Two Bitches Together

[lanabanana]

OMG triple post WTF

Edited July 4, 2010 by lanabanana

[tdierikx]

Going for the legs is designed to make the other dog go down. When the other dog goes down, it exposes it's soft underbelly... you work out the rest...

It could be that your small dog is going for your larger dog's legs because that's the only place it can reach... my girls are of equal size and weight...

T.

[Aidan]

I did mean to ask though, what is the signiicance of a dog going for legs as opposed to going for head?

And is this a bad sign in play?

On it's own in play it is usually insignificant. If both dogs have otherwise good social signalling then there is usually nothing to worry about, so for e.g, even if it did get a bit rough, if one dog showed signs of anxiety or tried to get away and the other dog respected that then it wouldn't usually be something to worry about (notice I'm using the word "usually" a lot though, nothing is ever black and white). It's an issue when one of the dogs is not respecting the feelings of the other and ignoring their signals.

One of my dogs bites the belly, legs and throat of the other. She has never drawn blood but I cautiously consider these to be "death threats" because she does not respect the other's wishes if he tries to get away or displays cut-off signals (and that is not fair on him, even if she really had no intention to ever really hurt him). It got to a point where there was a bit too much excitement in their environment (my daughter) so I separate them unless I'm able to give them enough of my attention to keep things under control.

[lanabanana]

I did mean to ask though, what is the signiicance of a dog going for legs as opposed to going for head?

And is this a bad sign in play?

On it's own in play it is usually insignificant. If both dogs have otherwise good social signalling then there is usually nothing to worry about, so for e.g, even if it did get a bit rough, if one dog showed signs of anxiety or tried to get away and the other dog respected that then it wouldn't usually be something to worry about (notice I'm using the word "usually" a lot though, nothing is ever black and white). It's an issue when one of the dogs is not respecting the feelings of the other and ignoring their signals.

One of my dogs bites the belly, legs and throat of the other. She has never drawn blood but I cautiously consider these to be "death threats" because she does not respect the other's wishes if he tries to get away or displays cut-off signals (and that is not fair on him, even if she really had no intention to ever really hurt him). It got to a point where there was a bit too much excitement in their environment (my daughter) so I separate them unless I'm able to give them enough of my attention to keep things under control.

Very interesting.

It's quite interesting you say that as are wee dog definitely does not respect th ebig boys wishes. She is still only yong (just turned one) and she will bite his feet and legs when she decides its time to play regardless of whether he wants to play or not. He will try and get away and she just continues. She is often tld to stop when he clearly doesn't want to play. She also will go for his throat, which doesn't cause any damage at all because he has a big loose neck and she usually comes out worse ff anyway because he can hold her down with one foot and there is nothing she can do about it lol

There are definitely no "angry" undertones though and the big dog is very patient with her and while he has never told her off (apart from the one time with food) he has a certain thing he will do when he has had enough and our wee girl immediately backs down then.

I knew if they could get the other dog down they would go for the soft bits but for some reason it never occured to me to put that together with the biting of legs.

I think though our girl is definitely just having a play, she mostly does it when she wants to be chased, and/or that's the easiets place for her to reach as his legs are by her face lol.

Learn soemthingnew though everyday eh. Very interestng about th legs.

[fainty_girl]

If you have a choice, I would look at having a male & female with suitable temperaments together.

I have 2 female dogs, Jessie & Tilly...when I was looking for my second dog I definitely wanted a male dog, but then I met Tilly and that plan went out the window..obviously if Tilly had a brother at the pound then I would have chosen him.

At first Jessie didn't want much to do with Tilly, and Tilly did come with some issues (like food aggression) but we sorted that out a long time ago and they happily eat their dinner side-by-side. I do separate them when they are eating bones though, but I would do this with any dog.

I would say they get along pretty well now for two female dogs with different temperaments; they like going out for a run together and are fine together around the house. The only thing I don't do with them at home is throw balls/toys inside the house when they are both wanting to play, because initially this did cause a couple of scraps between them (no damage, just noise!).

If they look like they are getting a bit huffy/bossy with one another, then we correct that too, which definitely helps I think.

[Vickie]

I have 2 males of similar size & age & 2 bitches of similar size and age. All 4 are the same breed but the girls have the same lines & the boys are bred differently. They tend to hang out in pairs. Boys & girls.

My bitches in particular are the very best of mates. I have never seen 2 dogs that get along so well. The sleep on each other, share toys & will happily eat out of the same bowl.

We recently added another bitch of a different brred, similar age but different size. Although we have no fights, I don't think, the girls will ever accept & treat her as they do each other.