Two kittehs in a sink!
tee hee hee.
The news cats and the old guard (AKA Nutz) are still unimpressed with one another. And yet, they are united in their distaste for their living-sharing.
Behold - Donutz is pissed off.
So is the kitten. Except she looks exactly like Donutz.
Hmmm.While I had hoped that one of these little cutiepatooties would be a partner in crime to Her Majesty, it looks like Donutz prefers to fly solo. So these little devil kittens are looking for homes of their very own.
Yes please, find them new homes. They make me so darn tired.
What are you talkin' about?
I totally never unraveled your toilet paper! I never did!
Yes she did.
Now get that camera out of my face. I'm trying to figure out how I can replicate myself.
Speaking of replicants ... The Sofa is one step ahead of kitten on that one. He replicated himself at the beach today.
Eerie, no?
It's kind of to be expected though. I mean, there's a lot of things to get accomplished in a day when you are The Sofa, and there needs to be more than one of you if you want to get it all done.
So many puppies to NOM NOM NOM
NOM!
Dee-lish!
Also, if you are The Sofa, you must steal Harriet's ball at least 8 / 10 times it's thrown in the water.
Too far I think.
Agh! Agh! Definitely too far!!
That sucked!
STOP STEALING MY BALL, A$$HOLE!!
(tiny dog. BIG voice)I'll take that, thankyouverymuch.
The Sofa seems to have settled down and is back to his friendly, playful beach self. He can even share toys, as long as they are not HIS toys. Seems he is over his snit.
Tweed however, was in a snit because Fergus was not sharing.
Damn it, Fergus.
The Biggest Snitty Of Them All was Rogue, aka The Scorpion.
She did not want to swim.
No! DO NOT WANT!
NO NO NO NO!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!1
When she paddled back to shore, she took out her bad mood on some random passing terrier. Poor little thing didn't know what hit 'im.
I'm just glad it wasn't me!
Yo, She is lucky it wasn't ME.
As for Woo, well ... there is no dock at Spanish Banks.
But Woo can get air anywhere.
So here's a question for you ... does your breed of dog recognize or behave differently around other dogs of the same breed?
Today Sofa met two dobermans. One of them (his doppelganger) totally ignored him. The other one beat the living snot out of him. I thought maybe they would bond or something.
My border collies recognize other border collies and relax around them. They don't mind other border collies joining them in their reindeer games, and if they see them from a distance they wag their tails. They are not particularly interactive with other border collies - or any dogs at all, actually - but they do seem to enjoy their company. Other dogs are not worthy of their attention at all, and sometimes are snapped at if they are too pushy. But it's really obvious that they recognize their own "kind" - Tweed even recognizes border collies on television, though he otherwise totally disregards television.
Is this true of your breed as well?
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At the shelter we find that a lot of times like dogs like to play with like dogs. So labs get on well with labs because they're both big and doofy and rough, pits get on well with pits because they're rough and tumble, chi's get on well with chi's because it's fun to run around and yap together, etc. I have noticed that Soda, who isn't nice to anyone, is less of a butthole to other border collies. They seem to "get" her neurosis and she theirs, so it's all one big happy neurotic love fest. Strangest thing: She met, totally coincidentally a border collie from the same puppy mill as she, with the same dad as she and LOVES him more than anything. She rolls on her back, whines, snivels up to him and it's her fambly! Everyone: AAWWWWW
longest comment ever. Sorry.
Can't answer your question cuz I'm a walker/sitter and NEVER see the same breed when I'm with my pups.
Today I decided to take the camera along on my walks. Ummm... could you please come with me one day? My attempt at pictures: FAIL.
Our dalmatian (who passed away last year) definitely recognized dalmatians and loved them most of all! All dals were like long-lost brothers to him, and the rescue would hold dal-parties where the dogs would run in one big happy pack like a family reunion - it was amazing!
My Airedale totally loves meeting other terriers, of any size, because all terrier breeds seem to 'get' each other and the terrier energy. Apart from West Highlands which are usually obese, spoiled and cranky.
