Maggie doesn't play!

[wcladymacbeth]

I sure hope getting another dog soon will fix this. She never plays with us. She plays alone with her toys, and she used to play with other dogs but lately the ones she's been around (like my parents' dog) just irritate her.

She has this one soft rubber squeaky that she tosses around, never holding it in her mouth hard enough to squeak it, but when it does accidentally squeak, she squeaks back at it It's the cutest thing ever. But if I grab her toy (whether she's playing with it at the time or not) and throw it or try to get her to play with me with it, she looks at me like "uh, what are you doing with my toy... why did you just throw that?" and she goes and sulks under the table.

She won't play tug. If I ever pull on something that's in her mouth, she lets go immediately and goes and sulks.

She does play chase sometimes.. I chase her, she chases me. But if I do it too long (more than a couple jots across the yard), she goes and sulks.

Should I just let her be, or should I keep trying? She's seems to be a happy enough dog. Very independent. Sweet and cuddly as can possibly be. She loves walks, but she's also content to sit at home and play by herself. She's sulking right now because I just took her on a walk but I tried to train her to heel. She did well for the most part but now she's sulking. She is the hardest dog to train, not because she's not smart, but because training her makes her sad and she goes and sulks. At that point she won't take even the yummiest treats because she's "mad" at me.

Any ideas? This is nothing new btw, this is how she's always been. Maybe I should just let her be and accept her for who she is. I hope my next dog plays with me though! lol

 

[Laurelin]

Summer never plays. Trey never plays. I just let them be. Summer will however play with another dog if it's one of her 'chosen' ones. There have only been two dogs in her life I've known that she will play with- Bernard and Tango. I wish she'd play more but she's just in general a serious and not very playful dog.

 

[smkie]

How old is she? Victor has pretty much stopped playing with his toys unless he is in a rare mood. HE just grew up is all. He will romp a bit with Pepper but only for a minute or two. Mary did the same. So did Bronki. VIctor is 5 and a half now. I miss my wiggly giggly boy but at the same time i enjoy the steadfast behavior of his adult self.

 

[Duke'sMommy]

I wish Duke had a bit of Maggie in him. If I dont "look" busy to him he will drop his toys at my feet to toss for him and just always be in my face to play with him. He doesnt know how to play by himself. He's 3 1/2 and been like this since day one. Some days I wish he would ignore me for once.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Maggie turns 2 this summer, but she's been like this since I've had her (since she was 7 months.. they thought.) At least she's not the only dog that's like this, lol. She does get wiggly and excited ONLY when she greets us. I almost don't even want to stop her from jumping up on us when she greets us because it's the only time she does it or even gets excited whatsoever. She is just a serious dog, I guess. But I love her

 

[smkie]

Pepper plays only on really rare occasions and that being when she hasn't had enough outside time. She would much rather sit under a tree watching a squirrel instead of chasing a ball or romping with vic. I think she does it only when she is bored out of her gourd and even then she only tries for a couple minutes. I think Pepper is closing in on 3.

It was surprising for Viccy because he loved his toys so. Would gather them all up and toss them in the air one at a time. He will still get a lot of joy out of a flash light..and give bubbles a bit of a go but not the same way he use to. IF he brings me a toy it is because he wants me off the dumb computer not because he really wants to play.

 

[ARiley]

My opinion is to just let her be. Seems like it's just who she is.

Cody wants to be played with constantly, I swear he requires more attention than a baby. He will whine and cry if I ignore his requests to play. Sometimes I wish he would chill and let me be for a bit, but I also really enjoy watching him play. It's hillarious. For a puppy, Lilly seems really laid back(compared to Cody at this age). I'm hoping Cody will get her to be a playful dog. As I type this they're playing together in my room(have been for 15mins) which hasn't happened yet(for more than 5mins), so I think he's rubbing off on her, lol.

 

[StillandSilent]

Is your Maggie perhaps related to my Argon? I have the same issues with him, only he won't touch toys at all. Occasionally, when he's on his 75ft line, he will play the "Run up to Mommy grinning like an idiot, play bow and run away game", but not always. What were her experiences like before you got her? Did she ever learn how to play as a little puppy?

 

[Pam111]

My husky/malamute was like that. She was a sweet, cuddly dog and I adored her, but she did not play AT ALL. I bought all kinds of toys and she never wanted anything to do with them.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Is your Maggie perhaps related to my Argon? I have the same issues with him, only he won't touch toys at all. Occasionally, when he's on his 75ft line, he will play the "Run up to Mommy grinning like an idiot, play bow and run away game", but not always. What were her experiences like before you got her? Did she ever learn how to play as a little puppy?

I know she was in and out of the shelter a bunch before I got her, and before that she was picked up as a stray along with her siblings. So.. I don't know if she was ever very playful even as a puppy. Her siblings apparently had the same shy but sweet temperament that she has. I wonder how they're doing... I hope they found good homes too.

