Do Dogs Fall in Love Like in the Movies

By Tamara McRill

Remember that romantic kiss scene in Lady and the Tramp? You know the one…where they are eating a big plate of spaghetti and unknowingly slurping away at the same noodle, until their snouts meet in a smooch. Then Tramp noses the last meatball across the plate to Lady.

Aww. So adorable, right? Not to kill the cuteness factor, but have you ever wondered whether dogs can really fall head-over-paws in love like that?

Doggy love is a hard topic to find solid research on, maybe because it’s hard to qualify the emotion separate from simple affection. A lot of scientists seem to just flat out not believe in it.

Anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Social Lives of Dogs, believes that dogs can fall in love. In her book, she tells the story of Sundog and Bean, two dogs that met each other by chance and only had the pleasure of each other’s company for a brief period of time. Bean’s owner was a builder and they were off as soon as the job was finished.

Sundog would still faithfully wait to hear the sound of the vehicle Bean’s owner drove, but to no avail. He stopped eating and slept more often. Even bringing in another female dog didn’t interest him. As for Bean, her owner believed she was yearning for Sundog, even to the extent that she would run away, looking for him.

Sundog and Bean’s doggie “romance” may not be quite like it is in the movies, since their story lacked a happy ending, but their love seems real enough to me. Even a little reminiscent of Ben and Jade’s touching story, “Ties that Bind: What One Dog Did for Love.” Except that Ben and Jade did have a happy ending where, after trials and tribulations, they found each other again…much like Beethoven and Missy in the movie Beethoven’s 2nd.

I’ve only had two dogs that I ever considered “in a relationship.” Bo and Daisy were malamute and husky mixes that were bonded from birth. They played together and had puppies together.

Daisy passed away first and although Bo was sad, he seemed to recover fairly quickly. I’m sure this had much to do with his incredible bond with my mother. So were Bo and Daisy two dogs in love? It’s not like they were separated long enough to search each other out like Ben and Jade did and dramatically prove their devotion, but who am I to judge? I think it’s entirely possible they were “in love.”

So yes, it seems to me that dogs can fall in love with other dogs, just like Perdita had her Pongo in 101 Dalmatians and Marmaduke had both his Jezebel and, ultimately, his Mazie. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to witness my Wuppy nosing his CANIDAE Pure Heaven treats over to the love of his doggy life. We’re not just talking about fleeting puppy love here, but a long-lasting, deep emotional bond. Surely that’s favorite treat share-worthy!

Has your dog ever fallen in love with another dog?

Top photo by Michael Gil
Bottom photo by Droid Gingerbread

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Dog Days of Fall Back to School Tips

Fall is a time of changing routines as family activities move into high gear. “I receive an increased number of dog bite calls every year during times of change such as vacation and school start up”, says animal behaviour specialist Teresa Lewin. Changes in routine are stressful for dogs. Anxious and upset dogs are more likely to bite and statistics show that most bites to children are caused by a family pet.

Here are some tips to keep the dog from becoming anxious and to keep kids safe: 

• Supervise dogs and children at all times!
• During times of transition while everyone is getting ready for school or coming home from school, secure your dog in a calmer setting (such as a crate or gated area) with a safe and engaging chew toy such as a Kong or stuffed bone. Noisy children can get dogs very wound up and excited. This can lead to unintended injury.
• Do some training or play with the dog for a few minutes after the kids have gone to school. The dog can get lonely when all of a sudden the family is gone and he is all alone for the day.
• If the entire family is out for the whole day, try to have a neighbor or dog walker come in at lunch time to play with the dog and take him for a walk.
• After school, bring the dog back into the general area with the kids once everyone is calm. Have each child take a turn take a turn asking the dog to do something (a trick or even just sit) for a treat so that a calm routine is established around coming home time.
• Learn to read dog body language and teach kids too. The Doggone Crazy! board game (see below) is a fun way to learn how dogs communicate their feelings.
• Watch for signs of anxiety such as yawning, lip licking and half moon shape in the white of the eye (pleading look). Intervene and redirect both kids and dog to another activity if you see any of these signs while the kids are interacting with the dog or are playing in the vicinity of the dog.
• Teach kids to respect the dog. If he turns his head away or moves away the kids should leave him alone. Ask the kids questions about the dogs feelings. For example, "What do you think Fido is trying to tell us when he walks away when we try to pet him?"