Last week, though, Mojo met another Airedale, who turned out to be her full sister from a younger litter. They seemed to recognise each other - presumably the similarity in scent. After the silly idiot run-and-wrassle they actually lay cuddled up together, heads resting on each other's shoulders. I can guarantee I've never seen that from her before.
I don't think Zoe or Zeeke has seen their own breed before, so I can't answer that one. And we're still not 100% sure exactly what Zoe is, anyways.
Poor Rogue, looks like Oreo when she was younger, trying to get her to swim.
My dogs don't even recognize themselves in the mirror, let alone their own kind.
I noticed the other night, though, their fence buddies - two Goldens -- don't bother them at all when everyone is out back playing in their respective yards. Everyone sniffs and wags and talks to each other through the fence. But Dog forbid they see each other on the street during walkies...MORTAL ENEMIES.
Sigh. I wish I could take one of the kittehs. The black and white one with the crazy whiskers would be nice. But terriers and kittehs is a bad combo. Felines SO resemble rabbits, which SO resemble DINNER to my dogs.
I have a mixed-breed, rescued dog (chow and shiba inu, 98% sure), and she just recognizes DOG! And WATER! It doesn't fit the theory you posit, but then again, she's a mix.
My breeds are mysterious and unknown breeds. Let's just say exotic. As in exotic Watsonville street dogs. But they all recognize border collies. I guess because that's just who we hang out with. But they recognize bc's for all different reasons-one flirts, one screams like a monkey and wants to run with all border collies (esp. if they are having their turn at agility) and one hates all border collies with a vengence because they always want to touch her frisbee.
Only one picture of Woo? The kitten pictures almost make up for it.
Gracie, a mostly Aussie, is very selective about dogs she likes but always seems to like other Aussies. She is supposed to have some BC in her but it doesn't show and she is very snarky with BCs.
My Border Collie/Lab mix gets on well with every dog - except Australian Shepherds. I thought it was just the one that lives up the street from us - a Blue Merle named 'Sage'. But no. We were in our local park tossing a frisbee around with two other dogs, when someone introduced a B&W Aussie. Wow, Pepper's hackled went up and I leashed her right away. She didn't go for the stranger, but she sure did stand her ground and yell!
I don't think Charley, one of my border collie/rough collie crosses had ever PLAYED with another dog in her life (even though she was well socialized to mix sanely with them) until she was about five. That was the year she met another border collie - actually four of them - being boarded at the same place as her. And "LIGHTBULB!!" - she played and played and played.
Occasionally she will attempt to engage another breed in play now, but she is still breedist and shuns most other invitations to play.
Now my lab....that was another story. If the newcomer had four legs and fur, it was "Wanna Play, Best Bud?????"
It has never seemed to make a difference for the family dogs (Goldens and Cocker Spaniels mostly). However, my Border Collies, they definitely get along with herding breeds, and BCs in particular very well. My reactive boy wants to eat every other dog he sees agility class if they get too close, except the BCs. He'll play with them.
I remember the first time after leaving the litter that D-dog met another BC. He was about 6 months old, and was kind of nervous/submissive around other dogs. We went to a stockwork trainer who had a ton of BCs (of course). D jumps out of the car into this huge mass of dogs and after the initial butt-sniffing, fell in and played like he had known them all his life. :)
There are also breeds that they seem to dislike more than others. D-dog hates bully breeds and most labs, our last foster didn't like toy breeds (except JRTs) and bully breeds, and our baby doesn't seem to like very big, very furry dogs (like Newfies/St. Bernard's/etc., here is hoping he grows out of it, I love big dogs!).
Both of my two are card carrying members of the "border collie elitest club." No other dogs exist unless they are annoying and need to be told to back ^&*% off. Even when they do see another border collie it's a " OH, you're one of us, I guess you can join in. Just don't get in my way, I am very busy here."
With Duncan, my shelter mutt, I think he imprinted on the English Setters in the house. Especially the red/white female. This means that when he sees other English Setters or Brittanys or Springers, his Lab+Whaterver self charges them full speed, slides to a stop on his belly and tries to wrestle with the freaked out new dog.
