Dog Relationships

It is interesting to note how dogs behave together. Every dog treats each dog differently. Guinness is always ecstatically eager to greet everyone in the morning. If we arrive first, he runs to each one as they arrive. If they are there first, he can’t reach them fast enough. Oddly, none of the regulars race to greet Guinness, at least, not with the same exuberance. Fortunately, his feelings are not hurt! Here is Guinness’s routine behavior with each dog:

Lucy, a chocolate lab – If she is playing fetch, he ignores her. But if she runs, he will chase and chase and sometimes lead the chase game.

Riley, a black lab – If we are first on the field, Guinness will race across the park to greet Riley when he appears. They sniff each other a bit. They occasionally will have a brief romp, but not much. Riley and Lucy both know that when I call, “Come!” to Guinness, that means treat time, and they come to me for treats.

Mattie, a border collie – Since she loves to chase cars, Mattie is always on leash, which, I think, causes her to bark at everyone and have a snappy attitude. You can hear her coming before she is in sight. If a dog gets close to her, she would gladly take a bite out of them, so they had better skedaddle quickly. Guinness loves to taunt her. He runs in circle segments just beyond the circumference of her extended leash, causing her to run at the end of her tether in partial circles trying to reach him. If you call that play, he is the only dog that plays with her.

Smartie, an Australian sheepdog – Smartie loves to run and to play fetch. Sometimes Guinness will run with her, but not often. He wants nothing to do with fetch. Smartie will sometimes be vocal in play or dominant in a chase – all normal, happy dog play, but Smartie’s mother thinks she is being bad and throws her ball to move her attention away from Guinness.

Marley, a golden retriever – Marley is a huge golden with a serene face that reminds me of Aslan in the Narnia stories. Marley has some health and allergy issues, plus bad hips. I have not witnessed this, but Marley has been vicious with some dogs, so he is on a leash most of the time. Guinness loves Marley, and Marley seems to enjoy Guinness. Their play consists of head wrestling – trying to roll the other one over. I try to keep Guinness from playing near Marley’s rear end, as I have seen Marley nip at a dog that tries to mount him, causing him hip pain. Riley also enjoys head wrestling with Marley. Perhaps it is Marley who tells the dogs that head wrestling is his favorite method of play.

Burton, a Portuguese water dog – Burton often arrives after the other dogs have left. When that happens, the two of them have a wonderful time running all over the ballfield. If any other dog is present, neither of them pays attention to the other. So if Burton arrives while the other dogs are there, he will play with them but not Guinness. Bumpers are thrown for Burton to retrieve. If Burton is playing that game, Guinness ignores him.

There are a few others who drop by occasionally. Guinness always is eager to meet a new dog or greet an old friend. There is a Wheaton terrier, Seamus, who does not like other dogs, that walks by sometimes. Guinness was slow in learning that this dog did not want to play. Guinness always ran to him hoping to play with this new friend, only to discover that he needed to back away from this beast. Lately, he is beginning to recognize this dog from a distance remembering that the dog does not like him, but he still runs, then walks the last few feet to say hello. At the most recent encounters, Seamus appears to be learning that Guinness is OK after all and is willing to sniff and be sniffed with no repercussions.