Dog park help

Darren

Darren

Premium Member
The past few weeks I've been taking little Monty to a a dog park a few miles away to try and help him make friends/have fun. The first few times it was quite sad as he just stood in the corner holding Mr Broccoli and wouldn't interact with anything. For the next week or so I then put him in without Mr Broccoli and he just walks around the fence sniffing and peeing none stop, he won't go near any of the dogs or even acknowledge they are there.
He's not scared, aggressive or anything like that, he just doesn't seem to care. If I pick him up and put him with the other dogs he just walks away back to the fence. I've tried sitting on the floor in the middle with him but I just get jumped on by random dogs lol, I've tried taking him to other dogs, I've tried with/without Mr Broccoli. The only dog has interacted with there was a Jack Russell but all Monty dig was keep turning around and kicking dirt all over the dog everytime he came near.....
Do you have any tips I could try as I would love for him to make friends or just play...It may just be he's not going to be social to any other dogs but I want to give it a big shot of him having some doggy fun before admitting it's just not meant to be.
 
Cooper is now 2. We started him at a puppy play time at our Vet clinic when he was a pup. He spent more time between our legs or random strangers legs until the number of dogs lessened. The Vet who ran the program reassured us that not all dogs want friends and personally her dog wouldn’t be brought to the program as her dog wouldn’t enjoy it. We continued until Coop was 3 months and that was pretty well the same each time we went. There would be a couple of dog he would interact with, but for the most part he enjoyed watching! lol. Now every Tuesday Cooper has a play date at the kennel we use. There are usually 5 dogs, a St. Bernard, 2 spaniel brothers, 2 Labradoodles and Cooper actually plays. The owner of the kennel picked the day for Cooper when he would be with dogs he would enjoy and she was right. He comes home wiped out a treat for us! lol

Maybe Monty just likes to watch, after all he already has a best friend Mr. Broccoli!:)
 
Darren, I am sorry but picturing Monty kicking dirt all over the Jack Russel anytime he tried to befriend Monty had me in stitches. :ROFLMAO:
Monty certainly knows how to make a point!!

On a serious side I think that Monty is telling you, in his always unique way, that his life is complete and happy with just you and your beautiful daughters as his worldly family...and of course Mr. B! I have had a couple of dogs over the years who had zero interest in interacting with other dogs, they weren't nasty to them but simply wanted nothing to do with them and repeated happy exposure to other dogs did nothing to change that.

Years ago we had a rescue named Tyker-do who was like Monty in his total disinterest in other dogs. He even took it a bit farther than Monty's dirt kicking. If another dog tried too hard to befriend Tyker-do he would simply lift his leg and pee on him/her! And here at home he claimed my husband's study as his and his alone and if any of our other dogs even peeked into the study he would pick up anything light enough to be thrown, shake it in protest, and then heave it at the other dog/s. Thankfully they all took it in good humor and Tyker-do lived a happy life (even in our multiple dog home) with only humans considered worthy of his friendship.

I hope someone else is a lot more help than I am in giving you suggestions. Dogs typically are pack animals and happily seek the companionship of other nice dogs, but once in a while one comes along that for whatever reason is the opposite of being a pack animal and I am not sure anything you do will change that.

Trini
 
Deacon does not care for other dogs so far. Yes, he has his two brothers at home and he loves them and terrorizes them. But when I took him to puppy playgroup for socializing, he was like Cooper above; sat next to me and had no interest. He LOVED being passed human to human, but wanted nothing to do with other dogs. Deacon and Brodie play like shelties; it is herding, it is jousting, it is intellectual ' keep away" with chasing and teasing and trying to outsmart each other. At puppy playgroup, it was rough and tumble, climbing over, under, more like trying to establish pecking order than outsmart each other - not how Brodie and Deacon play.

Our neighbor's daughter has a corgi his age, hubby though he'd take Deacon over to meet her - she is very social, loving, calm, outgoing. Deacon sat and stuck his nose as high in the air any time she came ear him, refused to even look at her. We did our first obedience class this past week, he sat and looked at the other dogs, but had no interest in meeting or playing with them.

I guess, like with Deacon, Monty has his playgroup already and doesn't feel the need to add to it. He might find a friend, he might not. Can always go, just to walk him around and if he does show interest, allow him to check things out. You might be his 'pack' and he's happy with that or he might eventually find a friend he approves of and feels a desire to play with that you have not run across yet.
 
Mine don't play with other dogs either, for the most part. Once a mini aussie was at the park and Fil played with her because she played like a sheltie. I'm just happy to have an area where I can let them go explore and run if they want to. They do greet other dogs, but that's basically it. I'd keep going and let Monty observe. It will take several visits before he's comfortable even being there.
(if you want a play mate, you probably need to get another sheltie LOL)
 
Not that this will help you to convince Monty there's fun to be found with other dogs but I don't think Monty is that unusual in not wanting to interact with other dogs at the park. I had a lovely and loving standard poodle named Carter who loved dog parks, but not for the dogs which he completely ignored but for the owners who were dog friendly. He would plunk himself down and sit where he could be petted. When one person stopped petting him, he would just move to the next. It was a people park for Carter, not a dog park.

If dog parks aren't his bag, there are plenty of other things to do. I guess my advice would be to not worry about it. Monty seems to like his outings with you and the girls just fine.
 
I wouldn’t worry too much that Monty doesn’t care for the other dogs...I agree with others who think it’ll take time for him or that it may just not be his thing. Another thing...you don’t know what happened to Monty before he came to live with you...perhaps he was scared by another dog or hurt etc. My point is if he doesn’t care for it don’t push him...let Monty just be Monty. He is one of a kind after all:biggrin2:!
 
Trini is spot on here. Not all dogs like other dogs, and not all dogs like to play. If you think about it, some dogs love toys; others want nothing to do with them. Some are ball-obsessed; others could care less. Shelties are an independent breed. As herding dogs, they were tasked with the solitary job of moving the stock. Another dog would have just been another furry body to move.

Of my five Shelties, some of them aren't even friends with each other! No one is hostile or aggressive, they just can't be bothered. Some will play together with specific dogs (Sprite and Ruffles). Flurry, who is desperate to play with anyone can't get a taker.

You also don't know what Monty's interaction with other dogs may have been in his past life, before he came to you. As others have said, it seems that he's found his security with you and your girls, and his pal Mr. B. Honestly, I wouldn't push him to be with other dogs. Perhaps an alternative is to do something with you or the girls...a rally or obedience class for instance, or even scent work. Something fun that he can do with you. You and the girls are his herd now. He's happy!
 
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