Oh No! Sadie and JoJo Are Fighting ... or Are They?

Oh no! Sadie and Jojo are fighting! ......or are they?

Occasionally we get a bit of a kick out of dissecting one of Uncle Pete's pictures and this week we had to use this one. As you can see, Sadie would appear to be flying through the air, Jojo's mouth is open in what appears to be preparation for a bite and both are on hind legs like Lippanzaner ponies. Surely a blood bath quickly ensued?

Uh, No!

To the untrained eye, this looks like an act of aggression on both dogs' part and something to be worried about. In fact, the true key to this photo comes from what ISN'T happening....look at the two other dogs in the picture. Lulu, the black and white dog, isn't paying any mind at all really to what's going on, her ears are relaxed, her tail is up and she's busy looking at something else. When two dogs are fighting for real, trust me, EVERY dog stops what they're doing and gives it their full attention.

Lucy, the little black dog on the outside of the shot, is hovering..... looking to see how she can get in on the play, although her lack of confidence stops her from actually just joining the game. She's paying close attention to flying dog Sadie, her familial sister, so she can judge when's a good time to join in.

Jojo's mouth is open, but not with the stretched look of intent, as you can see. His stance is determined but playful; he reared up on his hind legs to block her aerial assault, not to inflict harm.

Flying dog Sadie is actually well known at the Ranch for her acrobatics; to see her three feet off the ground like this is actually not unusual. She started her run for this move about fifty feet further back, so she planned this move with military precision, and actually left the ground about six feet before she reached Jojo. See how relaxed and unfussed she is by her tremendous feat? There's almost a workaday quality to her posture and certainly an effortless grace to how she flies through the air.

These two have played a lot over the last couple of days and have been a treat to watch. Sadie is two years old and Jojo is, incredibly enough, twelve, so we have ourselves a little bit of a May/ September romance going on.

Just remember, things aren't always as they seem....

Have a lovely weekend x