How to Train Your Dog to Play With Other Dogs

Hello Laura, First, know that puppies and adult dogs tend to play differently, so puppy's play style may not be Maya's at this age. Also, after three years of age, playing is not really necessary for an adult dog. Social interaction is, but those social interactions can be met in other ways - like have a mutual goal - think hiking along a trail sniffing their way back, generally enjoying each others company - laying in the same room just hanging out, and other more neutral activities. I would work on teaching pup to respect Maya's space and interact calmly instead of being allowed to pester her if she does so now. That will help Maya feel she can be near the puppy without stressing about being bothered. Not being stressed around the puppy can help her like the puppy more. Continue doing fun activities with the dogs together like walking together, teach pup to respect Maya's boundaries, then let Maya decide if and when she wants to engage in playing with Loki. I always recommend letting the older dog initiate the play. You may find that as the puppy calms down, if Maya has a good association with the puppy and some trust from the puppy not pestering her constantly, she is more likely to start playing with Loki once Loki gets older. Even if she never does initiate play, you will have facilitated them still enjoying being together in a "hanging" out sort of way, opposed to playing sort of way. I would look for other puppy friends for Loki to interact with in the meantime. Since puppies play differently than adult dogs, the best place for Loki to learn how to control the pressure of their mouth, take turns during play, and adjust how energetic versus gentle they are based on who they are interacting with is through playing with other puppies, with you to moderate the play and facilitate breaks if one puppy starts getting overwhelmed or too rough and they need a little break. A few years ago when we got our retriever, my older Border Collie wasn't interested in playing with her, and would leave if she tried to touch him too much. We encouraged her to give him space and let him decide whether he wanted to play, instead of her constantly trying to play with him first, so he could just enjoy being in the same room with her without feeling overwhelmed. Once they built some mutual trust and respect with our help, she got older and calmed down, he did start occasionally initiating brief play with her. Since he was older he got tired more easily, so the play didn't always last that long and wasn't super often. What also happened though is that he started acting a lot younger again just being around her, he was more interested in playing with other dogs in general, and they enjoyed being together - simply hanging out in the same room, checking on each other, going on adventures like hiking with us, and we even caught him letting her cuddling occasionally - something he never would have tolerated when she was a puppy and didn't know how to respect his space (such as biting his ears and paws trying to play when he wanted to be left alone). What you are experiencing is normal, respect your older dog's desire to rest unless they initiate the play, as long as they are being kind to the puppy and not aggressive. Let them decide if and when they are ready and it be on their own terms as far as how often and how long. Don't expect them to play while pup is still a puppy in most cases. As a Shepherd it's probably more important for the dogs to have a mutual purpose together to bond, than to play, such as hiking, walking, and adventuring with you (visiting or encountering anywhere or anything new is adventuring for a dog without you having to exercise a lot like hiking). Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

March 25, 2022

Hello Emma, For now, I would keep them separate in the garden - in situations where there are a lot of things both dogs think they own they might be resource guarding, and where arousal during play can turn into a fight. Instead, I would work on walking the dogs together - where the situation is calmer, there is more structure, and they have a mutual purpose of traveling to bond over. Check out the article I have linked below, and the Passing Approach method (to start) and Walking Together method (the end goal). I would pursue structured interactions like this for a few months. After that, you might be able to increase their interactions to the garden again, but along the way, watch for competing and resource guarding tendencies to help you tell whether they could make that transition. It might also be that there is more competing because the younger dog is older now. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Feb. 7, 2022