Playtime with other dogs

[Tori]

Not sure if this is the right section to post this thread so I apologise if this is in completely the wrong place....

Today we went for our morning walk and met two of our neighbours dogs - both off leash of course so I let Juno off as I thought this is the best way for them to socialise especially when I can not walk for dogs jumping on us - not sure if this is correct. She has met both individually before.

Dog No. 1 - Female Pitbull 4 months old - they rough and tumble around as Juno is a female and coming up to 10 months. They run and play. The puppy seems nice but my concern is as the puppy gets older could there be problems between Juno and her and how can I manage this through play times.

Dog No. 2 - Male GSD 7 years - Sammy ran from his house to join and was good with both dogs (although his first meeting with the pittbull) but I know he is aggressive with males. Juno jumped on top of Sammy 4 times and humped him. Is this normal or should I be stopping this and if so how.

I really do not have any experience with this and would appreciate your thoughts and past experiences.

Thanks!

[swanska]

This is what I do with Shadow:

Dog No.1: wrestling - Unless I am 100% comfortable with the other dog, I supervise the entire wrestling match with the other owner (no one on cell phones, other conversations, etc.). If one dog starts getting a little too into it, we break them apart for a few seconds/minutes and then let them return. I have also taught Shadow "gentle" and "release" and use them often -- even when the other owner says not to worry. I use the wrestling match as training reminders. Shadow often grasps around the neck but thankfully doesn't bite into the skin. He has lots of doggy friends that wait at the gate for him to arrive and start up the match. The dogs like to get attention from me and try to get him jealous -- they will jump up on the bench to cuddle and then slap him when he comes by. I have also taught Shadow "waterbreak" and now most of his opponents also respect the term. As soon as I call out -- they break apart and we all run to the fountain and I fill up the bowls. It seems that Shadow and I have done a pretty decent job together because he will adjust the level of play to the capability of the dog -- other owners tell me that their young puppies love to have "Shadow-time" and learn their moves. Another thing to mention is that we are very cautious about letting more than two dogs wrestle each other at a time and will move the match to a location a distance from the crowd -- it can get overwhelming if the referees (barkers) or herders (heel nippers) join in.


Dog No. 2: Shadow was the humpee from when adopted him at 10 months until he was about 2 y.o. It didn't bother him one bit. He appeared to consider it an invitation to wrestle or start a chase around the park. A couple of times, he would bounce around the park with an obsessed Boston clinging to his hips (hilarious!). Currently, he is the humper -- but, his humping is rarely for dominance. It is to instigate play and interaction. I did work on minimizing the humping by training with a receptive owner and both of us correcting him just before raises his legs. However, if a yellow lab shows up I am out of luck. When a yellow arrives, I apologize in advance to the owner, ask if there are any physical issues...often they say not to worry and that there dog is the same or that their dog will safely correct him (which, IMO is better said in doggy language). But if there is a physical or mood issue, I watch for the glint in his eye and get my "no humps" and "uhuhs" ready.

[Snowshoe]

My take is it was a good play and I'd try to meet up with on a regular basis so they can remain friends. As long as Juno is not too big for the 4 months old puppy. You don't want the puppy getting hurt. Dogs are like us, they tend to form friendships easily when they are young so if there were regular meetings I wouldn't worry much about the Pittie, even if she is not well bred or well owned.

Humping is normal. Yes you should stop it. It's rude, a small dog could be hurt, the humpee might really not like it and retaliate, some humpee owners will take a fit and might hit your dog to get her off. Is this the first time Juno has humped another dog? As siad above sometimes humping is for dominance but it's often just how a dog plays. LOL, my dog plays/dominates his big teddy bear. I started him on Poppa Bear when he was little and seemed to think some piles of laundry needed to be humped into submission (in other words it was not dominance but some kind of feel good play) and he has never humped anything other than Poppa ever since, not people or furniture legs or other dogs or other animals. And he's a seven year old intact male. YOu might try re-directing Juno to an acceptable toy.

[Berna]

Intact males are usually aggressive only with other intact males, so don't worry about him.

The first dog is still a pup, so let them play.

I don't allow humping. If my dog humps, I will correct him. If he goes on after the correction, play time is over. Not only are some owners bothered by it, but it also triggers dog fights.

[Woofie]

Rivers (neutered male) is wonderful with other dogs - as long as everyone is off leash; but I began socializing him at 4mnths old.

That said; he was always really good with other male dogs - until we got Creek.

Creek became his soul-mate a year ago (spayed skittish female) - who's very glued to Rivers and looks to him for everything.

I don't attempt dog parks anymore - Rivers will chase every male that comes anywhere near Creek.

If they're playing with another female, everyone's cool - but a male dog and Rivers comes unglued.

Not sure why; only to say that Rivers lost his dear friend, Dakota, a little Pomeranian he was raised with a little over a year ago and went through a terrible heart-broken phase, nearly willing himself to death.

In stepped Creek at her 4mnths of age, very skittish, having been abused and just tied to the hip with him the very day we got her. These 2 play hard and are madly in love with one another; she is definitely *his girl* and I honestly believe he thinks someone might take her away.

Even at the vet clinic, he sits and waits for her.

Rivers humps on her quite a lot during playtime; but as soon as they're done playing, she does it to him in return - with these 2 it's pure excitement; neither one get irritated with each other - so I don't worry about it.

But, it's important to note, these 2 do not go into dog parks or other play zoned areas anymore. They are only doing it to themselves; Rivers never liked other dogs doing it to him when he was going to dog parks.

[Tori]

Thank you all - will try to correct her for the humping and will encourage play with the pitty. This really helps! xx