Is this bad manners?

[celloyogi]

I'm trying to decide if Olive is displaying poor manners with her boyfriend or if she is just overly friendly. Charlie, the Shar Pei a few doors down, is Olive's boyfriend - the two of them just love each other. Charlie's dad told us that when they walk past our yard, Charlie will stop and stare at our house and whine/moan if he doesn't see Olive. Olive will spot him all the way down the street and the two of them are like a slow-mo sequence running towards each other.

Charlie plays with Olive even when Olive goes nuts. She wants to run in circles, she's got her butt in the air and front feet flat on the ground trying to get Charlie to chase her. I would chalk it up to friendliness but if she did this to any other dog (especially one I didn't know), I'd say it was poor manners. I would never allow her to act like that around a dog she didn't know or any other dog. That probably is answering my own question. The only thing making me unsure is the special relationship the two of them have and whether that changes anything. In a dog park (which we do not use) I would see this as friendly interaction/play.

And yes, I've read that article about the friendliness v manners, that started with the example of the two people on the bench in the mall.

 

[Jess041]

I'm confused.. are you talking about a "play bow"?

I don't see a problem with a play bow as long as she's not jumping on another dog. Some dogs drive me nuts because they see another dog and they're instantly like, "wrestle!" and jump on the other dog.

 

[celloyogi]

I'm confused.. are you talking about a "play bow"?

I don't see a problem with a play bow as long as she's not jumping on another dog. Some dogs drive me nuts because they see another dog and they're instantly like, "wrestle!" and jump on the other dog.

Yep, a play bow. That's not so much the concern as the whole thing put together - running in circles, jumping around (not on Charlie), running back and forth pulling on the leash, etc. I suppose it's the equivalent of the "wrestle!" reaction but without the jumping on Charlie. Olive is more interested in playing chase. She is just so crazy about it.

 

[Caro]

Actually I think a play bow is good manners. She's asking permission to play then it's up to the other dog whether they want to play or not. She's also showing the other dog she's non threatening so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[JacqueZ]

I might liken it to two teenage girls squeeling and running at each other to hug? Not something she's going to do with everyone but when she's close with another dog perfectly acceptable. I think the real test is whether the other dog is giving back off signals.

For instance Honey demonstrates the same behavior with her friend Emma, they just go nuts when they see each other, jumping running around the yard, dancing on the leash until we release them and they can run up to each other. However since Honey sees her at the end of her walk (and is a quarter of the size) she runs out of steam quicker and lays down. At this point Emma proceeds to hit her with her paw to try and get her up.

Normally I would consider that horrible manners, but Honey seems to love it, she doggy grins, rolls over and does her wiggle, rubs against Emma, but never ever moves away to avoid her. So it's just another part of play with them.

 

[celloyogi]

I might liken it to two teenage girls squeeling and running at each other to hug? Not something she's going to do with everyone but when she's close with another dog perfectly acceptable. I think the real test is whether the other dog is giving back off signals.

For instance Honey demonstrates the same behavior with her friend Emma, they just go nuts when they see each other, jumping running around the yard, dancing on the leash until we release them and they can run up to each other. However since Honey sees her at the end of her walk (and is a quarter of the size) she runs out of steam quicker and lays down. At this point Emma proceeds to hit her with her paw to try and get her up.

Normally I would consider that horrible manners, but Honey seems to love it, she doggy grins, rolls over and does her wiggle, rubs against Emma, but never ever moves away to avoid her. So it's just another part of play with them.

They sound so similar! I would say Olive and Charlie are like middle school kids going "steady" because they don't hold hands with anyone else in the hallway. I really do need to get a video. Everyone here knows what a crazified Sheltie is like but to see a love-sick black Shar Pei acting the same way, it's hilarious.

 

[melbell]

Actually I think a play bow is good manners. She's asking permission to play then it's up to the other dog whether they want to play or not. She's also showing the other dog she's non threatening so I wouldn't worry about it.

This. It's a gesture as I want to play, will you play? Versus her getting right in his face. If she just went up and went straight in his face, bad manners, but instead she's asking. Nothing wrong with a play bow

 

[Internette]

I think the play bow sounds so adorable and I would think it was good manners as well. Some of the dogs at the park do a jump on the back side and right back down, do you know what that means? Is it a boy thing?