Kuzu is sometimes impatient and worried, shown by his quick movements, furrowed brow and pricked ears. So having the boundary of the gate on this footpath is helpful in his learning. It gives him time to process the donkey’s communication and his actions.

The donkey slightly turns its head then stops and lowers his its head, Kuzu turns away briefly and wags his tail (body) and then looks back at the donkey. He looks away a little several times, although he’s quick and his body is a little tense, he has a frown and his ears are pricked up and forward. The donkey blinks a couple of times in response, Kuzu turns away for a little longer and then back, as the donkey has a little shake off and head dip. They mirror each other’s communication and the movements. Then Kuzu starts to become more fluid, his body relaxes and he begins to turn away and sniff the ground. There’s more movement. The donkey also becomes more fluid and turns away sniffing the ground, it’s body softens. Kuzu stops to look back at the donkey, whines, before sniffing again. Donkey curves as it comes over and Kuzu responds by curving away even presenting his side to it as he sniffs. When the donkey reaches the gate Kuzu has calmed down to be able to greet the donkey briefly.

There are other signals, can you see as they greet one another?

It’s all quite lovely to watch and he’s such an adorable dog. And isn’t the donkey patient and fabulous with its communication? Fascinating stuff, these interactions.

You can read about how to safely introduce your dog to farm animals in a safe way on page 202 of “The Tale of the Big Dog” in the Chapter “Enhancing a Dog’s Life” (available on this website)