Sweet Bully Mix Pulls Out All the Stops to Get Foster Brother to Play

Fostering dogs is a very brave endeavor. Even though the shelter will give you a good idea of what you're getting into when you get your dog, there are some things they won't know. Some dogs are completely different when they get to a real home!

After you get them home, there's a new task: introducing them to your current dog. Their personalities need to mesh well for everyone to be comfortable! Luckily, one dog mom/foster parent found out that her foster just wants to play with her older brother, and it's nothing short of magical:

Simon Sits is the big brother in this situation. Let it be known that Simon does love to play, but Poutine is much more into him than he is her!

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Poutine has become a star. Her mom, Isabel, has taken in over a dozen foster dogs since she first started this journey, and they've all had their moment in the spotlight, but Poutine just sparkles. They believe that she was used for breeding at some point and dumped in a shelter just recently.

When she landed in her new foster home, Poutine was in rough shape: she had ear infections, an abscess on her face, and a bad case of pneumonia. After a few weeks of TLC, though, she started feeling better. Since then, she's discovered toys and demanded that someone plays with her whenever she's not sleeping. And when she is sleeping, she's almost always upside down.

How do Dogs Ask Each Other to Play?

There's absolutely no mistaking that poor Poutine wants to play with Simon in this video. She's basically throwing the toy at him, and he could not care any less. They're very good friends, but he's got his own problems!

If your dog wants to play with another dog (or with you) you'll typically notice that they:

1. Grab a toy. If their playmate is really interested, it stops there and they start playing.
2. Start shoving the toy. They will jam it into hands, legs, backs, heads, whatever is closest.
1. Bonus points if they hold the toy in their mouth and start slapping.
3. Stick their butt in the air and spread out their front paws.
4. Sneeze. Dogs sneeze to show the other dog that they're not a threat!
5. Roll over. If asking to play isn't going well , they'll roll over in submission and start again.

Most of the time, the other dog will pick up on this almost immediately. If not, you can try the oldest trick in the book: start playing with the dog who wants to play. The other one will get jealous and join in!