Anyone who has ever loved a reactive dog knows that it isn’t a cut-and-dry thing. You have to experiment with your dog, learn his triggers, then work with what you can figure out.
With Lucas, for example, we realized that the first rule of dog-dog introductions – introduce new dogs on neutral ground so that no one feels territorial – does. not. apply. At all. Most places other than home feel unsafe to him, but when he meets dogs where he’s comfortable, he does much better. We also know that the leash makes him lose his mind, so off leash interactions are better if they can be safely managed.
Lucas and Molly have gotten to know each other in very controlled circumstances over the last few weeks. It was tense at first – she had NO idea how to behave appropriately with another dog, and he doesn’t react well to any rudeness. She spent a bunch of time with Emmett and Cooper, and she started to learn better behavior.
Which brings us to last night.
Every night, we’ve been bringing them all upstairs to the big room above the garage. One side of this large room is my desk and workspace, the other side is where our TV is, and the middle has a table. Last night, we went up with Molly on leash but we’ve been letting her and the boys roam a smidge. We turned on Modern Family and settled in when all of a sudden, Lucas started play bowing Molly! Out of nowhere he decided it was GO TIME!
John pulled out his phone and got a bit of video. It’s hard to film in this room because it’s dark – the walls are orange, the floors are orange, the ceiling is brown – but you’ll get a sense of what’s going on. A few things I noticed: Molly is super unsure at first. Her fur is raised and she’s doing a high flicky wag instead of a low loose wag. She also takes some pretty rude stances, as does Lucas. As time went on, they got better, but… I would LOVE to know what you see.
Lucas and Molly from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.
(Note: We were totally prepared with cups of water for emergency dousing, Molly’s leash on in case we needed to quickly extract her, and cans of cheese placed around the room. Plus, I tried to keep the other two dogs out of it because, as you know, that tends to escalate things too quickly, especially for dogs like these two.)
What do you see? What do you think? Any similar cues or signs that you’ve noticed in your dogs? Anything that would worry you here?
Heather B.
I love the term “zoomies!” Charlie constantly does that and I refer to it as “crazy circles” but I like “zoomies” better! It’s great fun and always gets me laughing.
Maggie
Crazy circles is good! I think I’m going to have to steal that! 🙂
Sarah
Great video! Their play session starts off a little awkward, but Lucas was very patient and Miss Molly made some nice appeasement gestures. I liked her little lick around :25 and when she went belly up around :49. Love how she got so pumped up playing with him! 😀
Maggie
GREAT eye! I totally missed the lick!! Nice observation!
Erik N.
Gotta say I don’t see much to worry about, it all looked pretty friendly! There was some initial dominance gestures; Molly’s high tail, Lucas’ head over her back; but then there was a play bow from Molly and Lucas engaging her in play! Aside from the tv and furniture it reminded me a lot of what I see at the dog park. There maybe some continuing dominance issues (Molly got on the couch and tried to do the head over back thing to Lucas) but it seemed like a pretty good start.
Maggie
Lucas is SO rude with the head over the back thing. He does that to so many dogs, which has caused him problems in the past. I totally agree, though! It’s a seriously great start, better than I expected!
Abby
Very cute! I think they looked great together (everyone)! Play time can often start off a little stiff, but they seemed to really loosen up and enjoy each other. Loose, happy movements and loose, happy faces! So cute. She looks like a little whippersnapper! Too cute.
Maggie
Oh, my gosh. Whippersnapper is THE perfect way to describe her. I know you’re in the thick of it, but I had forgotten just how much a 6-month-old needs… and all. that. energy. Whoo!
Phyllis
Oh Maggie I laughed so hard !!!!!!!! The kind of laugh that I heard adds years to your life. Then I had to watch it again and got a good laugh again. Thanks for sharing.
Maggie
Oh, I’m so glad!! 🙂
sofia
My comment is based on my experience with Cash and the frenchies. I think that Molly thinks of Lucas as the fun police. I think she wanted a little space from him. I say that because when Cash plays with the frenchies they resource guard his toys and they also latch onto his cheeks if they catch him. cash races around to get close to the toys they are guarding,to entice them to chase him. it turns into a little game of chase but he also wants/needs his distance from them. I also don’t see an issue with having a pecking/pack order in the house, as long as it’s not challenged and fights don’t break out. I think pups need to learn what appropriate play/behaviour is and sometimes the fun police has to step in with a growl, yelp or snap.
Maggie
I think you’re right on – she did want space a couple times there, but it’s such a funny pairing because neither one of them is any good at reading cues. A big part of Lucas’ problem is that he is a rude dog. He just doesn’t know how to behave appropriately. Molly has clearly never been around dogs, so she’s learning it all for the first time. It’s so funny to watch them stumble around each other – but, as you said, as long as fights don’t break out!
D. Cryor
My favorite part? Cooper! His cameo shot is great — he is trying to get out of the way of the crazy puppy!! And, of course, (perfect) Emmett is keeping track of it all, but listening to you. That was great play time. Good for Lucas! I think you’re right, Molly is still a bit unpredictable in her energy and how she is directing it. My two get the zoomies as well — and that is what we call it!
Maggie
Haha! That’s so funny! You’re absolutely right… and it’s hilarious because it wasn’t too long ago that Coop was the crazy puppy! Molly sure does have a LOT to learn, so hopefully these guys are good teachers.
jan
Far more entertaining than Modern Family and why would you want nice things when you can have performances like this. My dogs will suddenly get the urge for zoomies at the most unexpected times.
Maggie
I honestly LOVE when the zoomies come out of nowhere! It’s such pure joy!
Jodi Chick (+ Kolchak & Felix too)
I honestly thought that was adorable. You could tell Lucas was holding back on his play a bit in deference to the fact that he could smoosh Molly.
She definitely backed off a bit a couple times and he didn’t really take the hint, but no real red flags for me. Just sweet sweet cuteness.
Jessica
Aww, so cute. I’m really bad with dog/dog interactions, so I’ll leave advice to the pros. It’s definitely a good start.
Debra
Looks pretty good to me, but I’m certainly no expert. I think Molly is feeling her way in the world. I do see the head up thing, but it didn’t look bad at all. I think you’re off to a great start.
Jan K
That’s one of the things we’ve loved about having Luke…watching him run around like a crazy dog, and getting the older dogs involved too. We also keep a close eye on things because the older dogs can get over-stimulated sometimes. Then we’ll step in tell them to take a break. They kind of give me a look like “Mom, we’re FINE!”
Diane
I like the term zoomies too. We call them the puppy crazies.