 

[Renee750il]

Bimmer never played much until Buffy came along, and he was still very much a pup -- only about 9 months old -- then. He didn't really play other than to teach with Shiva and then Shiva got him off the hook from having to play with Kharma, lol.

He never really played hard until he got Tallulah.

So . . . you need to find Maggie her very own APBT puppy


Well, I'm halfway joking. Not every dog is cut out to *own* an APBT.

 

[bubbatd]

Ollie's never been into Frisbees and balls . He will play and run with Hunter and Maggie May when they're here . He must be at least around 4 now . He's so funny !!! I had to go pick up a prescription today and when I opened the garage door he had to run over to neighbor's open gate . Not to play with Bentley ( the Standard Poodle ) but to steal 3 stuffed toys from the yard and run home ! I toss so many toys back in their yard !!!

 

[Laurelin]

Summer won't play with any kind of object or toy either. Well, I take that back. We've had a couple rounds of fetch before. the first throw she's TOTALLY into it. She grabs it, brings it back butt in the air and grinning. then I throw it again and she gives me the 'You're an idiot, I just brought it to you!' look. When she plays with other dogs, she plays very differently and much more seriously. She never loses. When they rough house, she bites their ankles, that's about all she does. If there's a toy involved, she trips them and steals the toy. The only game she REALLY plays is chase. she loves to run. But she is much more deliberate on that one too. She will cut them off, stalk and beat them every time whereas they tend to chase each other directly and stay pretty much behind the other.

I don't think it has a thing to do with her upbringing, she was raised well and with a lot of love and other dogs to play with. I do remember her playing with a sock when she was about 11 weeks old.

 

[ihartgonzo]

It sounds like Maggie is shutting down... Gonzo used to shut down in the blink of an eye, too. The key is playing/training with her in very gradual increments. Sensitive dogs need short, calm, positive sessions without too much excitement. Training will do so much to help her gain confidence, but for now, keep it very brief. At what point does she usually start "sulking"? Try to identify when she's about to shut down, and end the session on a positive note. That might mean you can only work with her for 1-2 minutes at this point, but that doesn't mean you can't do 10 sessions per day. As she becomes more comfortable performing the commands, she will no longer be shutting down and getting overwhelmed. Be very patient, calm, and consistent! It can be frustrating, but you cannot let her know that. If she does something wrong, don't correct her, simply ignore it and show her what you want her to do. Have you ever tried clicker training? It can work wonders with shy/fearful dogs, for sure.

As far as playing... what I do to create toy drive is first of all, remove every toy from Maggie's access. For a few days, or even weeks if it takes her that long to show interest, take one or two of her toys out and play with them by yourself. You can even stuff them with food (cut a slit in a tennis ball, or use a toy with holes). Toss them around, act like they're REALLY fun, play with them with some one else, and so on. Ignore her completely. After a few days, allow her to sniff the toy you're playing with, but not touch it. Basically, you're taunting her with the toy and creating drive to play because she can't have it and she isn't being asked to play with it.

In addition to creating toy drive, you could try using a teaser pole, which is basically a flexible pole with a line through it that has a toy attached. You can even buy one made for cats, if it's sturdy. You would be surprised at how many dogs who aren't into toys go insane over chasing a "lure".

This is a good article about how to teach a dog to tug: Controlled Tug Games: A Novel Reinforcer | Karen Pryor Clickertraining

 

[bubbatd]

Goldens have such soft mouths I've never played tug of war with them ....dog to dog fine .

 

[ihartgonzo]

Playing tug actually promotes better bite inhibition! If you teach your dog that if their teeth touch your hand the tugging is over, they will learn to be VERY conscious of where their teeth are. I play some intense tug with my dogs, especially in training for Flyball/Agility/etc, and they have yet to leave a mark on me. Like, I can actually pick Fozzie up by his tug.

 

[MericoX]

You can train toy drive.

 

[Renee750il]

Playing tug actually promotes better bite inhibition! If you teach your dog that if their teeth touch your hand the tugging is over, they will learn to be VERY conscious of where their teeth are. I play some intense tug with my dogs, especially in training for Flyball/Agility/etc, and they have yet to leave a mark on me. Like, I can actually pick Fozzie up by his tug.

It's been very good for Tallulah. She's got a lot of typical, natural APBT inhibition when it comes to human parts in her mouth, but playing tug (which any Terrier will tell you is the BEST game EVER, lol) has really reinforced it. If she bites too high up on her sock when we're playing, she can't turn loose and get a safer grip fast enough

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Thanks for the great comments Gonz, I think you're right.. I used to be able to do little training sessions, but I think I pushed it too hard and now she just doesn't like to do it at all. I'll have to start trying again in shorter, more fun and rewarding sessions and see how that goes.

As for toy drive, I probably could try to train that, or maybe having another dog will help with it too. My parents' dog was over on Saturday and he had a blast playing with her squeakies, and when he left she started playing with them more too. So.. we'll see how it goes

 

[JudithMary]

She sounds like a sweetie. Probably just her personality.