He developed the "run up and hit the dirt" play style after the red/white female handed him his ass for repeated attempts to body-slam her smaller self (50 vs 90 pounds). New dogs do not appreciate his enthusiasm. One poor Brittany pup ran screaming (literally) for her people. Once he hit the ground, she eventually regained her nerve and played with his tail a little. They're now best buds and she runs straight for him to wrestle when she sees him, but she must have thought he was going to eat her that first time.
Duncan will play with some dogs at the dog park who are not Setter lookalikes (Pits, GSDs, Boxers, Bostons, Rots and Dobes- anything that will play rough and play chase gets his attention), but he is very selective with these non-Setters.
If they look like an English Setter he's all over them making a pest of himself. Completely ignores the red Irish Setters and the Gordon Setter he's seen, but made a fool of himself over an Irish Red and White so it is the splashes of color on a white background that draws his attention- confirmed yesterday when he bounced up to a Parti-colored Poodle (who ignored his play overtures).
My probably-a-BC is indifferent to most dogs, BCs included. There are a few specific exceptions, and a few breed-based exceptions: she loves Weimeraners, which tend to have a similar staccato playing style, and she HATES German Shepherds, unless they're solid-colored rather than sable. (She had one minor bad experience with a GS mix a few years back, and now carries a grudge against any dog that looks similar.)
Rosie is a mix of unknown provenance (even though she looks to have some Woo-like aspect to her), and she is strangely selective in the dogs she favors. She respects BCs and will play with younger ones but gives more mature ones space; she has a total crush on a Wheaton and recognizes other wheatons and tries to figure out if they might be her crush; she recognizes Ridgebacks (b/c she had a friend Ridgeback, and incidentally, Ridgebacks have total breed recognition); and she totally does not like poodles.
I'd like to adopt a kitteh, but Rose might eat it when I am not looking. She definitely likes cats.
Yes, my Shelties are total breed-snobs. They only really get worked up about other Shelties, or dogs that might appear to be Shelties from a distance (refer to Romeo's adventure with Smokey the Belgian Tervuren). They each have their "interracial" friendships (Romeo with is man-crush on a Mini Aussie, and Gio with his surprising infatuation with an Australian Cattle Dog), but definitely prefer dogs of their own type.
SNOBS!
Great shots!!! Momma kitty is such a sweetie!
As to my dog recognizing his breed.... Well, he's a mutt but mostly acts like the ACD in him and he most definitely recognizes different breeds. He hates GSDs ever since he was a wee puppy and wants to kill them. He LOVES other ACDs, BCs, Catahoulas and pitbulls and will play with them. He generally ignores other breeds. He's good with them, he just doesn't want to play or interact much.
Well, we don't know exactly what Cobweb IS, but she seems to be the opposite--she HATES dogs that are like her. Fast moving bully or GSD mixes = Trouble.
She really likes dachshunds and most small breeds, as long as they aren't afraid of her, and gets along with Aussies as long as they don't mind her pulling their fur--something about those long fluffy tails and manes is irresistible to her.
My Siberian Husky, Shaman, got along well with most dogs but reacted especially well to Northern Breeds.
Their vocalizations were similar and they seemed to read each other's faces well. My basenji, Tod, got along better with basenji & basenji crosses possibly for the same reasons.
My boys are Japanese Chin and don't even see other dogs, even when out for a walk. They ignore all barking and/or howling- unless it's on TV. They only pay attention to dogs on animal planet.
Weird.
Judi
Not sure about the breed-on-breed thing, but one of our dogs -- a Mastiff/possibly Rhodesian/possibly lab mix -- is prejudiced against border collies. She used to always barks her Big Mean Bark when we passed them on walks. She finally stopped barking at them, but I still don't think she likes them.
She loves labs, but we don't actually know if she is part lab or not.
Our other dog (a white shepherd) is oblivious to anything except for squirrels and small dogs that resemble squirrels.
Love your pics and commentary - completely cracked me up!
My lab does seem to recognize other labs, but since his best friends as a pup were 2 boxers and a bulldog/boxer, he LOVES boxers and doesn't play with many labs at my dog daycare. My kelpie/corgi mix just wants everyone to recognize her as the alpha - she doesn't care what breed it is!
