Adults playing with other dogs
Ok, Jack just turned 3 at the end of April.
When he was a puppy and young adult, he adored playing with other dogs. It took me a solid year to teach him to walk by other dogs without pulling to get to them.
He still likes other dogs. He greets other dogs well, and the huge majority of dogs like him. And if we are out and in a group of dogs, he does not want to leave and it takes some coaxing to get him to walk away. However, he has gradually lost interest in playing with them. Every now and then he'll have a short chase, and when it's not hot out he and Maddie will have a good wrestling match every day. But other than that, he'd really rather wander around and sniff the grass, hoping to find something to eat or roll in.
I do know that puppies and adolescents play much more than adults, but I guess I'm a little surprised at how much he's changed. Truth be told, I'm a bit disappointed too because it was always such fun to watch the little guy tearing around. He still likes to play with US, but even then outside he'll chase a ball a couple times and then wander off to sniff. Inside, with no interesting smells, he'll play for much longer.
What do your adult dogs do? Do they still like to play with other dogs? DId they never like other dogs? Did they enjoy it as puppies but slowly lost interest? And is there anything I can do to convince my dog that sniffing for edibles in the grass is not the greatest thing in the world?
When he was a puppy and young adult, he adored playing with other dogs. It took me a solid year to teach him to walk by other dogs without pulling to get to them.
He still likes other dogs. He greets other dogs well, and the huge majority of dogs like him. And if we are out and in a group of dogs, he does not want to leave and it takes some coaxing to get him to walk away. However, he has gradually lost interest in playing with them. Every now and then he'll have a short chase, and when it's not hot out he and Maddie will have a good wrestling match every day. But other than that, he'd really rather wander around and sniff the grass, hoping to find something to eat or roll in.
I do know that puppies and adolescents play much more than adults, but I guess I'm a little surprised at how much he's changed. Truth be told, I'm a bit disappointed too because it was always such fun to watch the little guy tearing around. He still likes to play with US, but even then outside he'll chase a ball a couple times and then wander off to sniff. Inside, with no interesting smells, he'll play for much longer.
What do your adult dogs do? Do they still like to play with other dogs? DId they never like other dogs? Did they enjoy it as puppies but slowly lost interest? And is there anything I can do to convince my dog that sniffing for edibles in the grass is not the greatest thing in the world?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Yes, I was concerned that teaching him not to focus so much on other dogs would change his interactions with them. I held off on it while he was a puppy to make sure he maintained those good social skills with other dogs, but then when we went for CGC/TDI testing we really started working on getting him to ignore them/walk on. We also live right by a big park and so just about every day on our walks we meet multiple dogs who he is expected to ignore OR greet politely and then walk away.
Then there is the fact that because he's being let loose in big grassy areas, if he sniffs long enough he usually eventually does find a bunny turd or a crumb of something that someone dropped from their picnic, or he can wander into the undergrowth and find remnants of buried cat poop. So his sniffing is very self-rewarding to him and it distracts him from other things. He's a different dog in the house without the chance of finding food on the ground. He plays like crazy.
*sigh* Silly Corgis and their never-ending quest for a snack!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Wynn at 5 prefers people and will play with others occasionally! Wynn likes to hang out just not get crazy...maybe it's his age??? My females are much more apt to play with other dogs unless they are in season.
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Maddie is nearly 6 and has such a high prey/herding drive that she will still chase anything that runs, so if another dog gets running she'll barrel after it. She doesn't usually initiate play herself, but will run to chase things. She's funny because she has the excitement, but not the working enthusiasm, so she'll run after a ball and then get to it and poke it with her nose and run back, grinning. Or pick it up and carry it two steps and drop it.
Same with other dogs; she chases them but then doesn't know what do do when she's "caught" them and they turn to engage.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sparty stayed playful until he was about 6 or 7 but now it is very rare for him to get crazy. He still loves fetch but due to his arthritis we had to make it more catch. Izzy has never been very playful with other dogs. When we went to the corgi meetup she jumped on the bench with my father-in-law instead of interacting with the others. I wonder if they reach a point where they no longer feel the need to interact with every dog they meet. Sort of like with humans, children will play with almost anyone but we become more closed off as we age.
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Jack still likes to say "hi" to every person or dog who shows the tiniest interest in him. I noticed that he looks at people's faces when we are walking: if they ignore him, he walks by. If they smile at him, he wants to stop. And if they say "Oh look, Corgis!" in a high-pitched voice he will take off and charge right up to them if he can.
Same with other dogs; if they give off "Keep away" vibes he does keep away, but if they notice him he wants to meet-and-greet. But after the initial sniffing he's usually content just to be in their general vicinity.
The dog was born to be mayor. lol
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I forgot Beth...if you figure out a way to stop sniffing the edibles...you can write a book and quit your day job:)
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Hahaha! Too true!
I remember reading the book "Lassie Come-home" as a kid and the father put something (hot sauce, I think) in food and left it on the ground to teach Lassie to only eat food from her bowl. He explained to the kid that it was to keep her from getting poisoned one day.
I don't think that would even work with a Corgi (and I don't have the heart to do it anyway) because they'd learn the smell of hot sauce and only avoid those things that smelled of it.
Mine peel dead worms off the sidewalk and munch them if I let them. I mean, really. Dead worms????
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Permalink Reply by Nicola Porter on
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Dried worms are fun to play with, to roll in and to eat. What a fantastic piece of nature for our corgis.
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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on
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SInce my 3 boys are 4, 2 and 8 months, they all play nonstop, almost all day. The oldest dog plays the least but he is also the top dog and sort of stays aloof from the other 2.
I took the puppy to a friends yesterday for a play date with another 2 years old corgi and they frapped all over the place, played chase and wresteled, too.
Probably having a puppy around makes a big difference. I certainly do notice a difference in energy level and the oldest one is also the guy whose weight I have to watch carefully becasue he'll gain very quickly
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