"Glenn Lyford" wrote

Cash knocked her with his shoulder (not hard enough to knock
her down and didnt look like he intended to do so)

In my experience, dogs are very body-space aware. They may choose to
ignore your or another dog's personal space, but they know when they
are doing it. The hip-check and shoulder-check may look accidental,
but is all part of how the dog is taking and using that space, and at
times, controlling the body position of the other dog/human, or at
least asserting their right to do so. It can be playful, it can be
assertive, it can be aggressive, but it is rarely accidental.

Yes. My phrasing above was meant to indicate it was deliberate to bump her
and deliberate to not bump so hard as to knock her off her feet (which he
can, she weighs about 1/2 what he does).

This was after the nip on his ear and trying for the leg.

It sounds worse than it was. It was conducted with an almost playful
attitude but there were too many negatives.

Actually we were worried that they'd never be fully trustable alone all day
with just each other. Cash-pup is very gentle with a pretty much
'beagle-ish' temperment (meaning he acts mostly like what they say most
beagles as a group pretty much act like). Like all individuals, he has his
differences (doesnt 'bugle-bay' as much for one). If he were other natured,
he'd be a real problem.

As said earlier, it's 'suspected' the other half may well be bull mastiff.
He has the general long body and floppy ear of a tan beagle (not tri-color,
the other ones) and first 'impression' is beagle but if his ears were
different, you might be thinking 'oddly short legged Bull Mastiff with a bit
of a long nose'. Chest, neck, and jaw muscles particularily stand out as
'That aint no beagle'.

His favorite bones are the big 12-14 inch ones with the 6-7 inch joints on
each end and center about 3-4 inches. Only large dogs can comfortably pick
those up and walk around with them. Cash has no problem and literally eats
them (we tossed the 3-6 inch section left of the last one yesterday).

Weighed him when I came home (been trying to trim him down just a little as
we overfed and he slipped up to 61 lbs). He looks real close to 'right' at
the moment for his shape. Slightly undertucked belly, proper waist incut
then swells out to muscular legs and hips. He's 57 lbs. I mention this
only so as to prevent confusion. I refer to him as a 'beagle mix' but he's
not your standard small beagle mix sort.

Other things to watch for are the head fake, the air-nip, air-bite,
all signs that the dog is simply saying "I'm not gonna...this time,
but, you know, I could...if you push me". Again, it can be as much in
play as anything else. Then again, establishing pack order is part of
the play for them "hey, I'm having fun AND I know where I am in the
pack" (hip check, play bow, bark) "...chase me?"

Ok, I'm learning! Thank you. I knew some of that but could you tell me
more on the 'head fake'?

Hehe Cash does these with the Lab that comes over sometimes. She's an older
lab (about 9 I think) and doesnt like to play for long, but enjoys playing
for a bit as she has no dogs to play with at home. So because she blends so
well, Ben sometimes calls to drop her off for a few hours while he does
shopping or whatever. (Ben's wife is in a wheelchair and while she can let
the lab out, it's peaceful for her to have the place to herself now and
again and not have to negotiate the ramp).

Hehe it was funny once. A stranger pulled into our driveway (just checking
a map or something and turning around) and Cash started his 'bugle bayy
call'. She walked right up, looked at him, then bopped him on the head with
her chin. He shut up immediately and just 'looked at her' like ?huh? With
no muss or fuss, she is he 'grande dame' visitor who graces him with a
little play ;-)

It's the ones who go all the way to sinking in the teeth without
letting you know ahead of time that "hey, you're pushing my limits,
and I think you should know" that are especially worrying. Sometimes,
though, it's just a case of us dumb humans not paying close enough
attention and not knowing how to read the signs.

Then again a chihuahua taught Cash to 'play gentler' by biting him when Cash
accidently got too rough. It was a deliberate 'you hurt me now go easier'
and ever since, they've been famous friends with Cash being very very
careful with his little buddy. (Cash got excited at being given a doggie
biscuit and stepped on the chihuahua who bit him in the foot. Both were
fine).

I notice it with my girl dog much more than with my older male, there
is a constant test to see if you're paying attention. I'm not sure if
that's a young dog thing, a girl-dog thing, or a lab thing, or just a
dog thing in general (I suspect, the rest probably just determines the
degree).

Probably a bit of all together I imagine.