Henry under siege

Henry and Smudge's pups just keep giving and this evening when I returned with the children from having their haircut, I let the pups out of the patio, was just about to start dinner and noticed them with Dad Henry and he had his sacred toy Foxy with him. 
Henry prizes this toy above all others and he hides Foxy around the property and warns off any dog who comes near him when he has Foxy normally. The only thing he will give Foxy up to without a growl is humans. Henry is very good at leaving even if it is something he especially likes, like Foxy. Really important to teach a dog from a very early age to leave on command.
The video shows Henry under siege, when his pups realise he has Foxy.  Notice how gentle he is, he could of just snarled and violently shook Foxy to get Foxy away from the pups, but he opts firstly to try and push them away with his feet and then does a straight pull rather than a shake. Is this a male dog knowing he is interacting with his own offspring ?