Doc: dog to dog corrections explained
While making another video, this altercation happened between wookiee, a highly confident, very mature for an a half month old puppy, and doc, my dog.
As some background, hockey has been pretty merciless in harassing dock.
Things to notice: at the 10 second mark both Wookie and Doc come over to see me. I pretty quickly say an annoyed “stop.” There, I’m talking to Doc. He gets no correction, because he’s already upset and stressed out. He has asked Wookie (I’m the walk over to me) to leave him alone through body language and then a small growl. Wookie instead sniffs his face.
I say stop a second time, followed by a hiss, an arm gesture, and a snap of my fingers. There, I’m telling Wookie to stop. He’s ignored Doc’s requests and is sniffing Doc’s face. If I had a policer dog, that dog would cut in between them and shuffle Wookie away. This is how dogs learn to listen to each other. Since I don’t have a policer dog, I do it myself.
Around the 21 second mark I can see that Doc is annoyed and ready to act on it (high tail = ready to act/engage, stiff spine = negative emotions). The space is small, so even if Wookie is not trying to follow Doc, Doc is cranky enough to react to Wookie’s nearness. Since Wookie is behaving and Doc isn’t , I tell Doc to leave the room in order to manage the situation.
The second time I tell Doc to leave the room, Wookie is also standing in front of me and thinks I’m talking to him. What you can’t see is that Wookie walks passed Doc, while Doc stays in the doorway. Wookie, now trying to listen to Doc’s body language, can’t get past him back into the kitchen! So in a few seconds I realize the problem and bring Wookie back in.
At the end Doc walks back into the kitchen, and I don’t usher him out. This is because his body language is better, and he’s normally allowed in the kitchen. If a dog has to leave an area because of naughty behavior, in my world, they’re welcome to come back in.
Last, I’m in my PJs because I’m feeding the dogs breakfast and haven’t gotten dressed yet. Realistic dog training. ;)