Are BCs notorious for being "snobby" and standoffish with other dogs?

[nowwown]

Cody is now 2-1/2. He spends 40-70% of his day at home by himself. The balance is with his humans, when we spend alot of time playing, ball throwing, walking, etc. Very little interaction with other dogs.

 

I think as a result, he has become very uninterested in his previous "friends" -- other dogs that he sees in our neighborhood, whether he's on leash for a walk or running around a dead-end street area at the back end of our neighborhood.

 

It usually starts out well, the other dog is very excited to see him, and Cody seems semi-interested; he is wagging his tail and friendly but aloof. They touch noses and smell each other, then Cody is ready to move on. And makes that very clear to all by laying down, facing away from the other dog. Even trying to excite him into a game of run-around or chase with the other dog is difficult.

 

I recently changed his food from IVD Potato & Whitefish to Wellness Core Ocean. He's done great on it looks-wise and everything but could that apathy or disinterest stem from food change?

[Maralynn]

Missy likes some other dogs, but much prefers to be doing something with me. Kipp isn't good with other dogs, so it's not an option, but he'd rather play with me than Missy any day.

 

It's not a big deal if your dog doesn't care about other dogs. A dog doesn't need doggy friend to be live a happy life. In fact training can be much easier if your dog prefers spending time with you.

[JohnLloydJones]

Senneca is very selective when it comes to other dogs. At the dog park, there are certain dogs that are fun to play with and others that are just plain boring. Mostly, I've been unable to see what it is that affects her choice. Labs are fun to chase and dumb enough to enjoy getting body-slammed and barrel-rolled. Certain other dogs -- mostly, those that are very fast -- are also fun to run with. She tends to pack up with other herding breeds when they choose a "victim" to chase. Several dogs we have know from small pups are long time play friends.

[urge to herd]

Might just be maturity. Some dogs just don't like/need/want to play with other dogs. Some dogs do. I wouldn't think his food change has anything to do with it, if he's behaving normally in all other ways.

 

Your little puppy is a grown up - he wants to do grown up things!

 

Ruth

[afrancis]

Might just be maturity. Some dogs just don't like/need/want to play with other dogs. Some dogs do. I wouldn't think his food change has anything to do with it, if he's behaving normally in all other ways.

 

Your little puppy is a grown up - he wants to do grown up things!

 

Ruth

 

I agree with Ruth. Its probably maturity. My first Riley was like that. Very little to no interest in other dogs. Just her old friend Molly she would play with. I would bet though if you dog-sat a playful dog over a period of time, they would probably play when out together. But aside from that, I think its (i) perfectly normal for some dogs to become more aloof with other dogs when they get a bit older, IME around 2 years old; (ii) doesn't affect their life happiness as long as they're with their human buddies; and (iii) I've never heard of it having anything to do with a food switch.

Ailsa

[sandra s.]

Kessie changed like that when she grew up. I used to track down other dog walkers by following the paw prints, so that she could play. Nowadays I feel lucky if she gives another dog a single tail wave. She's a bag of snark and racist to boot - other border collies still get the friendly treatment. Can't do anything about it though...she accepts me as I am, social blunders and all, so I should be able to live with this too.

She does, however, make friends with non-BCs if she gets to know them really well.

[kibbles]

since mine is still a wee little guy, he still loves other dogs. some dogs he is more playful with, and he always ends up using his paw to hit the other dogs in the behind...dont know what thats about maybe in a year or two i could give a better answer:)

[Lizmo]

Blaze (almost a year) likes other dogs and submits to most any dog. Male or female. He also likes people.

 

I second what Ruth posted. I've seen some dogs who could care less what other dogs are doing, only watches/looks for attetion. Then some dogs who could care less what people are doing and watches/plays with other dogs.

 

It wouldn't really bother me if my dog didn't generally want to sniff/play with other dogs or was not intersted in other people. As long as that said dog was well behaved around dogs and people.

[BCjetta]

Hannah is antisocial as well. When she was young (less than 2), she wanted to go up to other dogs and would try to play but not obsessively. As she matured, she became less interactive and on a walk now if the other dog doesn't look like its going to approach her, she'll just walk right past without stopping to say hi. She now doesn't like dogs that are very bouncy and in her face and will tell them so. She had 1 dog that she actually really wanted to play with and would get super excited whenever she saw him. She will very rarely play with our 4yr old aussie but only after he's harrassed her over and over to play. She would much rather play with me (ie me throw something for her, train her, interact with her in any way).

[Root Beer]

For a while when he was about four I took Speedy to playgroups to try to improve his dog sociability. Once we turned them loose, he would systematically go up to every single dog in the group, show his teeth to the dog and go, "grr" and then immediately move along. All of the dogs (he was grouped with all "soft" dogs, of course) would read his signals perfectly and would completely ignore him. Speedy then proceeded to spend the entire playgroup prancing around the field on his own, catching the attention of the human dog owners in the enclosure.

