{"id":30847,"date":"2025-11-30T16:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T16:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/30\/contest-escape-or-joy-what-do-you-think\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T16:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T16:50:10","slug":"contest-escape-or-joy-what-do-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cozydogspaces.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/30\/contest-escape-or-joy-what-do-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Contest! Escape or Joy\u2014What Do You Think?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Marge Rogers\u2019 dog Rounder was running for joy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s been 12 years since I had a contest, and I\u2019ve learned a little since then. Back in 2013, I challenged people to match a ridiculous number of photos<\/a> to descriptions of the situation by observing my dog Summer\u2019s facial expressions. Some truly good sports gave it a try<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see if I can do a better job. This contest is different, a comparison of two videos of the same dog with but one question to answer. I have no idea how hard it will be since I have the Curse of Knowledge<\/a>, but at least it isn\u2019t 31 photos with insufficient context!<\/p>\n

The prize for the winners will be electronic copies of both of my books: Remember Me? Loving and Caring for a Dog with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction <\/em>and Puppy Socialization: What It Is and How to Do It<\/em> with Marge Rogers. I\u2019ll explain below how the contest will work.<\/p>\n

Zoomies Aren\u2019t Always Happy<\/h2>\n

In 2017, I published a blog post called \u201cIs That Zooming Agility Dog Stressed or Happy? Wrong Question!\u201d<\/a> A video circulating at the time prompted my post. There was a runaway dog at an agility trial who was circling the course, making stupendous jumps\u2014and avoiding her handler for all she was worth. There was plenty of discussion about whether the dog was happy, as the handler claimed (the video was set to the music, \u201cGirls Just Want to Have Fun\u201d), or stressed. It was not black and white, but I came down on the side of distress, or at least displacement behavior. But I also pointed out her avoidance of the handler. Whether or not the dog was in distress or eustress, this was not a safe situation. The handler called her dog 10 times and the dog didn\u2019t come 10 times in just about a minute of zoomies.<\/p>\n

I think the question of distress versus eustress is a good one and I have a good pair of videos to try that on.<\/p>\n

My Contest Videos<\/h2>\n

I have two videos, taken four days apart in May 2023, of Lewis zooming around the back yard. I know for certain that one is escape behavior; he is trying to get away from something. In the other, the running seems to be automatically positively reinforced. In other words, he is doing an innate doggie behavior and is likely having fun. But they look similar in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n

In the following video, you will see each of the two clips at full speed with sound, then the clips in the same order in slow motion. They will be labeled Clip A and Clip B.<\/p>\n

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