Not very playful

Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
So Ella used to be that dog at the park that would try and entice all of the dogs to chase her. She'd play bow, grab a toy (or whatever she could find) and parade it in front of other dogs until they chased her.

Now though, she doesn't like being chased! She still loves saying hi to dogs both on and off lead and is more than happy to go for a walk with them both on and off lead.

There's obviously been quite a break in play due to lockdown but I've taken her for a few doggy walks in the last couple of weeks. If a dog starts chasing her, she seems to tolerate it for a minute or two before telling the other dog to leave her alone. Basically, she'll turn her head to them and give them a bit of a barking at. If they don't respond, she'll turn around and chase them a couple of steps away from her. On each occasion, we (the other owner and I) have put a stop to the situation and both dogs carry on fine. For example, the other dog was given her ball today so she ignored Ella and trotted along with her ball in mouth and Ella happily trotted alongside her (both off lead and later, both on lead). When it happened with another doggy friend, the other dog didn't want to stop (she's got Kelpie in her so chasing and herding are her favourite things) so we put both dogs back on lead and then they happily walked side by side, for the rest of the walk.

I've never really experienced Ella asserting herself so I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that it was ok that she behaved in that way. I'm obviously going to avoid putting her in that situation but do you think I need to worry about how she reacted?
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Sydney, Australia
Maxx was never even remotely assertive. No matter how aggressive the other dog was being he would still try to play. However, after leaving him in the dog resort for 7 weeks he must have learnt to stick up for himself. He won't take any sh!te now and can get a bit growly or even baring his teeth if the other dog is trying to be assertive to him. Only big dogs; he is as gentle as a lamb with little dogs. Or, as you said @Emily it could just be a maturity thing (secretly I'm laughing at using the word 'maturity' in relation to mad Maxx)
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
Same here too, I think the bouncyness does fade although Maisy still goes bonkers with a few of her friends but mainly she is happy to trot along and do her own thing. Funnily enough, yesterday she did the same as Ella with a 10 month old very, very bouncy lab who would not leave her alone. She was polite to a point but started baring her teeth a bit, he kept provoking her and then she did a tiny little snap at him. I've never seen her do that before but I'm glad she does assert herself, it's good communication.
 
Ashley

Ashley

Quinn has never been very playful...she enjoys a bit of chase, but is very selective with what dogs she'll play with. She barely acknowledges most dogs now at almost 5. She particularly hates playing chase with younger dogs who still bite around the back and neck or herders that go for the ankles and she will tell them so. She gives a warning bark, and sometimes snaps her teeth at them if they don't get the message. It has never escalated or anything. I'm glad she started being more assertive as she got older as she was bullied until she was around 3!
 
Naya

Naya

Moderator
Location
Bristol, UK
Harley is very much like this. She’s playful with Lyla and a few friends for short periods, but often just wants to sniff and walk along with her friends. She’s great with virtually all puppies, but will give a growl if they are too much. She will happily play ball with me on a walk for a while, but enjoys just carrying her ball most of the time. I think it’s an age thing. I noticed Harley started to do this more over the past 6-8 months (when she was around 6.5 years old).
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Sydney, Australia
I have been thinking about this a bit more and watched Maxx carefully the past two days. Yesterday arvo he ran into his first ever - and best friend Spencer and they immediately played happily and bounced all over each other without any signs of aggression. Later we ran into a strange dog - a large cattle type breed and they both bristled immediately and we hurried on.

This morning a gigantic doodle of some description came loping into the park with his owners and we asked if Maxx could say hello and they said 'of course!'. The park was empty so we let them off even though I worried Maxx might get snappy as Walter (great name!) was only 1 and a half. Well, they ran and ran and played bitey face and bounced and had an absolute ball. Maxx was so pooped he ran to Steve the second he whistled as I think he needed a rest.

He still asks for play time a few times per day and wants to be chased around the house and yard - so his playfulness is there, but he no longer assumes that all dogs are friendly.
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
I do think they play better with their own kind, or are more interested in them maybe, Maisy certainly is.
Although her absolute favourite playmate for rolling around with in a completely bonkers fashion is a 'golden doodle', so half golden retriever (close enough) :nod:
 
Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
Shaz82 said:
I do think they play better with their own kind, or are more interested in them maybe,
Click to expand...
Based on a study of one (ie Cass :)) I would agree. She adores other Black Labs, she seems to take it as a given that they will want to rollock around. She's rarely wrong! In fact other gundogs in general are greeted with enthusiasm, spaniels are not so robust though!

Otherwise she's quite circumspect when seeing new dogs for the first time -- small dogs she knows can be grumpy :punch: Dogs with prick ears and longlegs are treated with the utmost caution as they have done Bad Things to her.
 
Sophiedoodle

Sophiedoodle

Location
Fife, Scotland
Lilly LOVES playing with labradoodles!! Her best friend is a labradoodle in the village called Zac.... she goes crazy when she sees him 😍
Oreo seems a little nervous around dogs that are bigger than her, especially if they run up to her, but usually just has a sniff and doesn’t want to turn her back on them. She also loves playing with other labradoodles!
 
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