In my work, both as a dog walker and a trainer, I am constantly dealing with older dogs who don’t know how to play appropriately with other dogs. These dogs may not have had the opportunity to socialize with other dogs as pups and by the time they come to me, the window of opportunity to alter their behavior has mostly closed. It isn’t that you can’t improve on the way that these dogs interact with other dogs it’s just that you might never get to a place with them where they can play in a group of dogs without constant supervision.

There certainly are steps that you can take to try to improve the quality of play; interrupting rough play comes to mind but the more dogs in the mix, the more difficult this becomes. I’ve experience this fist hand recently. I’ve added dogs to one of my play groups on a probationary basis and after a few weeks of supervised play time, I’ve had to make the decision to remove some of the more over the top dogs from the group. With 5 or 6 dogs to supervise, I just couldn’t devote all of my energies to one animal.

The other thing to keep in mind is that some dogs aren’t super social and feel overwhelmed in huge groups of dogs. These dogs might not do well in a dog park but might be fine in a smaller group of dogs.

Additionally, different dogs have different play styles. Certain dogs may play rougher which many dogs might find offensive. Partnering these dogs with dogs with similar play styles is critical otherwise you will likely see altercations ensue.

I have a bulldog whose owner has had a number of problems with in day care and at the dog park. In my smaller, more intimate groups, I’ve not seen a single instance of trouble. One reason I think, is that she is outdoors and not in an enclosed space and she can move away from the other dogs if she feels overwhelmed. The more a dog feels trapped, the more likely they are to be defensive. This is also a small group of dogs which might not feel as overwhelming to her.

If you have a dog that doesn’t seem to do well in these large groups don’t be discouraged. Try and find a few doggy friends and make regular play dates so that your dog continues to be social. It’s unrealistic to expect that all dogs will like every dog they come in contact with. We humans don’t like every person we meet. Why should we expect anything different from our dogs?