Dog society

I was in the bedroom, trying to get some work done, when I got distracted by the peals of laughter and sound of scampering coming from outside.  The three dogs were having a right old chase around the living room, with puppy crouching down low, wheeling away, rushing back sliding on the wooden floors, tail waving, legs going everywhere.  Monkey was in the midst of it all, screwing up his face with anticipation, waiting for puppy to come rushing back again.  The anticipation was almost more fun than the actual chase and he'd just crack up and chortle as she crouched low, preparing to dash over again.

He pulls himself up on Daisy (the short haired doberman-X) who's just the right height to be a dog walker.  Daisy looks a bit worried at first but soon realises it's nothing and just stands there, patiently.  (Pic shows Monkey in December).

We wonder if he's learning about dog society and behaviour from being amongst a pack, which, after all, behave differently from just one dog.  There's all sorts of interaction between them- the Cat getting annoyed at puppy bugging him, Pippa telling the two younger ones off to maintain the hierarchy.  He's learnt one thing- to respect the cat!  He's watched Cat land a swipe at the dogs often enough to know that Cats must be respected.  He used to try to reach out to grab the cat, but of late, he's become a lot more cautious.  It was just before bedtime last night, and Monkey was playing in his bedroom.  I heard meowing and opened the door to find Cat sitting outside it wondering what was going on inside.  Monkey's always fascinated by Cat, and came up to see him, and, instead of grabbing, reached a finger out cautiously.  Cat sniffed the proferred finger, Monkey chortled with glee and then clasped both hands to his chest- he'd had enough of courting danger for one day.