• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

My ruby acting differently

Bruce H

Well-known member
I thought I would mention something I just noticed the last couple days with our ruby Isis. Isis will very seldom actually play with the other dogs; she'll run with them as a pack, chase the ball with them and so on, but seldom ever really play. Our 4 month old tri puppy Duece has been a real challenge for her, as he is ready to play with anyone.

However, my daughter is in town for a week and brought her chihuahua Pickles to stay with us. Well Isis and Pickles have been playing like crazy; I haven't seen Isis play like that since she was a puppy. So we have been trying to figure out what it is about that chihuahua that Isis likes so much. Isis is a big girl at about 19 pounds and Pickles is about 5 pounds. So far, the only thing we can think of is that they are close to the same color. Could Isis be "racist", God forbid :lol: Any ideas out there? Anyone else experience this type of thing?
 
Yes Bruce
She is trying to tell you something, since she is your only RUBY
I think you definetely need another RUBY.
Is she going to have a litter this year ?????
Maybe you could keep one of those puppies Bruce.
She is by far outnumbered at your house.
Sorry how many tri's do you have ???
I don't think I ever saw any b/t's in your group either.
_________________
 
Funny you mentioned that because the breeder we just picked our new Cavs up from yesterday was mentioning that her alike colored Cavs all seem more drawn to each other. Our new pup Nanook (although he looks far from a pup, lol) was the only black/tan in the home and he was the most standoffish. I wonder if there really is a coeralation....... Glad she found a friend. I agree. You need to add another ruby to the pack!!!!!!! :D
 
Cavaliers would not be able to distinguish much difference in colour amongst other cavaliers --as they cannot see shades of red at all and most of their eyesight is in the blue/green range. So a tricolour and a blenheim will look basically the same to a dog, probably just barely-different shades of dark grey spots on a white background, while wholecolours would look black or dark grey. Here's an explanation of why -- this is part of an interesting longer article:

Owners who want to better understand their canine companions must recognize that dogs
see the world from a different visual perspective. The differences begin with the structure of
the eye. "We have a good idea what canines see because we know the make-up of the
retina of a dog's eye," says Dr. Ralph Hamor, a veterinarian and specialist in ophthalmology
at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital.

The retina, which covers the back of the inside of the eyeball, contains cones and rods-two
types of light-sensitive cells. Cones provide color perception and detailed sight, while rods
detect motion and vision in dim light. Dogs, which have rod-dominated retinas, see better in
the dark than humans do and have motion-oriented vision. However, because they have
only about one-tenth the concentration of cones that humans have, dogs do not see colors
as humans do.

"I generally explain that dogs see like a color-blind human," says Dr. Hamor. "Many people
think that a person who is red/green color blind cannot see any color, but there are
variations of being color blind. Most people have vision that is trichromatic (three color
variations). People who are red/green color blind are dichromatic (two color variations).
Dogs can pick out two colors-blue-violet and yellow-and they can differentiate among
shades of gray." Dogs are unable to distinguish among green, yellow, orange, and red. They
also have difficulty differentiating greens and grays.

Dogs use other cues (such as smell, texture, brightness, and position) rather than rely on
color. Seeing-eye dogs, for example, may not distinguish whether a stoplight is green or
red; they look at the brightness and position of the light. This and the flow and noise of
traffic will tell the dog that it is the right time to cross the street.

From http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=116

But maybe they sense something different about the behaviour of dogs of each colour; who knows?

Bruce maybe the chihuahua is more puppylike in size but without some of the puppy behaviours that bother older dogs sometimes, so therefore is the perfect playmate for your ruby? It is an interesting question! Maybe it comes down to a combination of small size and this specific dog's personality. Jaspar and Leo have specific dogs they really like -- one small spitz around the corner and a jack russell down the street in particular. They see a neighbour's ruby cavalier more often on walks and I walked them all daily for a week recently while she was ill, but this didn't bond them any closer. They like to see Jack but he isn't special the way Prince and Nico are for some reason!
 
Sounds as if she is NOT racist at all but is interested in learning a foreign language - Spanish is all the rage!

JaneB
 
Well, to add to the strangeness, here's the latest. A friend brought over her B&T yesterday for us to watch while she gets married and goes on a honeymoon. That chi and B&T are the same way together; they play like crazy! But the B&T doesn't seem all that interested in the other dogs. Very strange!
 
Bruce H said:
Well, to add to the strangeness, here's the latest. A friend brought over her B&T yesterday for us to watch while she gets married and goes on a honeymoon. That chi and B&T are the same way together; they play like crazy! But the B&T doesn't seem all that interested in the other dogs. Very strange!

Are you teasing me, now you have me worried. :shock:
Maybe it is because they are way out numbered with all the
bleinhams and tri's.
Come on Bruce, I thought you loved ruby's :D :D
 
Well Bruce, looks like you might need to branch out into chihuahuas!! :lol:
 
The ruby and B&T don't really care that much about each other. The common denominator is the chihuahua. I have to say, that chi is the sweetest little boy!

Karlin: If my wife (let's face it, she's in charge) branches out into chi's, I may branch out into the funny farm! I can see I'm going to have to keep Kris away from you :lol:
 
My neighbor has a Blenheim boy that is about 2 years old. You won't believe it, Bruce, but he doesn't care for my B&T girl. They had about decided he was to be an only child when they "test drove" a Chi and guess what??? Best friends in about 10 seconds. What is it about those funny little guys with our Cavs? I think you need to get at least one so Isis can have a best friend, too. Kris will cave, you know she will.

JaneB
 
One of our Icelandic members has a mix of cavaliers and chis. Pics are back early in the photo gallery... they make a nice mix!
 
karlin said:
One of our Icelandic members has a mix of cavaliers and chis. Pics are back early in the photo gallery... they make a nice mix!

Karlin:

Roxanne is also a member on this board and I believe she has 3 chis and
one cavalier puppy not to mention the kitty kats.
 
Yep ! I have 3 Chi's and 1 New Cavalier puppy ! Chihuahua's are so awsome .....as are Cavaliers ! I think they are the BEST 2 breeds out there ! Bruce ........awwww, whats 1 more itty bitty dog ? They hardly even count ! I think you should get Isis one as a playmate too !

This is my experience with my Chi's .......... they are the sweetest babies ever, who break all the steryotypical rules ........they are not yappy (I do have 1 yappy one ) , they dont bite and they love all....including strangers ! They are fine with all of the other dogs they meet .......but I do have to say that Colby is a little too playful and pouncy bouncy right now for them ...........he wants to play sooooooooooo bad , but they just look at him like he's crazy ! The chi's will warm up as he learns that he cant come running from across the room and body slam them ! LOL They are all good sports though ;) The Chi's curl up and snuggle with any warm body !
 
Back
Top