Lisa_T
Well-known member
I am now very confused as to when to step in in any altercation with Holly and Amber.
Holly is actually very tolerant of Amber 90% of the time. She'll let Amber lick her, nibble her, lie beside her, lie on on top of her, and run off with her toys. They've started playfighting with lots of advances and retreats and play bowing and excited yipping. I've no issues with this, or with Holly putting Amber in her place if Amber is nipping/yanking etc- which admittedly happens much less now. When they've been apart for a while, Holly will run and dive and prace and twirl and try to get Amber to play with her. Especially when Amber has an attack of the wacky races. I think though that occassionally Holly has been too rough in this, and Amber can be cautious- but I've watched carefully and this behaviour is play. Holly behaves the same way she does when she wants me to play.
Then I read the very interesting article on 'He just wants to say hi!' and it's left me confused. After reading about resource guarding, and consequently rebuking Holly for snapping/diving for Amber when Holly has a 'resource' she wants, I see from the article that in some of those situations Holly's behaviour was understandable and should not be corrected.
For example, two incidents this evening.
One was on my lap. Amber was there first (I think) and Holly came up. I'm not sure whether Amber tried to pinch Holly's toy or did anything provocative, or whether Holly was simply resenting the fact that Amber was up beside me too. There was a little growling- but some of it might have been from Amber?- and Holly went to give Amber a nip on the ear but I didn't hear any yelping.
I said 'No!' and put both dogs on the floor. I *think* this was the correct response. They both need to know that they can both be on my lap/beside me (and indeed, have been so many times and gone to sleep curled around each other with no bother). Having said that, I notice they seem to have evolved a system. Usually, if Holly's on my lap first, Amber will go to the sofa, and vice versa. Tonight, now I think of it, *I* was the one who brought Holly up, so maybe I was the one who started the whole thing! Amber spent most of the afternoon on my lap (her choice) while Holly snoozed on her favourite spot on the sofa (also her choice) so...??? Do I respect this just?
The other situation is the one I recognise from the article. When Amber first came, she had a habit of pinching Holly's toys literally from under her nose. She frequently still does, but often only after she's sat and watched Holly for a while... and then slowly pinches the toy by stealth. Usually Holly lets her, mainly because she's not that bothered either way. It's funny to watch Amber being sneaky and Holly being dignified! However, when Holly is really enjoying her toy, she doesn't let Amber anywhere near it, and if Amber tries to come for it, or simply comes close enough to Holly for Holly to reasonably suspect she's up to something, Holly will often growl and give Amber a nip.
I've been thinking of this as resource guarding and have been trying to stop Holly from doing it- and they're great, they stop *immediately* at a word from me. However, from what the article says, Holly's behaviour was reasonable and understandable in canine terms- she was busy with HER toy (it was her favourite ring) in HER space, not harming anyone, and then Amber came that bit too close.. (although Amber actually seemed to be heading for me, and ignoring Holly..)- and Holly was simply warning her away. The article talked about how confused the dogs can get for being 'corrected' for this normal behaviour....
....and so I am totally confused. What do you think?
Holly is actually very tolerant of Amber 90% of the time. She'll let Amber lick her, nibble her, lie beside her, lie on on top of her, and run off with her toys. They've started playfighting with lots of advances and retreats and play bowing and excited yipping. I've no issues with this, or with Holly putting Amber in her place if Amber is nipping/yanking etc- which admittedly happens much less now. When they've been apart for a while, Holly will run and dive and prace and twirl and try to get Amber to play with her. Especially when Amber has an attack of the wacky races. I think though that occassionally Holly has been too rough in this, and Amber can be cautious- but I've watched carefully and this behaviour is play. Holly behaves the same way she does when she wants me to play.
Then I read the very interesting article on 'He just wants to say hi!' and it's left me confused. After reading about resource guarding, and consequently rebuking Holly for snapping/diving for Amber when Holly has a 'resource' she wants, I see from the article that in some of those situations Holly's behaviour was understandable and should not be corrected.
For example, two incidents this evening.
One was on my lap. Amber was there first (I think) and Holly came up. I'm not sure whether Amber tried to pinch Holly's toy or did anything provocative, or whether Holly was simply resenting the fact that Amber was up beside me too. There was a little growling- but some of it might have been from Amber?- and Holly went to give Amber a nip on the ear but I didn't hear any yelping.
I said 'No!' and put both dogs on the floor. I *think* this was the correct response. They both need to know that they can both be on my lap/beside me (and indeed, have been so many times and gone to sleep curled around each other with no bother). Having said that, I notice they seem to have evolved a system. Usually, if Holly's on my lap first, Amber will go to the sofa, and vice versa. Tonight, now I think of it, *I* was the one who brought Holly up, so maybe I was the one who started the whole thing! Amber spent most of the afternoon on my lap (her choice) while Holly snoozed on her favourite spot on the sofa (also her choice) so...??? Do I respect this just?
The other situation is the one I recognise from the article. When Amber first came, she had a habit of pinching Holly's toys literally from under her nose. She frequently still does, but often only after she's sat and watched Holly for a while... and then slowly pinches the toy by stealth. Usually Holly lets her, mainly because she's not that bothered either way. It's funny to watch Amber being sneaky and Holly being dignified! However, when Holly is really enjoying her toy, she doesn't let Amber anywhere near it, and if Amber tries to come for it, or simply comes close enough to Holly for Holly to reasonably suspect she's up to something, Holly will often growl and give Amber a nip.
I've been thinking of this as resource guarding and have been trying to stop Holly from doing it- and they're great, they stop *immediately* at a word from me. However, from what the article says, Holly's behaviour was reasonable and understandable in canine terms- she was busy with HER toy (it was her favourite ring) in HER space, not harming anyone, and then Amber came that bit too close.. (although Amber actually seemed to be heading for me, and ignoring Holly..)- and Holly was simply warning her away. The article talked about how confused the dogs can get for being 'corrected' for this normal behaviour....
....and so I am totally confused. What do you think?
