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#1
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I'll take yours instead
Why is it when given two identical toys/treats/chewies two dogs always want
the one the other dog has? Are they jealous? Worried that they might be getting the short end of the stick? What's the deal with that? |
#2
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I'll take yours instead
"MauiJNP" composed these thoughts and posted them
: Why is it when given two identical toys/treats/chewies two dogs always want the one the other dog has? Are they jealous? Worried that they might be getting the short end of the stick? What's the deal with that? Mine don't. I think a lot has to do with making sure a dog honors another dog's space and possessions. Once a dog leaves something, it becomes fair game. Danny used to distaract other dogs, by grabbing a sock, throwing it in the air, kicking it, shaking it, and making a big fuss. He would make that sock become the most animated and interesting toy in the world.When the other dog would leave the desired object, it then became fair game. And as he would go retrieve the abandoned object of desire, and the other dog investigated his sock, and only discovered that it was a lifeless/limp/boring sock, did they realize they had been had. But I can put a dish down in the location where a dog feeds, and not another dog will touch their bowl all day, even if one dog leaves stuff in it. This is because I teach them, what is in your bowl is YOURS, and even if abandoned, coveting someone elses food bowl is NOT ALLOWED. When a new toy of object of interest appears, they will often sit their patiently waiting for the other dog to get through with it, so they can investigate it, But they will NOT take it from another dog. Luring the dog away and distraction IS allowed however. |
#3
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I'll take yours instead
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 10:34:02 -0500, "MauiJNP" wrote:
Why is it when given two identical toys/treats/chewies two dogs always want the one the other dog has? Are they jealous? Worried that they might be getting the short end of the stick? What's the deal with that? the grass is always greener on the other side, so, whatever the other dog has *must* be better than what you've got. it can be especially entertaining when you've got 5-6 bones, and the dogs play musical bones with them. -- shelly http://www.cat-sidh.net The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks. -- Douglas Adams |
#4
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I'll take yours instead
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:43:14 -0600, diddy wrote:
Mine don't. you can control what your dogs *want*? I think a lot has to do with making sure a dog honors another dog's space and possessions. Once a dog leaves something, it becomes fair game. she didn't say she allowed her dogs to steal items from each other. she said they *want* the item the other dog has. not the same thing at all. -- shelly http://www.cat-sidh.net I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music. -- Joan Miro |
#5
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I'll take yours instead
MauiJNP wrote:
Why is it when given two identical toys/treats/chewies two dogs always want the one the other dog has? Are they jealous? Worried that they might be getting the short end of the stick? What's the deal with that? In my household, of the three dogs, only Scully, the female BC, will "start" a rawhide chewie. The other two leave theirs lay, then lurk around, waiting for the chance to snatch Scully's. Gooey chewies are the best. Fortunately she's relatively good natured about it, and just goes and finds one of the untouched treats. I think she actually comes out ahead in the game, as measured by total chewie consumption. Kathleen |
#6
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In article , MauiJNP wrote:
Why is it when given two identical toys/treats/chewies two dogs always want the one the other dog has? Are they jealous? Worried that they might be getting the short end of the stick? What's the deal with that? With my dogs, it's not a case of wanting it instead, it's a case of wanting it also - just plain old greed. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community. |
#7
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I'll take yours instead
I don't know how others feel about it, but this is one situation where
I only intervene if absolutely necessary. After all, the dogs are all going to left alone together, with chew/other toys and they have to figure it out. Yes, I assist that with some warnings of my own, but a warning growl or lip from the dog who has the object, is usually sufficient to teach the greedy one to back off. It's also something of a game to some extent. Lucy has the bone. Franklin decides he wants the bone, despite there being 80 other ones in the general vicinity. He stares. He woofs. We whines. Lucy raises a lip, continues to chew on the bone, and eventually turns her head away and allows him to have the bone. And these days, Rudy, who has wanted to do that, but has been warned off by Lucy, takes the bone from Franklin and everyone seems satisfied. He and Franklin often share a bone (or ball, or tug, or.......). If Lucy wants the bone, she acts interested in something else, and when the other dog leaves the bone, she takes it. Rudy wants everything. He is constantly learning (and re-learning?) that he doesn't always get it. Sighhhhhhhhh. OTOH, the other dogs let him literally walk all over them (I swear he's part cat) and are pretty good to him in general. Wonder when his puppy license will expire. -- Janet B www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album |
#8
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I'll take yours instead
In article ,
Janet B wrote: I don't know how others feel about it, but this is one situation where I only intervene if absolutely necessary. Ditto. I like them to exercise their doggie social and negotiating skills. The one thing that cracks me up every time is that the dogs have learned that Emmett is really greedy and they take steps to manage the situation themselves - when they all get a greenie Saber takes it and goes upstairs, Eclipse makes a beeline for the door and asks to be let out, and the others just generally disperse. However, since Crow moved in Emmett's sense of entitlement has been diminished and he no longer does his hover-and- stare schtick to bully the other dogs into giving up their treasure. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community. |
#9
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I'll take yours instead
"MauiJNP" said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:
Why is it when given two identical toys/treats/chewies two dogs always want the one the other dog has? Are they jealous? Worried that they might be getting the short end of the stick? What's the deal with that? My perspective is way more anal than others', since I have dogs in my house that I don't know as well as my own. I don't give out any valuable toys/treats/chewies unless they come from my hand and can be consumed immediately. There are plenty of toys available - mostly tug, some nylabone (AKA, not *that* valuable). Problems can arise simply because a dog has possession of something else another dog doesn't - but I can mitigate it somewhat by using not-overly-valuable stuff that's not directly under my control. Of course, the definition of "valuable" changes by the day and by the group of animals. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#10
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I'll take yours instead
"shelly" wrote in message news On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:43:14 -0600, diddy wrote: Mine don't. you can control what your dogs *want*? I think a lot has to do with making sure a dog honors another dog's space and possessions. Once a dog leaves something, it becomes fair game. she didn't say she allowed her dogs to steal items from each other. she said they *want* the item the other dog has. not the same thing at all. Thanks for backing me up. I don't let them steal each others stuff but they really want to sometimes (though not all the time). With toys, I do let them play tug of war over it when they both seem to agree its just a game. If either starts to get aggressive about it, I intervene. When it comes to things like rawhide, they each start out with their own and usually end up trading every once in a while (Cali abandons hers first and Maui steals it, then Cali takes his old one with the process repeating every few minutes). They are doing better than I imagined and are really good with each other. I really feel lucky about that. |
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