My dog doesn't play with other dogs

I have had my Coopie for 2 1/2 years now. I got him from a shelter. He has never seemed interested in playing with another dog. He is a co*ckerspaniel/King Charles mix, about 7 years old. Other dogs have tried to get him to play, but he won't have any of it. If they annoy him enough, he will growl or snap at them. Is this normal for some dogs to be uninterested in ever playing with other dogs? The only playng he seems interested in is chasing a tennis ball (or any ball). He never seems to get enough of that! Of course, he'll attack any dog regardless of size who tries to go after one of his tennis balls. I see other dogs playing together and it makes me sad that he won't join them. Is this normal for some dogs?

I dont know if it is normal or not. My little doggie (weighs 11lbs. and is 9 months old) wont play with other dogs either. If we are outside and another dog comes around he is very aggressive. It doesnt matter how large the other dog is. I wonder if they had more time around other dogs if they would get used to the idea. I think my dog is spoiled to just being around us :(

I have 10 cats

1 minature pinscher

1 minature poodle


My poodle is 13 years old.............older then dirt.......hahaha

All the cats try to play with her...........the pinscher is 6 months old and tries to play with her.........

all she does is growl at them and snap at them...........she kind of likes only 2 of the cats, the younger ones, who'll drink water with her at the same time and she doesn't react.........

whenever we see her getting upset, we said, "Bebe stop being such a crouchity old woman"......lol

and she turns to look at us, and gives us a "Up yours" look........

She's never liked other animals since she was young.........I think its all in their personality.........

sora

My snake doesn't play with other snakes, but that doesn't mean he never has any fun! ;)

TH, before my ym and I got together, we were both elementary sch. teachers and we both had a ribbon snake in our classrooms. We decided to put our snakes together and "voila" baby snakes all over the place, literally, the baby snakes crawled right through the screen covering the acquarium. So, I guess snakes do play when you're not looking. ;)

My snake doesn't play with other snakes, but that doesn't mean he never has any fun! ;)
:eek: :eek:

:D












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I have a c*cker spaniel/ beagle mix he also dosen't like to play with other dogs. I also have a beagle that is forever trying to get him to play by nipping at him, all he does is give a growl or bark. He has always been surrounded by other dogs/pets just never pays much attention to them. I seem to think he is more human than dog. He has plenty of fun playing with me or himself, he likes to toss bones around and have a catch with himself its quite amusing.

I have a c*cker spaniel/ beagle mix

OK now THIS is funny! Technological censorship at its finest!

Some species of dogs are less social than others. If he wasn't socialized with other dogs as a pup he may not be apt to the antics of other dogs and prefers the comfort/playtime of humans. I am going to assume you don't know the details of his upbringing and therefore it could be any number of enviromental factors that played a part is his social structure. He could have been a picked on littermate for example or had a bad experience being attacked by another dog etc....All these things seem to ingrain themselves in the the thought process of dogs and they tend to remember them. Some are also fear based and some are dominant based. My dog is afraid of strangers and very friendly with other dogs. I have had her since she was a puppy and have always tried to socialize her in public. My ex husbands friends used to tease her alot when she was a pup(much to my displeasure) but I also think that it is possible this is just within her nature of the breed. Great danes tend to be more of a skiddish dog despite their size.

Flyer, as I said in another post, my dog used to love to meet and play and wrestle with other dogs until she had a bad experience at a boarding facility and now she goes "grrrrhhhaaaaaaa rrrhaaa rrrrhaaaa rrrrrrhhaaaaa" at almost every dog she meets within minutes of meeting them. She's been this way for five years and has never bit another dog, she just makes if very clear that she wants them to get away from her. (Momentarily scares the bejeezus out of the dog, the owner, and me - but she doesn't hurt anyone.) I just accept her like she is. Other people go to trainers to train the aggressive or anti-social behavior out of their dog. I think it's a personal choice made by the owner. Most of the time I just accept that she's like this, even though I miss her playing with other dogs, and other times I regret that I didn't bring her to a trainer when if first started.

If it bothers you that your dog is like this, go to a trainer, if not, just keep your dog away from other dogs. Although I've seen television shows where a dog is trained with just one session, I think most of the time it is an ongoing process that requires committment to follow-through with the training.

