He Only Wants To Play

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Johnnalyn
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:48 pm

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by Johnnalyn »

An interesting take on this subject. While I do agree with most of your points, I'd like to point out that dogs are very social and emotionally rich beings. No, they are not people nor should they be treated like anything but a dog. But I believe there is value in social interactions between dogs and not all of it is malicious. In fact, there are many instances where it is not. I agree that no one should ever allow there dog to run up to others that they don't know and often times a dog running up to another can end badly. I also agree that not all dogs are (or ever will be) social butterflies with other dogs. Many dogs enjoy and are perfectly happy with human company alone. Just as there are people who are more comfortable with animals than other humans.

However, dogs can learn a lot from other dogs. Not just about manners and how to act around other dogs, but also to understand the importance of bite inhibition and other social interactions. It also helps to give them confidence to deal with other situations in life- the more a dog is used to, the better adjusted a dog will be to take on new situations. I do not believe all play is maliciously based. I believe a lot of play is more about getting to know another dog and enjoying another dog's company. In more complex terms, dogs have an autopoietic social system in which all dogs work to create the most balanced and organized system they can with other dogs. That's not to say that all interactions between dogs are harmless. In fact, many play sessions can and will turn malicious. Many times, a dog may run up to another dog and invade that dog's personal space and thus is reprimanded for the bad manners. Many dogs I see at the dog park appear to be unmannerly in their attempts at play and thus result in an unpleasant outcome for both the dogs and owners. Atleast, that's what I see.

Here is a personal favorite as far as articles go for me: http://www.nonlineardogs.com/100MostSillyPart1-3.html
sammie
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 7:37 pm

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by sammie »

Oh no, we got another dog for our pup to have a companion, would he of been better as an only dog? I am hoping this works :/
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by Nettle »

sammie wrote:Oh no, we got another dog for our pup to have a companion, would he of been better as an only dog? I am hoping this works :/

If you handle it well and make sure each dog has plenty of individual attention and exercise, and neither is allowed to threaten or upset the other, then you should be fine. Lots of us have more than one dog and make it work. But we do have to work at it - it rarely just happens :) As long as we are aware of the potential snags, we can do well. But we do need to understand that we get other dogs for ourselves, not for our dogs.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by WufWuf »

I would take what non linear dogs have to say with a grain of salt :wink: . They use a lot of words (far too many for me, I can never make it all the way through one of there articles without feeling like my brain needs a good wash) and I think this can make it look like there is some weight to their ideas but some of what they say is waaay off the mark in my opinion - for example confident dogs DO NOT roll on their back when surrounded by a group of strange dogs, if they do they are not thinking "everyone will be charmed by the smell of my belly".
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by Nettle »

Just read it, and I agree about the brain wash. I'm so glad I didn't have to edit or mark that :lol: whether one agrees with it or not (and I don't) it could have been said in half the words.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Johnnalyn
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:48 pm

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by Johnnalyn »

I agree, it is a bit wordy, but it was meant to be more of a scientific review paper as opposed to a succinct point. If you look, their articles are based on a long-term study and multiple other peer-reviewed articles. There are a few things I don't exactly agree with in the article as well, but I love how they take a different look at the subject. I feel like it gives a good different perspective to ponder. :) Plus, if you click around, they have some nice scientific papers sited that I found very interesting!

I'm a veterinary and biology major in college right now though so I'm a little bit of a scientific paper nerd haha
AlbertQuin
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2016 2:06 pm

Re: He Only Wants To Play

Post by AlbertQuin »

Yeah, cool story!
In most cases dogs are very friendly, and they can be the best and sometimes the only friends for people!
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