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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Do your dogs play with other dogs?

29 replies

haggisaggis · 27/04/2016 14:39

Ddog LOVES other dogs. If we are out and he sees one he is desperate to play with it - but as per Mumsnet dog owner etiquette we keep him well under control and only let him go to the other dog when the other owner is happy for them to play. At the beach on Sunday out of about 20 dogs, only 2 played with him! The rest were either put straight on the lead when we approached or were so busy playing with toys or the waves that they ignored him. I felt really sorry for him! What do your dogs do?

OP posts:

DramaAlpaca · 27/04/2016 14:45

Well we have two so they play together & it's lovely.

Ours also play with the neighbours' dog, but we tested carefully on leads first to make sure they were going to play nicely.

If we are out & about ours will often find other dogs to run about with. Our two are fine off lead, but if another owner has theirs on a lead we'll keep them away.

I wish we had a beach near us, our nearest is over an hour's drive away so too far.

Spanielcrackers · 27/04/2016 14:54

Mine don't want to play. They are only interested in fetching balls. If a dog approaches quietly and politely to play they will ignore it. If a dog barges over and gets in their faces, older spaniel continues to ignore, younger spaniel's body language screams "Go away and leave me alone" (unless approaching dog is a staffy, they love staffies).
They both hate labradors and flatcoats. All negative encounters with other dogs have involved "He's only playing" labradors and flatcoats.

Original poster

haggisaggis · 27/04/2016 14:55

Mine is used to playing with other dogs as he goes to daycare a couple of times a week and plays nicely. Just felt sorry for him as huge sandy beach with lots of space to play chase and no-one wanted to play with him!

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nmg85 · 27/04/2016 14:56

Mine loves other dogs and will want to approach all if allowed. If we see a dog on lead we put ours on otherwise she is usually allowed to approach the other dog and they sometimes play, other times they just have a sniff and move on. Is there nobody you see on a regular basis on walks that you can let your dog play with? I see the same people most days and so I end up walking with people 8/10 days. My dog loves a good run around and it tires her out much more then just a walk with me. I love how she plays differently depending on the dog she is with, sometimes play flighting and other times just running around and others just happy mooching around.

Original poster

haggisaggis · 27/04/2016 14:58

Yeah there were loads of dogs on Sunday who only wanted to play with their ball. One owner said her dog would play but dog really only wanted to chase her ball so there would be her dog chasing ball and ddog chasing her wanting to play - which didn't work obviously so we had to move away.

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WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 27/04/2016 14:58

Mine wouldn't play with a strange dog, she's very scared and runs away. Sadly they think that's great and chase her and she starts screaming in fear.

She plays most days with a small group of dogs as we walk together.

MardAsSnails · 27/04/2016 14:59

Only at daycare.

OldGirl would play with everyone. YoungGirl would ether bite them all or try to pee in their heads rather difficult for a girl dog

Original poster

haggisaggis · 27/04/2016 15:01

nmg85 - no where we walk on weekdays is very quiet and we rarely see another dog. Weekend walks are further away (beach usually) but don't see the same people regularly. He does meet dogs at daycare so he's not completely playless - just felt on Sunday that we were in the minority having a playful dog.

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fruitlovingmonkey · 27/04/2016 15:04

My dog loves to play with other dogs, unless it's early in the morning. He's just not very sociable in the mornings neither am I.

Original poster

haggisaggis · 27/04/2016 15:07

For about 2 weeks we would meet a woman early every morning who was dogsitting a couple of dogs where we lived and ddog and one of hers would have a great time playing. They were perfectly matched and it was great to watch. But she's obviously gone back home again and I never see the actual owner with the dogs so we don't get a chance to play with them any more.

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1frenchfoodie · 27/04/2016 15:17

My puppy (18 wks) plays with a 20wk old puppy at my next door neighbours, they are very well matched - other pup is 2x the size of mine but mine is 2x as bouncy. He also plays with my mum and sister's dogs though it is too much for them after 20 mins or so. He is a bit overwhelming for most dogs we meet and I worry about recall when he is excited so he is usually on lead when we see other dogs. I was very tempted when we met a bouncy dog the other day to ask if they could have a doggy playdate but worried I'd seem a bit weird.

Greyhorses · 27/04/2016 15:33

Mine wouldn't play with a strange dog either.
One is obsessed with his ball and won't drop it. The second would play but can be aggressive if not introduced properly so I am very careful and get annoyed if people let their dogs pester mine.

