From a Growl to a Grin!

 Athena is very interested in Lexi's bone - and Lexi knows it.

When Athena gets too close, Lexi growls menacingly at her.  Like most terriers, Lexi has no idea how small she really is. She'll take on any dog that is looking for a fight.

Athena starts to circle Lexi, looking for an opening that will allow her to grab the bone.

Lexi never takes her eye off of Athena while she is being circled by the larger dog.

But when Athena leaves without the bone, Lexi appears to grin in diabolical delight.  She won!

Now why do people say that dog's emotions are so very different from human emotions?  In Lexi's case, anyway, that doesn't seem to be the case at all!

How Dogs Play

Lexi and Betty are best friends.  The two of them can play the whole day through - and they have!

Here is Lexi in the "Let's Play" position.  Anyone with a dog will recognize this pose.  Not everyone understands what constitutes "playing" for dogs, however, and with good reason.  Playing, for a dog, is a bit like practicing their life skills.  Different breeds have been bred to have specific skills; retrievers are bred to retrieve things, pointers point at things, herding dogs herd things, etc.  These same behaviors are used when they are interacting with other dogs for the sheer fun of it, which is as good a way as any to define "play".  

Not all breeds enjoy doing the same things.  My two terriers are completely uninterested in retrieving balls, for instance.  Terriers were bred to chase down and kill vermin, so Socrates and Lexi enjoy chasing and fighting. To complicate things even further, dogs like Socrates and Lexi are mixed breeds, and each has an unknown genetic heritage.  What this means is that they have an unknown mix of skills. Betty is also of unknown origin, but Betty and Lexi also like to chase and wrestle. When they play it often looks a lot like they are fighting to the death!

They are actually having a great time "pretending" to kill one another. What is interesting is that Betty and Socrates don't play this way; Betty will roll over immediately if he ever tries to play.  There are only a few dogs Betty will play with.
   

With Lexi, though, Betty gives as well as she gets!  That's one scary face on her, isn't it?

When things get too rough, Betty has a unique method of calling a time-out.  First she digs a hole in the dirt . . .

Then she lies in the whole and refuses to interact with Lexi or with anyone.

Betty stays in her little "den," until she is composed and ready to return to society.  It is really a sophisticated and complex group of behaviors that allow her to call a halt to unacceptable interactions while allowing her to calm herself.  As far as I know, it is behavior unique to Betty.  

I may be wrong about that, though, because I don't know what breeds make up her heritage.  She looks a bit like a Carolina Dog, a bit like a black cur, or maybe a red cattle dog.  She has some herding dog ancestry, for sure. She will often do the "Crouch/Stalk/Stare" like a Shetland Sheepdogs when she is playing, which is another example of playing as practice for real life.  Of course, isn't that true for all animals - including humans?  I think so, but I'm no expert. I just enjoy watching dogs interact. To me it's intensely amusing and endlessly fascinating.  

Heartache Happens When You Fall in Love!

The dog business can be hazardous to your heart.  I fall in love with all my dogs, but Gemma and Mac, my soft-coated Wheaten Terrier pups, were the light of my life.  Here is one-year-old Gemma posing with the flowers.

Little Mac is just six-months-old.  Watching him grow up these past few months has been a joy.  Soft coated Wheaten Terriers get lighter with age, so pretty soon you wouldn't recognize him from this photo.  But right now he is just a big, soft, adorable teddy bear!

Lexi is probably six to nine months older than Gemma, but they were great pals despite the difference in age and size.  Lexi was VERY protective of both Gemma and Mac, and she would get in anybody's face if she thought they were in danger.  They never were, but Lexi didn't trust any other dogs that got too close.  She obviously had no clue that Gemma was three times her size, either!

Here the three of them are taking a break from the hot sun.  Notice that Lexi is being ever so vigilant as she protects the puppies!

Mac is a fast learner.  By the time this photo was taken, he would run to me every time I called him.  My own dogs take their sweet time if there is something more interesting around!  In any case, I sincerely hope Mac and Gemma will soon return to us because I miss them terribly - and I bet they miss us, too!

Dogs Playing Ball

Big Heather and little Hoover.  You wouldn't think to look at them that they might be troublemakers.  They're actually NOT troublemakers, but they tend to leave a ton of trouble in their wake wherever they go.

All Heather wants to do is play fetch.  Constantly.  It's her normal behavior.  What was new here was Mac's interest in playing ball - Mac's very intense interest in playing ball!

What was also new was Gemma's intense protectiveness towards her little brother, Mac.  As soon as she understood that Mac wanted the ball, she went after Heather with a vengeance!

In her enthusiasm, she even crashed into Heather as she tried to snatch that ball from her mouth.  