My Aussie puppy Portia will only play with other Aussies. They play the same - chasing each other and then barking in each other's faces and possibly chest-slamming each other soccer player style. She doesn't understand other play styles, so I think that's why.
I think Donutz will get over her snit, really. You should keep the one that looks like here (that IS interesting...). She has distinctive markings though....you could use some kitten energy and so can Nutz... ;-)
Keep her, 'k? :-)
Oh, to ask your specific question about breeds liking same breed...I agree somewhat, but also think it depends on the dog & said personality. Most of the time, my BC's welcome BC's more willingly than "the others"...
Some of the Aussies I've had over the year seem to recognize and react positively to other Aussies. I always thought that was pretty charming of them.
My current dog is a rottweiler/australian shepherd mix and she seems to go with play style in choosing friends. Her best friends are a boxer and a german shepherd mix and she had a great time today with a small dachshund mix. As long as they want to bite necks she's happy.
My corgi, on the other hand always got along exceptionally well with other corgis. We used to go to an annual corgi party where there were up to 40 corgis, mostly strangers to each other, and I only remember one dog ever getting upset with the other dogs.
I think that Border Collies tend to get along with one another because they are able to communicate with each other. The ability to use and recognize body language is a skill that has bred out of many breeds to a large extent. Temple Grandin writes about this in Animals make Us Human. Huskies actually scored the highest in terms of communication skills that relate back to the signals used by wolves. But I'd be willing to guess that border collies would score pretty darn high as well.
Sonic and Tess pretty much ignore other dogs UNLESS they are other border collies. There is one big male border collie that we see in the nature reserve once in awhile. Tess recognizes him from way down the trail and goes absolutely giddy and goofy over this guy. She's never done that particular act with any other dog except this fellow. He must be SOME special dog to get Miss Sophisticated to act like such a fool.
I've talked to other border collie people in the area and they've told me the same thing.
My Siberian gal, Celeste, likes other northern breeds the best. She recognizes them when we meet them on the street. She beats up on other types of dogs, but I think that's just her play style. She's pretty rough and rowdy, except with pups.
Piper-the-Pug is totally attracted to other pugs.....not that there are many other pugs in the Lower Mainland. ;) God, drop a piece of cheese anywhere from Vancouver to Hope and you'll be trampled to death by herds of pugs.
Anyway! The punk thinks her breed is da bomb, and if there are no other pugs, she goes after anything with a tail. God, our dog has an ass fetish.
My Aussie Shepherd BC cross is completely indiscriminate in terms of breed. Some dogs she only politely sniffs and others she immediately wants to play with, but there does not seem to be any specific breeds that she does or does not like. Right now she's tussling on the floor with my friend's labradoodle who I am puppy-sitting for the night. They have been playing for the past 8 hours and show no signs of slowing down yet!
There's a corgi that is my dog's half brother who lives down the block. She will run to see him, sniff for a few minutes, then they both companionably walk beside but otherwise ignore each other. I dont know if thats genetic or just how she was raised. She was raised with a few very old labs who did just that same thing She wasn't much of a rough and tumble play puppy.
She loves to death big black dogs and will generally run around with any dog that is larger than she is. However she gets very upset at all but a few select smaller dogs, and is most perturbed by dogs that have few manners, such as puppies and small yappy dogs. She especially dislikes bull terriers.
When she just a pup we took her to the dog park. She was playing fine with everyone when suddenly a bull terrier puppy, just about her own size, grabbed her by the neck and started shaking her. He would not let her go. I was pissed. Luckily my corgi wasn't physically hurt, but she wont go near any dog that cant seem to control himself.
I definitely find that my dogs recognize dogs of the same breed.
Nova has made it clear that she despises other dogs, they are not allowed in her radius - if they enter her space she snaps and becomes the bitch-queen herself! Yeah, not so amusing when your 25 lb border collie is trying to take down a huge male rottie. =/
Nova does have dogs she gets along well with at least. The criteria usually involves the dog completely ignoring her. So she is in love with another BC named Maggie, runs to her from across the field and gives her kisses. One of her most favorite dogs in the whole world is a sable border collie mix who ignores her. She does seem to bond well with other BC's - they understand each others insanity and personal space bubbles.
