09/19/2026
DPFL Tips: Why We Let Dogs Correct Each Other
Communication is natural for dogs, just like it is for humans. Dogs are communicating with each other constantly: a look, a stiff posture, a growl, a whale eye, a body block. It can look scary or intense to watch sometimes, but this is completely normal, healthy communication between dogs. This is their first language, and it's one they understand far better than anything we can teach them with words.
Dog-to-dog learning is on a completely different level because they actually speak the same language. We can throw a play bow or try to replicate their body language, but let's be honest, we mostly just look silly to them. At the end of the day, it's so much more impactful to step back and let dogs teach each other.
Communicating, responding, and adjusting to another dog takes real focus, and that mental engagement is just as valuable as the physical exercise playgroup provides.
Of course, we're watching the whole time, ready to step in if communication fails and crosses into something unsafe. But when it's appropriate, for example a growl that says I need space, we let it happen. We aren't doing nothing, we're allowing dogs to speak their language that they have been fluent in far longer than they've been listening to us. Plus, these natural interactions teach crucial skills like bite inhibition and appropriate play.
Learning when to let dogs communicate and when to intervene is one of the most important skills we teach in our seminars.
It's not about hands off, it's about knowing the difference.
Where else in life does stepping back teach more than stepping in?
📸 Lou Bopp