Playtime.

In another thread, I mentioned the way that dogs can communicate quite clearly by body language and expression. Trying to read them in this way is something that fascinates me.

One of my friends has two staffies, Sid and Eddie, both entire males. They and Rosie play together as only staffies can and they are complete hooligans to each other with never a hint of a cross word. They are firm friends and bite each other savagely to prove it.
Yesterday, by pure chance, I was able to capture one of those unspoken conversations between Rosie and Sid.
The three dogs had been playing for about 10 minutes with one stick between three. Wrestling for it, tugging at it and so on. When one dog had it the other two chased.
Then Sid ended up with the stick. Rosie chased him towards us, got a good grip of the stick and then she told Sid, quite clearly, that she wanted the stick and that she wanted him to give it to her.

It''s pure dominant behaviour, but done as part of the game.

If you look closely, the details of the conversation are clear.
The whole thing lasts only a few seconds.

Rosie's body language changes. She stops dead in her tracks and stands still. Her tail stops wagging, her ears are half up, she's looking straight ahead and she's still.
Dominant.
She's no longer playing the tugging game, she wants Sid to give her the stick.
As Sid realises this he becomes submissive. He stops tugging, his body lowers a little, his head is lower than hers, his ears further back.
He starts to release the stick, nibbles at it a few times, then lets go. He submits to what she wants. Rosie hasn't taken the stick,Sid's given it to her. As soon as he does, Rosie actually pushes the stick against his face but he's got the message and he doesn't try to grab it.

There's not a hint of aggression from Rosie, just calm dominance. There's no fear from Sid, just calm submission. No sound, no fury, It's all calm intention, but the message is clear.
I will have that stick and you will give it to me.
A split second later and it's game on once again with Sid chasing her.
A minute later and they were replaying the whole ''I want it" "OK , you have it" game all over again, with the roles reversed.

Here's the video. The interesting bit is after about 45 seconds in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L9kBP3x650&feature=youtu.be

when we decided to get a 2nd dog we were told to get a female because aparently they are boss.

just like in real life

It is fascinating to watch the videos and see the behaviour change.