Playing Fair (Guest Blog)

My good friend, Meghan, was able to do another guest blog for me. We discussed the matters of calming signals along with self handicapping in dogs. I felt she was more knowledgeable on the aspects of this latter topic so asked her to write about about it. This post and topic relates to calming signals which can be found in the December 2012 file of posts. Enjoy!

One of the reasons I love dogs and enjoy learning about them is that our base of knowledge about canine behavior is continuously evolving.  Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the concept of self-handicapping in dogs.  This is a phenomenon that most people who own more than one dog have observed but probably never thought about before.  Perhaps the term self-handicapping is a bit misleading because the definition (as it applies to human psychology) isn’t that flattering.  In humans, self-handicapping refers to an action or choice which prevents a person from being responsible for failure (Kolditz & Arkin, 1982).  People self-handicap because they have low self-esteem and are afraid of failing at something after putting forth effort so they make it appear as if they are incapable of doing something, even if they are clearly able.  In canines, the term refers to behavior that levels the playing field between two dogs of seemingly disparate size, strength or ability.

This behavior is the reason why my 104 lb Rottweiler can play safely with my 35 lb mixed breed.  Even though Cinna is three times larger than Ritter and could easily injure him during an enthusiastic bout of wresting there has never been a problem with the two of them even though they get rather rambunctious at times.  A well-socialized dog knows how to pull their punches so that their play partner doesn’t sustain injury.  They learn this very early in life with their litter-mates and mother.  If they bite too hard or play too roughly then their litter mates don’t want to play with them anymore or worse, they retaliate and hurt the aggressor in return.  This is one of the reasons it is so vitally important that a puppy stay with its mother and litter mates for at least six to ten weeks before being placed with a forever family.  Essentially, dogs learn that playing fair allows the game to continue for longer and keeps your playmate coming back again and again for more fun. 

For example, when my two dogs play tug, Cinna could easily jerk the rope away from Ritter at any time.  He is far larger and stronger (even as a juvenile) than Ritter.  However, not only does he NOT choose to win every game, he will use just enough strength to give Ritter a run for his money without overpowering the smaller dog.  This keeps the game going AND encourages Ritter to keep tugging.  Cinna will often go a step farther and allow Ritter to win (in fact, he allows Ritter to win most of the time during tug).  He has learned that if he lets the smaller dog win then Ritter will often bring the tug back and offer it to him for another go.  This self-handicapping isn’t limited to games with toys.  Often, when two dogs of such disparate size are engaged in wrestling type play, the larger dog will lay down and ‘sword fight’ with his or her muzzle in order to make it easier for the smaller dog.  If you’ve ever seen a Great Dane lay down while a toy dog jumps at his or her head and face while the Dane play bites at the smaller dog then you’ve seen an excellent example of self-handicapping (and an example of some well-socialized dogs).

 
This is a vital skill for all dogs to have.  As a dog trainer I can honestly say that the majority of social issues my clients have with their dogs (reactivity, aggression, over-stimulation, shyness, anxiety) are directly related to poor socialization.  If you want your dog to be able to play nice with others, it is vitally important that you allow your young puppy to engage in play and learn how to play fair with other dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages.  You can save yourself a lot of training headaches later if you allow your puppy to learn how to play with all different types of dogs.  Properly supervised puppy play is probably more important than formal training for the first few weeks of your puppy’s life.  From birth to about six months of age your puppy learns vital skills that it will need for the rest of its life.  Self-handicapping is only ONE of those skills.

 

A note about the author of this guest blog:

Meghan McMillan is a PetSmart trainer and has been working with dogs for several years. She competes in canine frisbee, has done therapy dog work and is working on getting into the obedience and agility rings. Thank you, Meghan, for taking time to address this topic.