Dogs for Thought

[LA]

While I was at the wedding this weekend I was sitting at the table with a dog obeidience trainer. One of the men at the table was asking her questions and came up with one I found really interesting and figured I would share.

He asked why is it that when there is a very dominate dog in the neighbourhood the other dogs seem to stay away from him/her?

Apparently when a dog marks it's territory from the scent the other dogs can tell everything about him/her, mood, etc.

Same thing happens when a dog smells your shoe. They aren't looking for a death warrant. They can tell where you have been, your mood, if you are ill or not and many things like that.

I found it so interesting.

 

[Moon]

There's a lot that dogs can tell from eachother strictly by scent, especially health problems. Add in things like hormones and pheremones, and watch out!!! You've got a nose based novel! The more dominant the dog, the more they'll mark. So if other dogs are smelling markings of a dog that pees on every tree, they'll know that that particular dog means business!

Another big thing is posture. Most dogs don't want to start a fuss, they just want to play and make buddies. So if they get any inklings, even from a distance, that another dog is going to be less than friendly (or overbearingly so) they'll keep their distance.

The problem with posture based signals is that some breeds send these signals all the time. Dogs like Malamutes, Chow Chows and Akitas (although all examples of breeds that are known to not be dog friendly) will very often be received badly before they even get a chance to sniff the other dog. Their ears are naturally pricked, tails are up over their backs and they often (especially males) have very scruffy, accentuated ruffs around their necks (kind of like a lion's mane) To a dog that's not familiar with one of these breeds (or if they've had a bad experience with another dog) these could all be seen as very bad signs... hackles up, ears forward and a high dominating tail. These all read as "I am coming to check you out, whether you like it or not!" (ears forward = keen interest, hackles = I'm big and scary/don't mess with me, tail up = I'm SO your boss!!)

 

[Shelley]

Dogs are so interesting Both of you raise really good points about what dogs can tell from each other by scent and visual.

I find my Australian Shepherd confuses other dogs.. as when he goes towards other dogs he crouches, stares at them, and moves slowly forward. I know its because of his herding lines, but other people, and dogs, don't know what to make of it. I find other dogs will shy away from him because of this. So posture is a huge thing with dogs.

I didn't know that they could actually tell illness, but now that you think about it, urine has a lot of markers for possible problems going on (liver, kidneys, blood cells, infection, etc.)

Are there any books out there on the topic? It actually might make an interesting read.

 

[jorats]

Very interesting!

We have two dogs, one is my sister's and one's mine but they are together a lot, in the pen outside or on walks. I guess I now know why my vet will ask me what is the other dog's reaction when we suspect one of our dog is sick.
Very smart dogs.