Oh yeah, she loves my dad because he ignores her. Darnit, pay attention to me girl!
I've often wondered about this because my 2 bc's will only play with other bc's. They like to run shoulder to shoulder, but don't get in each others faces. At the dog park all breeds seem to get along and play, but my 2 are on the side lines and don't join in, they just hang together, and ignore the rest.
Except, for a T-cup Yorkie. This is definitely a squirrel and has to be annhilated. No command works, so more training. In the meantime we leave the dog park as this is definitely a law suit and vet bill.
My Belgians (Tervs and Groens) have always recognized and responded differently (more curious, friendlier, less reactive) to other Belgians.
Our flyball coach has six dogs, 3 border collies and 3 sport mixes (2 are mini-aussiexstaffy and the other bcxstaffy) she once said that she rarely has problems between her own dogs but when there is it is between the mini-aussiexstaffy's and the border collies they just don't understand each other as well. Two of my three border collies get along well with any dogs they don't really seem to care if they are borders or not. My third border has a very strong herding instinct and is not able to turn it off so he mostly herds any other dogs he sees BUT he is half brother to my oldest and he is absolutley in love with him like he knows they're related or something.
As a dog trainer, I think there does seem to be a tendency in the classes I've taught for dogs of the same breed or "breed category" to play well together, especially retrievers. With the labs and the goldens, it seems like they just appreciate their own Tarzan ways, where other dogs get fed up of the BONZAI approach the big lugs tend to take in play time.
My own labradoodle is 4 1/2 months, and I wouldn't say she's smart enough to recognize her own "breed" (ahem, labramutt). She's sweet, but she seems to want all dogs, regardless of breed, to lovelovelove her.
My red rescue Aussie clearly recognized other Aussies and would seek them out when she was younger. I think they were basically the only dogs she ever saw until I got her at 10 months. As she matured and became more dog reactive, she would react to most dogs in her space, but I have twice seen her break into spontaneous play with a strange dog. Now here's the weird thing... both were Border Collies, and both were red - the two incidents were years apart!
The other two, a mini Aussie and a BC, don't seem as clearly to recognize members of their own breed, but my male Aussie has breeds he absolutely loathes and can recognize hundreds of yards away. This is clearly learned.
Among clients, there is one breed that is hated by the most dogs -- and that is Boxers. Boxers have a very different play and greeting style than most other dogs, and also are "weird looking," and seem to really trigger many other dogs to the point where they become breedist. When I have a Boxer client I really make a point to counsel the owner about this potential issue and on good owner skills to minimize conflict and risk. Even perfectly nice and appropriate Boxers end up being targeted because other dogs have such bad associations.
Food Lady, consider keeping a kitteh. Cats almost never get along with new cats and generally adjust very slowly to change. The only flexibility they display is spinal! I think Nutz would get used to a new cat, especially a kitten, over time. If you are really drawn, don't let the initial resistance stop you. Just my two cents... from someone who had cats long before she had dogs.
Dear Food Lady, I can see that the kittens are bringing out the Angry in Angry Donut, but couldn't Mummy Foldy stay? I just can't seem to get enough of Yo Mama. Love that face! If you have to find her a new home, could she at least go to someone with your photographic skills and commitment to excellent blogging? (How's that for a goofy adoption requirement??) Oh, sure, good food and proper health care would be nice, too... :-)
My dog is a rescue Greyhound and is a dog racist--she ONLY likes other Greyhounds. All other dogs must be made aware of the natural superiority of Greyhounds by a lot of vociferous barking (she almost never barks otherwise) and angry faces.
The funny thing is, she also thinks the deer in the backyard are Greyhounds, and stands at the window and whines for them to come in when she sees them.
I can't really say with Sparky as I've never met another Sparky! And he gets on amazingly with all dogs, no matter what shape, size, breed, colour. Unless they try and take his ball.