It didn't stop with Heather, either. Gemma and Mac were just as outraged when Hoover managed to snatch a ball!

Lexi eventually had to step in and tell Hoover to stop teasing the puppies, regardless of the fact that the puppies were five times larger than he was. It was not clear whether or not Hoover got the point.

Although he certainly knew he was being scolded from every angle, I don't think he understood that the ball was off-limits to a little squirt of a newcomer such as himself.

Once Mac had control of the ball, all he really wanted to do was flaunt his ownership of it.  He taunted poor Heather mercilessly by making sure she could see it was Mac's ball now and forevermore!

Nutmeg: A Real Spice Girl!

Now THIS is a stunningly beautiful dog!  Meet Nutmeg, younger sister of Cinnamon, and therefore known as one of the Spice Girls!

Nutmeg is large, friendly, toy-loving, and very happy as long as she doesn't have to share her favorite toy.  Socrates was a bit jealous that she took one of his toys, but not so jealous that he tried to take it back!  

Gemma was thrilled to have another girlfriend to pal around with.  Lexi is a bit too frisky for Gemma's taste, so Gemma chose to pal around with Nutmeg for a while instead.

Nutmeg is the largest dog in our Play Group right now.  She makes a fabulous Packmate, and she is also very good on leash if you have the right leash for her. Otherwise, Nutmeg is strong enough to pull your arm off!  

How could anyone resist that gorgeous grin?  

Sox and the Big Stick

Socrates  never misses a chance to play his favorite game of stick chasing, but this time he overestimated his ability to run with a stick so large!

Little Mac seems a bit confused about the rules of the game.  Socrates is just confused about why he can't move with the stick in his mouth.

He is doing his level best to get the game going, but with limited success. He's not exactly racing around the yard!

It's as if they are playing chase in very slow motion.  They are barely reaching the speed of a slow stroll.

It is a conundrum, certainly.  All three dogs are putting their heads together to solve this one!

I can't resist puppies - can you?

Here's adorable 5-month old Mac.  Clearly Lexi wants him to play, and clearly he is not a bit interested.

Since Lexi is a year older, she clearly thinks she is the boss of Mac.  

Mac evidently has a whole different idea of who bosses who!

Finally Mac agrees to go for a romp with Lexi.  It may look as if she's won, but I think she's forgotten what being a puppy entails.

A moment of inattention on Mac's part, and  BOOM!  He crashes right into Lexi full force!

Now Mac knows better than to interfere with Lexi when she's taken charge, especially when Lexi stole all the treats with no intention of sharing!  (See the bag in her mouth?)

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Puppies!!

These are the cutest Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier pups you could ever imagine!  They are both purebred Wheaten Terriers, and they are both just babies. Gemma (in the back) is only 10 months old.  Mac, her adopted baby brother, is only 5 months old!  They might not look like they are the identical breed to you, but  Wheaten Terrier puppies look very different than the adult dogs, and these two are in different stages of their development towards adulthood.

Gemma and Mac had their first Play Group this morning, and we had a blast!  I admit to having a strong preference for the breed, and of course I can't resist a puppy of any breed - who can?  But much of my admiration and enthusiasm for Wheaten Terriers is due to the fact that my Socrates is a Wheatable, or a mixed breed that contains some Wheaten Terrier in the mix.

You can see a slight resemblance between Socrates and Gemma in this photo, even though Socrates is quite a bit smaller and he doesn't have the pure wheaten colored coat that an adult dog would have.  But the similarities go far beyond looks.  Socrates has a lot of personality traits that are wheaten-like.  He loves people and never met a stranger he didn't didn't want to kiss.  He is happy, bouncy, exuberant, and affectionate - all Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier traits.  Socrates and Gemma got along famously all day!

The most important thing about our first Puppy Play Group was that everyone enjoyed themselves, despite the pups inexperience in dog to dog socialization.  They are still young enough to adapt easily to new experiences.

Mac had an especially good time chasing after everyone, but it was clearly Lexi he favored.  She was not inclined to get romantic with him, if you know what I mean, but she let him know her boundaries and all was well between them after that.

This was a particularly funny moment.  All three dogs are riveted to the sight and sound of a helicopter flying over the yard.  I imagine it was there because of the Boston Marathon being run just a mile or two away from us, but it was clearly an astounding apparition to Gemma, Mac, and Lexi.  

By the time the Play Group was winding down, Gemma was absolutely exhausted.  It was quite an overwhelming change for her to be interacting with strange new dogs and being somewhere strange without a single one of her human family members nearby.  But being physically drained didn't stop her from covering me with kisses when she got home.  I beleive we are all going to become very good friends very soon!