am inclined to think that there is some level of self awareness of intent. ‘I will do X behaviour, because after that I will do Y behaviour.’ Ray Coppinger and his theory about dogs engaging in unconscious motor pattern sequences doesn’t seem to make sense here, but the jury is still out on consciousness and what it actually defines.
Bruce says
Quick dog play update – Red Dog met a field lab at the dog park today. Field lab’s owner apologized that she was working to socialize her dog, but that he usually chose not to play with other dogs. It was a quiet day at the dog park, so Red Dog had a good 15 minutes to work her charm on the field lab one-on-one. Eventually she succeeded, and the two dogs ran and played like old friends.
Here is the interesting part – when another dog showed up, the field lab made clear efforts to initiate play with the new dog. Apparently this had never happened before. Needless to say, the field lab’s owner was delighted.
My observation was that the field lab “borrowed” some of Red Dog’s play-initiating tactics. Maybe some dogs would like to initiate play, but they just don’t know any good opening lines . . . like teenagers at the high school dance? 🙂
English Golden Retriever Breeder in California says
I started my study and research on Dogs life. these several images shows that they are playing and you captured the exact moment. Thank you for your informative share that helps me a lot.
siful says
HEy i think they act as what they are. actually environment varies dogs act. the feel happy when some dogs play together.