No friends

[Snooze]

Jake loves others dogs but hasn't had much experience in playing with others. At 13 mos he is big and gawky and plays rough, lots of jumping, very exuberant. I haven't been able to find another dog that is big enough or young enough to endure. Am I setting him up to not be good with other animals in the future because he's been deprived of playing with them thus far? Does he need that interaction with other dogs as part of his socialization?

[brunie's mom]

The time most pups learn how to play is with their littermates and when they are growing up. It sounds like your dog has missed some important lessons in doggie play and language.

Has he been to any obedience classes or did he go to puppy kindergarden?? Join a class...you may meet some dogs that he makes friends with. You can set up with some play dates with dogs around the same age. I find that young Labs and Boxers often do well with young, bouncy Rotts...usually of the opposite sex....or an older female dog that can put him in his place and teach him some manners also.

No...your dog does not need to be playing with other dogs ...as long as he gets socialization and learns to behave around other dogs. It is nice if they do have a friend that they can run and chase and wrestle with in a supervised area. It really tires them out.

Gina

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by Snooze

Jake loves others dogs but hasn't had much experience in playing with others. At 13 mos he is big and gawky and plays rough, lots of jumping, very exuberant. I haven't been able to find another dog that is big enough or young enough to endure. Am I setting him up to not be good with other animals in the future because he's been deprived of playing with them thus far? Does he need that interaction with other dogs as part of his socialization?

No, your dog does not need doggy friends to have a complete life. You are his pack, and his life. As long as you are engaging him in activities with him daily; a few minutes of training, walks, training classes during the week, vigorous exercise, etc... then he should be a very happy, well adjusted dog.

Training him to ignore other dogs is much more important, IMHO, than searching for doggie friends to blow off steam with.

Dogs learn everything they need to know about being dogs in the whelping box from their dam and their littermates. This particular education takes place between about 5-7 weeks of age. After that, it's much more important to teach our dogs to live peacefully in our human society, since that's the environment in which they really live these days.

You are the most important friend your dog will ever have.

Hope this helps.

[Snooze]

We took an obedience class, puppy kindergarten and there were 3 dogs that were bite sized and a male golden who had issues - so we spend each class having to stay away from the other dogs