Chapter 101: The Problem Lies with the Other Dog

Even after being contradicted by Zhang Congwen, the lady of the house remained steadfast in her opinion, explaining, “The Saddle is always so energetic and lively. That might be why the Little Suit doesn’t want to play with it, but the Saddle insists on trying to play.”

It was only then that Zhang Congwen realized the lady of the house had little understanding of canine body language and was particularly fond of interpreting the dogs’ behaviors through her own conjectures. Such an approach to raising dogs was, in itself, prone to problems.

He decided that before any actual training, he must first teach the lady some basic knowledge about reading a dog’s body language.

Zhang Congwen said, “Earlier, when the Miniature Greyhound pressed its head onto the Miniature Pinscher, it wasn’t because it was tired. That’s actually a dominating gesture, akin to someone saying, ‘I’m the boss, you have to listen to me.’ Just now, when the Miniature Greyhound kept following the Miniature Pinscher, it wasn’t trying to play, but rather to keep it under surveillance. From these two points alone, it’s clear that your two dogs don’t get along well.”

No sooner had he spoken than the lady shook her head vigorously. “That’s not true. They’ve never fought, not even when they eat. There’s never been any guarding or stealing of food. I think you’ve got it wrong.”

The gentleman nodded in agreement.

At home, the two dogs always seemed to get along harmoniously, never showing any signs of discord.

“Not getting along doesn’t necessarily mean they have to fight. For instance, if one person is afraid of another, being bullied doesn’t always mean getting beaten up.”

Just as Zhang Congwen finished speaking, the Miniature Pinscher began to scratch wildly at the walls with its paws.

The lady immediately asked, “Does it want to come out?”

Zhang Congwen shook his head again. “If it wanted to come out, it would scratch at the door, not the wall. This is its way of releasing stress, venting its inner frustration.”

Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!

Soon after, the Miniature Pinscher began to howl suddenly.

The gentleman, curious, turned to Zhang Congwen. He’d never seen the dog behave like this at home and quickly asked, “What does this mean?”

Zhang Congwen was momentarily taken aback. He couldn’t immediately decipher why the Miniature Pinscher had started howling.

Just as he was puzzling over it, the Miniature Pinscher began to sniff around the room, finally settling on a spot where it urinated.

Everyone then understood: the Miniature Pinscher had needed to relieve itself but, finding no suitable spot in the room, had begun to howl out of distress. Only when it could hold on no longer did it pick a place and urinate.

What the couple didn’t expect was that as soon as the Miniature Pinscher walked away, the Miniature Greyhound immediately followed and urinated on the same spot.

“What does this mean?” the lady asked, completely baffled. She had never seen the Miniature Greyhound do this before. Even with her own way of thinking, she couldn’t fathom the reason for this behavior. If it just wanted to pee, it could have done so anywhere—why insist on the very same spot?

Was it to avoid soiling another part of the room?

The gentleman quickly found a video on his phone. “I’ve seen this before,” he said, and played a recording.

The video, taken at home, showed the Miniature Pinscher peeing on the pet pad, only for the Miniature Greyhound to immediately rush over and urinate on the exact same spot.

Zhang Congwen explained, “In dog language, this is a particularly unfriendly gesture, highly domineering in nature. You could even liken it to one person humiliating another.”

After marking over the Miniature Pinscher’s urine, the Miniature Greyhound ran back to its side.

“Look closely now,” Zhang Congwen instructed. “Notice how stiff the Miniature Pinscher’s body is, as if it dare not move at all. Meanwhile, the Miniature Greyhound’s tail is held high, ears erect, its whole body nearly forming a straight line. And notice how the Miniature Pinscher turns its head away, avoiding eye contact, and its ears are flattened like airplane wings. These are all signs of wanting to avoid conflict and showing fear.”

Prompted by Zhang Congwen, the couple observed carefully.

They had never paid much attention to their dogs’ body language before, but now that they looked, it was exactly as described. The Miniature Pinscher strained to avoid the Greyhound’s gaze, its head nearly twisted around entirely, its body curled in on itself, but its feet remained rooted to the spot, not daring to move.

Zhang Congwen explained, “It’s deeply afraid that any wrong move will trigger the other’s displeasure. That’s why it tries to stay as still as possible. Your previous assessment wasn’t wrong—the Miniature Pinscher bites itself out of stress, and the source of that stress is this Miniature Greyhound in your home.”

The couple looked incredulous. “You mean the Shoe Horn has been bullying the Little Suit, causing it to bite itself?”

Zhang Congwen nodded firmly. “The Miniature Greyhound’s bullying is likely driven by jealousy. Because you haven’t intervened, the Miniature Pinscher can only vent its anger by biting itself.”

“Is that really so?” The couple found it hard to accept Zhang Congwen’s view. All their attention had always been on the Miniature Pinscher; it had never crossed their minds that the Greyhound was the cause of the problem.

As they struggled to digest this new information, Zhang Congwen asked, “Does this Miniature Greyhound have any special history?”

Both of them paused in surprise. The Greyhound did, indeed, have a unique background, and they hadn’t expected Zhang Congwen to notice.

Seeing their astonishment, Zhang Congwen smiled. “It wasn’t hard to guess. The Greyhound’s jealousy likely stems from its early experiences.”

Though he had explained his reasoning, the couple still found Zhang Congwen’s insight remarkable.

They soon composed themselves and recounted the Greyhound’s past.

The German Shepherd and the Miniature Pinscher had both been bought from reputable pet shops, but the Miniature Greyhound was the exception—it had been a stray they’d encountered outside. The little Greyhound had been filthy, sickly, and pitiable, so they’d taken it in. Only after bringing it home did they discover it was suffering from canine parvovirus.

Dogs infected with parvovirus are extremely difficult to cure, with a high mortality rate. Presumably, its previous owners had abandoned it, unwilling or unable to treat it.

Fortunately, under their care, the Greyhound recovered and grew up healthy.

After hearing their account, Zhang Congwen understood the situation fully.

The Miniature Greyhound, having been abandoned, probably cherished its new home all the more, and was willing to do anything to stay. Dogs with such backgrounds often develop possessive tendencies, wanting to be the most important in their owner’s eyes and remaining alert to any potential rivals.

Since the couple had never intervened to check the Greyhound’s behavior, the Miniature Pinscher had ended up being bullied.

“Can this be corrected through training?” the couple asked, still surprised by Zhang Congwen’s analysis. On the surface, their obedient, affectionate dog harbored motives they’d never imagined.

And because of their lack of understanding, the originally problem-free Miniature Pinscher had become the ultimate victim.

“Don’t worry,” Zhang Congwen reassured them, “this problem is actually not hard to solve.”