It may come as a surprise but not all dogs like each other. Dogs, just like humans, have preferences about who they like to socialize with. Some dogs will tolerate a lot of rude and rowdy behaviour but that doesn’t mean they enjoy it. At High Tails we pride ourselves on being able to create enriching, fun and safe playgroups for the dogs who like to socialize and now we’re going to share our tips on how to choose doggy friends for your pup.
There are exceptions to all the rules but this guide will help you pick the best potential playmates for your dog.
- The best playmates are usually not the same age. This is surprising to many people but if you have two pushy adolescent dogs together they may actually just work each other up and not have a respectful and appropriate play session. Young puppies typically learn best from a relaxed and tolerant adult dog who will teach them boundaries in a safe manner. Older dogs sometimes need a slightly younger companion to get them up and moving again. Your best bet is to have 1.5 years to 3 years in age difference when picking out a friend for your dog to play with. You don’t want to go too far on the spectrum and have a sore and tired senior with a energizer bunny of a pup either.
- Gender can matter but not always. If you’re unsure about your dog’s preference in friends then it’s best to do a male/female match. This doesn’t mean that male/male or female/female won’t play well as most do but when you’re first finding friends a dog of the opposite gender is a safer bet.
- When it comes to dog friends – size matters! You don’t want to pair a small dog with a large one even when they are both friendly. It’s really easy if something does go wrong for a smaller dog to become severely injured. It’s best to keep friends in a 30lbs range of each of other.
- Dogs have vastly different play styles – some dogs like to chase, some like to wrestle and some like to walk around together smelling the ground. It’s important to pick a dog that has a like minded play style. A sniffer dog doesn’t want to play with a body slammer who loves to wrestle.
- Put dogs with extremely high energy levels with dogs who have moderate ones. Putting two high energy dogs together can create more problems that it’s worth and even spill over into a fight if they get too revved up.
With all that in mind you should be able to analyze your dog’s preferences and personality and come up with a good idea about what a suitable playmate would be like. We use this same information when picking out friends for your dog when they come for daycare or boarding. It works well and keeps every safe, happy and healthy!
Now get out there and make some new doggy friends!