Thank you all for your input. I guess it's just his nature and I can accept that. It helps to know that other dogs also don't play. Based on what some of you have said about your co*cker mixes, it could even be a c*ckerspaniel thing. So, I won't worry about it anymore. Thanks for sharing.

I think you might be right Flyer....from what I know about ****ers, they can be a bit aloof with other dogs. Anyway I wouldn't worry about it as long as he's happy. Not playing, especially suddenly, can be a sign that the dog is in pain - like arthritis etc so it can be something to watch for, but it doesn't sound like this in your case.

My dogs will only play with each other. My old dog (will be 15 in a couple months) will only play after being extensively teased by my young one. :rolleyes: It's very funny to watch. You can just imagine her thinking "I guess I should just give in and play cause that's the only way he's going to leave me alone". She also doesn't like anyone watching her act silly (she's a very "dignified" dog - I've never been able to get her to fetch or do any other frivolous trick), so as soon as she sees me watching she stops and walks away as if she wasn't doing anything. :p

My young dog is absolutely horrible around other dogs - especially if they are dominant or aggressive. It's a nightmare because he is so big and strong. I keep him muzzeled in public, but still, taking him out is a bit scary - I always bring another person with me. He was attacked by a pair of rotties when he was a pup, and he's also from a guarding breed - put the two together and it's not good.

15 years old and still playing!!!!!! Ooooooo, I hope I can say the same thing about my dog in two years!!!

Three funny aggressive dog stories (yes there ARE funny aggressive dog stories):

Remember, she's 13 years old:

1) My dog, Candy, was sniffing around one day and two large Golden Retrievers came walking down the other side of the street. The man was determined that his dogs not bark at other dogs, and he was quite successful at keeping them restrained, but every once in a while, one of them would let out a muffled, "Woof!" Each time they did, Candy would lift her head, look left, look right, look at me, shrug, then go back to sniffing. She did this THREE times and never once looked over her shoulder to see the dogs on the other side of the street- at which point she would have gone ballistic. I was in hysterics!!!

Remember, she's 13 years old:

2) She was sniffing (again .... as always) and an idiot drunk neighbor let go of the leash and her dog, male, bigger, and much younger than Candy, came running over and sniffed her butt. Now, Candy does NOT like having her butt sniffed, but she just was unaware that he was doing it. Then he did the aggressive-non-biting-attack: grrrrrwhoofff, woofffff, woooooffff, woofffff. Candy spun around, and just for a moment stood there looking at him in total disbelief (disbelief that he was there at all and disbelief that he was challenging HER) but then she quickly regained her composure and promplty aggressive-non-biting-attacked him back and he ran home crying to his Momma!

Remember, she's 13 years old:

3) Walking down the street, I had to go through a lot of side-walking and leash pulling to keep her from attacking a young, male pitbull (as did the pitbull owner!) but I yelled out to him, "Oh sure, he'd kill her, but she'd get some good licks in first!" and then, half a block away, I walked past two people who had witnessed the whole thing, shook my head and said, "13 years old and she's going after a pit bull!"

4) Dogs barking from passing cars used to make her crazy, but now, she doesn't really understand where they are and she just throws back her head and lets out a couple of whoops and it just seems that she enjoys it so much! Hey, you gotta remember, she's 13 years old and that's old for a dog! LOL

All this old=dog talk made me think of something else. Once in a while (not very often, thank goodness!) she poops on the sidewalk. I, of course, am mortified and quickly move to clean it up, and if there are people walking by, I apologize profusely, and will often explain, "She's old, she can't help it." And one day, an old nasty dog-hater (I swear they move to Florida in DROVES - must be some kind of underground network or something) said, "That's disgusting." AFTER I apologized and explained that Candy was old, and I yelled at her, "SHE'S OLD FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! SOMEDAY, YOU'LL BE OLD AND YOU MIGHT BE POOPING ON SIDEWALKS YOURSELF!" I don't know if it helped Candy at all, but I sure felt a lot better!

PS: Let me clarify, when I say there can be funny aggressive dog stories, I mean when no one gets hurt. I had a dog once who thought another dog was coming after me and he really, really hurt the dog, so I know there's nothing funny if your dog hurts another dog or if your dog is hurt by another dog.

Flyer, gonna hijack your thread for one more "old dog" story:

When my dog was younger, she used to do what normal dogs do, sniff, (get the message), pee, (leave a message) and move on, now she sniffs so long it's like she reading a damn book!