What a sweet daddy! Sonny, the French Bulldog, is too stinkin’ cute for words. What good manners he has with his babies—play bows all over the place!
Friday Fun: Sonny Playing With His Pups
We Like: Proper Play In Dogs Video
Check out this fascinating video analyzing what makes up a good play exchange between two dogs. One of the things my parents are encountering with their new pups, Bart & Sadie, is knowing what is healthy play and what isn’t. It’s not always easy to tell, but in this video, Cristine Dahl, shows us what is going on in this play exchange between Truman (9 mos old) & Puff (7 yrs old).
Cristine is an incredible dog trainer, educator, and dog behavior expert. She was a great help with transforming Saffron into a well adjusted dog. Cristine wrote a wonderful book Good Dog 101 that is really well written, accessible, and useful—a lot of dog trainers are not good writers, but Cristine is great! She graduated from the Academy for Dog Trainers at San Francisco SPCA where Jean Donaldson, author of Culture Clash, taught and opened her own dog training studio, Seattle Dogworks. Cristine then went on to found her own school for dog trainers, Seattle School of Canine Studies. And yes, this is a total plug for her, because she really is outstanding, and I don’t recommend anything or anyone lightly!
Friday Fun: Chaucer The English Bulldog Meets His Puppy Daughter
Besides being sweet, this is some pretty cool video from a dog behavior point of view. Great play bows—you can see photos and read about them. The lifted paw is another friendly gesture. Want to learn more about canine body language? Check out Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide Interpreting the Native Language Of The Domestic Dog, by Brenda Aloff. It’s an outstanding and very useful book.
The only thing missing is oodles of praise for Chaucer for being such a gentle dog!