Dog Training Videos Are an Easy Way to Learn About Dog Behavior

If you watch these short dog training videos and read the accompanying explanation, then you'll learn a lot about dog behavior. I call them dog training videos because the information you get from watching them can help with training your own dog.

The more you understand how dogs communicate, the better you'll be able to communicate with them. Plus, you'll quickly learn the difference between dog play and aggressive postures.

Here is a wonderful display of conflict resolution behavior.

The dogs are my friend's chihuahua and our dog Joey (who is a sled dog and possibly border collie cross). These two dogs are very familiar with each other and play together often.

Macho is a neutered male Chihuahua about 4 years old. At the time of this video Joey was a 2.5 year old intact male. This entire interaction lasts less than 15 seconds (at the end of this post is a slow motion version of this video to test your viewing skills).

A little background...

I would not leave these two dogs together unsupervised (at play or at home).

They both have a short reactivity switch. That means things like tennis balls and toys kick their prey drive to "on" fairly quickly.

If I did not know these two dogs I would have stepped in to redirect their attention before they got to this level of discussion.

The owner of the chihuahua and I are very aware of the reactivity between these two dogs and are always watching for confrontation resolution signals. We are not worried about this particular incident.

Dog Language is Subtle to Unaware Humans

This is why it seems like a dog has reacted out of the blue.

Instead we simply missed all the signals.

Look for these behaviors in the video...

Joey never leaves the toy even as Macho chases him.

Both dogs are aroused, but have not kicked into predator modeWatch the excited short wagging bursts

In the end you see Joey shake (Macho does to, I didn't catch it on film).

To shake it off is almost a literal translation for dogs. My explanation of shaking is that it releases the built up arousal and resets the system.

Now check out the video in slow motion and see how much can be missed in real time! (You will also get a chuckle out of the slow motion sound quality.)

Here's Another Dog Training Video

These are our dogs playing in the backyard.

The play is rather benign, but that allows you to see some very subtle dog language going on. I apologize for the quality. I still have some learning to do in the editing department.

I would like you to watch this dog training video carefully.

My husband Jon is in the background playing chase a bit with the dogs. It's easy to notice the play bow that the big white dog (Larry) does a few times.

You will also notice the dog that always has a ball in his mouth. That's Joey. He has 15 of of those balls in that corner. At one point the ball hits Kyra's foot (the black dog), and Joey hesitates and goes around her to get it. She throws him a glance and that is why he moves around her.

There is a point where Larry runs down the fence with Joey chasing. Larry is in prey position (being chased) and Joey is in predator position (chasing). Most healthy dog play is a constant switching of who plays what position in the game. Often times, the more secure dog will initiate being chased.

Kyra is a spayed female and 13 years old. You will see at one point she humps Larry. This is a very common part of play. Most people worry that humping has some rude meaning behind it.

According to accomplished dog behaviorist and trainer Jean Donaldson Oh Behave!: Dogs from Pavlov to Premack to Pinker humping is one of 4 FAPs or fixed action patterns. Fixed action patterns are genetic behaviors displayed when the right stimulus lights up the corresponding neural network.

Keep in mind that play is a way for dogs to practice social skills without confrontation.

Social beings (such as dogs and humans) rely heavily on conflict avoidance to survive (you can read more in The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture)

Humans often use dog play as exercise for their dogs, but too much aroused play is stressful, harmful, and nothing resembling exercise. This is why benign play like you see in the dog training video above is so important.

The final concept I want you to get from these dog training videos is how dogs rarely approach each other head on.

They approach in a circle, perpendicularly, or from behind. A lesson all of us humans can remember the next time we want our dog to do the recall in a straight line.

See how much you learned from these two dog training videos? You can learn a lot from these dog training pictures too.