Kota is too young to really sense any change in at the moment. However, other BCs definitely seems to recognise him! They'll walk straight past Sparky without even a sniff but will be all over Kota!
I have a pitty/american bulldog cross, and he tends to fall completely head over heels for anything smaller than him-- and that's most dogs. His best friend is a shepherd/lab cross, so he sees shepherds and begins to suffer from a severe case of wiggly-excitement face.
It's funny though, when he plays with other pitties it can usually go one of two ways. Either he falls madly in love with won't leave them alone, forcing them to snap at him, or he goes absolutely berserk and has to be removed from the situation. It's strange, since he has never had any problems socializing, unless the dog is either part pittie, or looks it.
Our Portugese Water Dog TOTALLY loves other Porties. At the daycare, they gang up and play flat out all day. She comes home tired and happy.
She plays well with other dogs too. Our neighbour has a Boston Terrier and they are best buddies. She just has a special connection with her own breed.
My current adult Doberman definitely recognizes other Dobes, as did our last one as well. She's not overly playful or interactive with dogs she doesn't know, but she does become obviously happy when she's around other Dobermans. My Dobe puppy just thinks everyone & everything is great at the moment, LOL. Not sure how he'll react to other Dobermans when he's older. My Tollers, on the other hand, don't really care about other Tollers. In fact, my one seems to get rather annoyed by their company.
Lizzie definitely acts differently around other westies and similar terrier styles - and she gets ready for a confrontation when she sees red aussies heading her way.
My BC "BG" notices and accepts strange BC's almost without question. This is in stark contrast to his reactivity to ALL other breeds of dogs he doesn't know. My BC Millie luvs all dogs, haven't seen her discriminate.
I just realized that Donut is a Scottish Fold! Where did you acquire Donut from?
I'm in Vancouver as well and have been looking for a Scottish Fold to adopt, but I never find anything in the shelters/rescues! I will keep looking, but in a few months, if nothing turns up, I think I might locate a breeder.
My dogs are more curious about other breeds and more relaxed with dogs that look like them and are more their size. The little ones make them nervous.
Our kitten unraveled the toilet paper today and I thought of that picture! :P
By the way, given time Donutz might start to get along with the other kitties. My elderly cat, Simba (my baby brother named him, I swear I'm not that unoriginal), lived with only dogs for the first 8 years of his life. Never saw another cat except through the front door occasionally. When hubby and I got married, Simba had to learn to get along with his cat Schaefer. Simba was royally pissed for, honest to doG, at least 4-6 months. He would throw a coniption fit every time he saw Schaefer. Then one day it was like someone threw a switch in his brain, and now he plays with Schaefer and the new kitten so much that I think he is trying to make up for lost time.
My BC loves other herding breeds, and is mainly indifferent to other dog breeds. Except, he is a total breedist when it comes to boxers. He can spot them a mile a way and goes ballistic at them. One time at the dog park he went after another dog, I promptly leashed and apologized, then curiously asked what kind of dog it was because it didn't look like a boxer and my BC had never shown any aggression to any dogs but boxers. I was flabbergasted when the owner stated it was a boxer-lab mix. I couldn't tell, but my BC sure could.
My BC only recognizes other herding breeds, and ignores all other dogs! The first time I saw her play with another dog, it was an ACD. She does not acknowledge my mom's mini-dachshunds.
Brilliant post! I am still stuck laughing at the nom nom moments...
Yes, my Shelties are TOTAL breed snobs too. They will not give another dog the time of day except for other Shelties; and even here theyre a little biased: they dont particularly care for bi-blacks or tris. Sables yes, and usually blue merles, but its almost as if they are not convinced that the blacks ared really Shelties at all. But they will go from snoozing under my chair at an agility trial to full blown flirt and "say hello" mode when a Sheltie walks by. But good luck if your a retriever...of ANY kind. They'll pay attention; but only long enough to give the mean teeth...
Love your blog
Sheltie-Mom Jenn, Heidi and Shelby
p.s.-did you notice a trend that it tends to be the herding dogs that are snobbish??
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