 

He likes to play group games with other Border Collies where they are all chasing something or swirling around each other, but that's about it. The only dog he plays with at all in more typical dog fashion is Maddie, and he doesn't do very much of that. He plays avidly with Dean, but all ball games.

 

Speedy likes his space and he likes to interact with other dogs on his own terms. We don't do playgroups anymore and he's much happier. He does well being around other dogs on leash in classes and so forth - he just doesn't want to play with them.

[ahoops]

Gypsy used to like pretty much any other dog she came across until she turned 2 and from then on if its not a BC or similar she doesnt give them the time of day or if they are bouncy, in your face (OKA rude, obnoxious) dogs they soon get told that she is not interested.LOL its that secret handshake /password thing again.

Seems BCs are ok to meet touch noses sniff the appropriate bits and move on thats just the way it is!

[EmilyMiller]

Kibbles has the right idea, I think socializing has a good part to do with how these dogs act towards other dogs. I'm having a bit of a problem with my new BC and the rest of my dogs getting along. She is fine as long as they don't approach her. But she was never socialized when she was a pup.

[Bo Peep]

Usher and Bliss like other dogs, but they seem to go to border collies for some reason. I have no clue why, but they tend to like their own breed. Odd, isn't it? How would they know?

[grinning.girl]

shelby is another one that used to love dogs growing up but new that she is getting older, she is happy to see them, gives em a sniff and is done... looking for something else to do.

[Anda]

Ouzo is very much like Cody and the other dogs mentioned here. He acts super excited when he sees a dog out the window, but once he gets outside, he gives a sniff then moves on. He often chases at high speed running dogs at the park, but if those turn around to play, he acts like he was just passing by behind them at 60mph

 

The most playful towards other dogs is when he's on a leash, and he sniffs the dogs for just a bit longer. Just a couple of days ago, on a -20F snowy day, he decided to play bow and run with a black lab we ran into. But if there's a ball/frisbee around, the other dogs might just as well vanish, it would not affect him.

 

I haven't seen him "play" with other Border Collies, he does enjoy their company simply because they are equally focused on their person/ball/frisbee. Our play dates with Amy and Laura are fun, but none of our dogs actually "play" together - they interact at a minimum with each other and are all a team with the same goal - swim, fetch, walk, etc

[Dixie_Girl]

Hmmmmm

[SS Cressa]

Let see Cressa is also anti-social to most dogs.

 

Most border collies she doesn't give the time of day or hates. It is easy to tell which border collies have the most drive/intensity because Cressa will stock them(border collie crouch and creep). LOL She normally get leashed with the other intense border collie because I don't want to know what happens when two "w"itches meet. (in both contexts)

-I have notice Cressa will flirt with pretty/barbie border collies and will get all goofy over them(all males of course). She also adores most shelties (8 out 10 shelties) and will get goofy over them also. LOL In our 2 years of competing Cressa has only gotten snarky at 2 sheltie out of hundreds that we ran into!

 

Troy on our other hand LOVES all dogs. When I am trying to work him if we stand still too long he will try to get the whole class to play with him(and there is always that dog/s that will fall for it). I hope he will become picky when he is older.

 

Stella

[sandra s.]

I have no clue why, but they tend to like their own breed. Odd, isn't it?

 

They're nasty little elitist snobs, and I've recently realised that I know exactly how it feels . If you go to almost any youtube video and read the comments underneath...there MIGHT be the odd underappreciated brain cell rattling about there, but usually...hmmm. Sometimes I understand my Snob Collie a lot better than I should.

[Ruger's Dad]

I have always gone to the dog park with frisbees. Since Ruger is totally obsessed, he wants no interaction with other dogs. At first, the other dogs may try to chase him or steal the frisbee but then he will eventually give them a growl or snap. After that, he is left alone. For the most part, I will say he is mostly a people dog or at least work obsessed. He is also not very friendly to strays wandering in the yard. I would probably give him a D+ in playing well with others.

[Nepsa]

Aspen has always been snobby....dogs would bark at her..and she won't give them a 2nd glance and keeps walking or playing. She's always in her own world with us and none of the dogs exists around her. That's the way she was. But I remember she had a German Shepherd friend who was our roommate's dog...them two had issues...in a funny way. They both loved ball and the German Shepherd's name was also Aspen. So they both were always fighting over the ball in a cute way....German Aspen would be hoarding the balls and putting them all on a frisbee and Aspen would stand in front of GAspen and wait for her to lose a ball....it was a sight to watch!