Roll of 28, Day 20: Geez, get a room

Tags

canine play, play bow, roll of 28, taiwan dogs

There was a pretty good, if rowdy, playgroup at the park today. My measure of its success is that even Bowdu was playbowing, chasing, and engaging other dogs beyond his typical intrusions (humping and bodychecking, which is his idea of “fun”).

When Bowdu gets into the fray, I have to monitor more closely. He tends to snarl and make all kinds of guttural noises when he gets revved up, and not all dogs (or dog owners) know how to interpret his excitement. So I missed a lot of great action shots, but I’m happy just to see him find other dogs he feels he can express himself around, instead of being an antisocial grump all the time.

Bowpi, of course, was keeping up with the crowd. Her silence is such a contrast to Bowdu, even when she’s running with a big, open-mouthed grin on her face. She’s a barkless Basenji, of course, and she doesn’t even pant after her sprints.

Unfortunately, the party was crashed when a streaking Corgi accidentally tripped the tallest, long-legged pup, who collapsed in a shrieking pile, apparently having twisted his paw. The sounds of canine pain are quite effective at immediately scattering a crowd. Maybe someone could package that sound as a mob dispersal tool.

Anyway, that was a quick end to the puppy party on the hill. The injured dog was eventually able to limp off, hopefully to get some rest and return to play another day.

On her terms

Tags

basenji, canine body language, canine play, play bow, scottish deerhound

This month is kicking my butt.

When the world refuses to lower itself to my level and meet me eye-to-eye… I have to rise up and face the challenges myself.

Peepsy knows how I feel!

Asserting herself

Tags

basenji, blind dogs, canine body language, canine play

One thing I really appreciate about Bowpi is how completely stress-free she is (for me) when socializing with other dogs. I have never worried that she will react inappropriately, violate anyone’s personal boundaries, or start something she can’t handle.

She has a knack for putting most other dogs at ease, and charming and engaging playful ones.

She plays best with dogs that are a similar size.

And while she will play with larger dogs, they tend to overwhelm her fairly easily.

I have noticed in recent months — and been able to capture on camera — that she does know how to assert herself, at least with non-Basenjis. If bigger dogs rush her or come on too strong, she will make faces or bat them off.

Just the lightest, quickest curl of the lip is usually enough to stop onrushing young dogs with too much playful energy, like the long-haired German Shepherd below.

I think she only pulls these faces when the other dog isn’t actually aggressive, just too exuberant for her preference. When she’s truly scared, she’s usually a lot more stiff, in contrast to the loose, playful bats she offers this young pup who was getting a little too mouthy for her liking.

Sighting: a rare match for Bowdu

Tags

canine play, shiba mixes, taiwan dogs, tugou

I can probably count the total number of well-matched play pals in Bowdu’s entire life on two hands.

This is one of them.

5 March 2012

When we first met Ah Su the Taiwan tugou several months ago, he caught our attention because he looked suspiciously like a Shiba mix. It’s definitely a possibility, given the popularity of Shibas in Taiwan. He has quite a slender build and relatively elongated form, though.

Ah Su was willing to play rough with Bowdu, rising to the challenge of his smack talk. Bowdu is really vocal when he plays, and he gets too intense too quickly for most other dogs who don’t seem to understand his body language.

But, like last time, Ah Su instantly connected with him.

There was a lot of butt-grabbing and mutual body-checking. I thought it was interesting that Bowdu actually let him get away with clutching his rump, but it seemed clear that this was done in the context of play, since Ah Su wasn’t actually humping him. Bowdu kept dropping and rolling to shake or kick him loose, but then he’d reengage by whipping the weight of his back end against Ah Su’s side. They truly made for a strange pair, especially with all of Bowdu’s growling.

Our tough guy was rather easily winded. He seldom gets the chance to exert himself like this with other dogs.

Before they parted ways, Bowdu had to get one final “word” in.

We’ll see you around, Ah Su!

Whatever you do, don’t look back

Tags

canine play, deerhound, scottish deerhound

6 December 2011

Hunker down, move forward!

7 December 2011

Whatever’s chasing you probably isn’t all that scary anyway.
(But only because you’ll never look back to know.)

The little dogs laughed to see such sport

Tags

border collie mix, canine play, corgi mix, mutts, pomeranians, terrier mix, wolfhound mix

3 December 2011

It was a day of most interesting mixes at the park.

From left to right: Bowdu, an Irish Wolfhound-Border Collie mix, two Fox Terrier + something short-legged mix, and a Corgi-Pomeranian named Riley.