You need to find a dog walking friend with a similar dog to go out with

CMOTDibbler · 27/04/2016 15:36

Mine love to play, but are sighthounds so playing=running in their books. If we meet off lead sighthounds they are in heaven

Original poster

haggisaggis · 27/04/2016 15:39

I'm very careful to not let him pester (or even approach) another dog unless it is OK with the owner. I guess I'm just surprised that so many dogs didn't want to play.

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TrionicLettuce · 27/04/2016 15:49

DWhippet1 isn't particularly sociable and wouldn't want to play with strange dogs, he's much happier when they ignore him and he can ignore them.

DWhippets 2 & 3 would love to play but I don't allow them to as they can be terrible thugs They play like typical sighthounds (at very high speeds with lots of shoulder barging and occasional nipping) which 1) a lot of other dogs don't appreciate, and 2) can far too easily spill over into something more serious.

DDog2 might have a quick play but she'd be more interested in the owners than the dogs

Noitsnotteatimeyet · 27/04/2016 20:26

My dog has 3 or 4 friends, all girls he's known since he was a puppy - whenever we meet one of them or go out for a walk with them they'll charge around like loons. There are a few other dogs he's happy to see and mooch around with companionably but he doesn't really play with them as such. With all other dogs, he's polite but aloof and frankly would rather play with us or his toys than with other dogs.

I don't want to socialise with every random stranger I meet so I'm not surprised he doesn't either

Snoopysimaginaryfriend · 28/04/2016 17:25

Our little border terrier wants to play with everyone and everything! He's never met a dog he doesn't want to play with and is particularly keen on Labradors. He also thinks all cats are his friends as we have two and when DH and I are both at work my mum looks after him and has three cats. By mimicking the cats he has also developed a fondness for watching pigeons. He is very odd haha he's still young and when he meets older, calmer dogs that he knows he will try to mimic their behaviour and just trots along beside them which is very sweet

tigerdog · 28/04/2016 17:45

Nope. DDog is scared of other dogs as she was never socialised, other than with other greyhounds (ex-racer). She often makes other dogs whine with disappointment when she blanks them! She has improved though, as before she would jump ten foot in the air when a playful small dog approached.

We were at the beach recently and a lovely puppy tried to play with her. DDog ran into the sea to get away and stood there chest high in the water looking sad, until I waded in to get her.

diplodocus · 28/04/2016 17:50

Our dog has playdates with the neighbours' dogs. She has a better social life than me.

ShinyShinyShiny · 28/04/2016 17:56

My younger dog (4) wants to play with everyone, whether they want to play with her or not. She is permanently giddy.

My older dog (5) is usually playful but is getting more dignified in his old age.

Both are put on the lead if the other dog is so that they don't pester as they aren't great at picking up on 'leave me alone' signals from other dogs.

elastamum · 28/04/2016 17:58

DDog1 is very waggy and friendly but doesn't play much as she is getting old and now has arthritis. DDog LOVES dogs that are a bit smaller than her and will play for hours with them- she isn't so keen on anyone over her size as she is just a tiny bit chicken

NotMeNotYouNotAnyone · 28/04/2016 20:09

Ddog is a bit dim bless him, he actually cries to be allowed to say hello to other dogs, and he is much improved, but can be bad at reading signals telling him to back off.

He's not allowed off lead very often, but he will say hello to anyone he gets the chance and will quite happy go and play with them. He has an adorable/scary habit of shouting at the biggest dog in sight, which either scares them, confused them or amuses them. He loves to get them to play though!

MarcoPoloCX · 29/04/2016 07:36

I have two dogs and they play together all the time.

Dog A doesn't play with other dogs but will walk with them.

Dog B plays with other dogs , the more boîsterous the better. He likes a good chase.

I take them out separately as dog A gets a bit protective and barks as he doesn't like his brother playing with other dogs. He tries to chase them away and this can get dog B to become too excitable snd he starts annoying and scaring other dogs.

KittyBeans72 · 30/04/2016 19:47

breaks my heart when my dog is desperate to play and no one is interested.

mercifulTehlu · 30/04/2016 19:50

My dog loves playing with other dogs but can be a bit growly with certain other young male dogs, especially border collies. He's a bit more touchy lately as he's been bitten twice.

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