• Practice basic obedience with your dog for short periods several times a day to keep him out of trouble and to stimulate his mind.
• Take kids and dog for a hike in the woods. A tired dog is a good dog!

Dogs are important family members but it is critical to remember that they are animals and they still have natural dog behaviors and instincts. Dogs do best when they are shown what we want them to do and are rewarded for good behaviour. Dogs like routine and to know what is going to happen next. By planning ahead and providing the opportunity for the dog to be in a low stress situation around kids, everyone is poised for success and trouble free transition to fall routines.

About the Doggone Crazy! board game:

Save 20% until the end of September 2012. Use the discount code FALLGAME when purchasing the Doggone Crazy! board game at the Doggone Safe store (US and Canada only).

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Case File Help! Is My Dog a Threat to My Crawling Baby

We got an email from a parent, with concerns about her newly crawling baby and her two dogs.

Dear Doggone Safe: We have two dogs: one is a certified therapy dog and one is a rescue coon hound. We had a baby this summer and she is 8 months old now and starting to crawl. We have researched information before she was born about dogs and babies. And we have set up gated areas and dog safety protocols in our house. Always supervision etc.  But I have a question that I cant find an answer or help with..... My daughter likes to crawl now - everywhere- and even when the dogs are sleeping on their dog beds she tends to crawl right to them and wants to touch them -their tails, faces, ears etc. I am a first time mom - so I redirect her to something else... say no.... when we are holding her we allow her to pet our therapy dog on her side/ back etc., to try to show her the correct way... although she is very young still to understand. I am just not sure how to teach her at this age how to give the dogs space and respect. Is what I am doing correct? Should I be doing more?  Is it just a matter of constant redirection of her to something else when she crawls to the dogs? Even our therapy dog gets annoyed after awhile of course. I dont want to have to ban the dogs from the living room completely I just need some advice or reassurance of what we are doing so we establish good behaviors from both our daughter and our dogs. Thanks for any help you can give me!

We passed this question on to our dog and baby expert, dog behavior consultant Jennifer Shryock. Jen will of course offer one on one consulting to make sure and get all the details so that she can offer help, but there are probably many others who have the same issues.

If you have a newly crawling baby, you know that your life has become much more complicated! No longer does the baby stay where she is put, contentedly watching from the safety of a play pen or other piece of baby apparatus. Now the baby is mobile and she wants to explore and interact with everything, including the dogs. Now you find yourself following the baby around and finding out that even though you thought you had thoroughly baby-proofed, there are sill hazards that the baby will undoubtedly uncover.

There is no such thing as a 100% baby-proofed dog. No matter how sweet and gentle your dog is, there comes a point where he will not tolerate any more from the baby. Hopefully at this point he just relocates to a safe area that you have provided for him, but he may decide that he has no choice but to growl or bite if the baby persists.

Jennifer Shryock gives this advice to parents of crawling babies:

At this stage moving babies look quite different from other humans and most dogs are uncomfortable. This period is a time of intense management and setting up parent guided interactions.  I use the phrase "invites decrease frights and bites"  as crawling babies  approaching a dog makes dogs uncomfortable and is a leading cause for injury at this age. 

Here are two prerecorded webinars produced by Jen that will help answer many of the questions that parents of crawling babies often ask:

Webinar presented to the Association of Pet Dog Trainers

My Dog Growled at My Baby... Help!:

For more information or to arrange a consultation please visit Family Paws Parent Education

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