SIGHTING: Muscledogs at play (pit bulls and mastiffs)

Tags

big dogs, canine body language, canine play, mastiff mixes, pit bull mixes, pit bulls

In a conversation with another Basenji owner at the dog park, she asked, “How’s the pit bull population here?” As in, the park. It was her first visit.

Without hesitating, I answered, “High.”

6 October 2011

And I added, “But the vast majority of pit bull owners that come here know what they’re doing. They’re here to socialize their dogs, and we haven’t really had any problems with them. We run into several every time we’re here.”

24 November 2011

These big dogs that we met on Thanksgiving are a case in point. I started watching them because all three were extremely vocal, mouthy dogs. They were growling and pummeling each other as soon as they met. But even though they sounded vicious, it was clear that they were just playing. It helped that all three were pretty well matched, and as a bonus, their people were right there watching them the whole time.

Raider, the black and white pit on the left, was in the middle of it all and having loads of tongue-flapping fun. Every now and then, Max the Mastiff would be pulled aside when his people sensed he was getting overstimulated. He lives with the brindle Chester, and while the two play very well with each other, they supposedly have a tendency to gang up on other dogs, especially when the play gets rough.

Bowdu wanted to cut in and referee at points, but the big dogs paid him no mind. In the below shot, Max is in time out, but Raider and Chester just knocked into him, causing him to twist against his collar and make Bowdu jump backwards. It looks awkward, but everything was under control.

See? Back to playplayplay.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to handle dogs this large and energetic, but it’s definitely nice to admire them from afar.

And up close, too!

The Italian Casanova strikes again

Tags

basenji, canine body language, canine play, italian greyhounds, sighthounds

We’ve run into Louie, an Italian Greyhound, a few times with similar results: Louie comes skipping towards Bowpi, jabs his pointy snout into her crotch, and causes her to yelp and scamper away. Absolutely aghast that any bella donna could reject him, Louie will follow Bowpi until she starts nipping at him. Eventually we’ll fall away from Louie’s pack, allowing Bowpi to recompose herself.

25 October 2011

Apparently, that’s how the routine goes on the other side of the bridge. But when Louie and Bowpi met on the grassy half of the dog park, she responded a bit differently. Though she put up some initial resistance …

… she finally succumbed to his wiles.

Bowpi and Louie sittin’ in a tree…

BIG Deerhound brother intervention: Oh c’mon kids, have you no decency? We’re in public!

Wait, hold on, I’m winded. Time out!!

Threetwoone-TIME-IN!

Yup, Louie’s a real ladykiller. Sweeps ’em off their feet, toys with ’em for a bit, then leaves ’em swooning in the grass.

Bowpi vs. Sighthounds

Tags

canine body language, canine play, sloughi, whippet

Though I’m having trouble pulling myself back into a school year frame of mind, things have quickly gone back to normal for the Bows. Since the Doggy Daddy doesn’t drive, they missed out on their daily dog park visits while I was gone. However, both of their skin irritations improved steadily in my absence. Hmmm…

I hate to admit it, but it seems pretty clear that the outdoors that we all love so much does contribute to their allergic flareups.

So it’s some kind of trade-off. Quality of life versus perfect skin? As long as we can keep things in control, I think they’d rather have their visits to the dog parks.

20 August 2011

Here is a handsome pair of Whippet brothers whom we frequently run into. I love how prominent Bowpi’s ridge appears as she anticipates their approach.

A curious, gentle muzzle in her face…

They stand quite a bit taller than Bowpi, though they don’t seem that much bigger.

I think she was playing it safe this time, as she had gotten overzealous the last time she initiated play with another sighthound. Just a couple days ago, we ran into our Sloughi friend at another dog park. Bowpi was the one who actually goaded the Sloughi into a game of chase, but there’s no way she could have outrun the leggy young dog. She accidentally got trampled at one point, shrieking in fright.

(Warning: loud wind in the video — turn down your speakers if you find it as annoying as I do.)

Video taken 18 August 2011

As soon as Bowpi tapped out, the Sloughi diverted his attentions to a larger German Shepherd in the vicinity. Bowpi took a second to collect herself, but she went trotting off right after them again. She’s funny in that she gets overwhelmed easily, but rebounds quickly and will carry right on as if nothing happened.

Awkward play

Tags

canine body language, canine play

We’ve never forced the Two Bows to physically interact, except for group walks or car rides. They’ve pretty much always been free to determine their own space in relation to each other, to be as close or as distant as mutually permitted.

But I think they’re learning.

Video from 8 March 2011

Haltingly. Awkwardly. They’re learning to speak each other’s [body] language.

I think we could all use a master decoder, though…