Do other dogs "play" like this?

[David Crandall]

One of our norwegian elkhounds does this thing when he wants to get another dog to play with him. He'll stand near the front of another dog, but a little off to the side, he'll turn his head away a little bit, look at them sideways, and he'll start barking. We can easily recognize it as his play bark, and it typically comes in bursts of 3, every couple of seconds. Most other dogs that we've seen have no idea how to respond to it. They just stand there and look at him with a fairly unsure expression. He has a few doggy friends in the neighborhood who have come to recognize what it means, but it makes it difficult for him to play with new dogs. When we took him to meet one dog we had tried to get as a rescue really didn't appreciate it and started snapping at him (obviously we didn't get her). At the kennel where he stays when we go on vacation (when we can't take him with us), they said that some dogs don't like it, and others do fine with it. It's really a bizarre behavior, and he seems to get frustrated when it doesn't work, which is most of the time. He's pretty relentless about it too, and will go for several minutes before he either gives up or gets interrupted.

A couple of weeks ago we met some people who also have an elkhound that does this. The interesting thing was that she didn't know how to respond (and even growled a little) when he was barking at her, and he didn't know how to respond when she was barking at him, so it doesn't even work with other dogs who do it.

The other elkhound we have doesn't do this (she doesn't play either), and we've met other elkhounds that don't do it.

Anyway, I just wanted to see if other people have dogs that do this.

Thanks,
Dave

[Krysta Smith]

Lola doesn't do it to other dogs but she will do it to me. She'll sit in front of me and turn her head to the side and then bark and bark. I'm not really sure what it means because it's almost like an anxious play(?) bark. She has done it when I hold the camera up and she can't see my face but when I put it down she comes up and licks my face like I disappeared and came back. She does it when we're playing too, if I'm playing with a wierd object (usually when it's near my face). It's almost like she's afraid it's going to swallow me up or something. I don't know if that makes any sense, or if that's even what she's doing. :confused: I hope someone else can answer your question better.

[Amber]

I read in Pamela Dennison's book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training that some of a dog's precursor (precursor being signs) are heads turned away, eyes turning away, and barking. There are 47 of them, but those are the ones that she lists that are in common with what you posted. What she is saying, how I'm interpreting it anyway, is that it is just a part of dog communication.

She also says "When dogs approach each other and wish to aviod fights, they arc around each other rather than approach head on. They will arc in a big circle, at times even curving their bodies. This can calm the other dog and avoid a potential conflct." Is this something that your dog is doing?

It may just be your dog trying to communicate with other dogs. Hopefully someone can help you...I'm no expert. I just read this the other day in my book and remembered it after reading your post and thought it may help.

[Jo Russell]

My Pomeranian does this sometimes, but only to my other dog. She doesn't seem to know what to do with it either and will just sort of stand there until the Pom adds prancing and bowing, which is the "proper" invitation.

When it comes to other dogs, my Pom is not interested in playing. I adopted him thirdhand, so know nothing of his first home and puppyhood - he may not have been socialised properly, or may have had bad experiences with other dogs which were not worked out at the time. I do know that his second family adopted him as a companion for their male Japanese Chin (another Spitz type dog), and that he was rehomed again because he was "coming off worst" in fighting with the Chin... Knowing this made me cautious when it came to introducing him to other dogs in case he was agressive, and it was only because I learned that he was giving off Calming Signals when getting up close to other dogs that I went ahead and got the 2nd dog I wanted for me, though I made sure to find the most laidback 2nd dog I could.

Not much of what I've said is really relevant to your question. Except that yes, there is at least one other dog that does this. I also agree with Krysta that the approach to play we're talking about may contain a degree of nervousness or uncertainty, though that's only from my not very wide experience.

I don't know much about about Elkhounds. Do they generally have aloof, not particularly sociable personalities?

[David Crandall]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't know much about about Elkhounds. Do they generally have aloof, not particularly sociable personalities?

Based on the ones we've interacted with, they often aren't overly playful, but they are social; they enjoy being around people and other dogs. I think our's is just weird.

It sounds like your pom does something similar. The difference is that your dog goes to bowing and prancing. Tien just keeps barking until either (a) the other dog plays, (b) he gets bored, or (c) the other dog snaps at him.

Amber, I have read a lot of that stuff about dog behavior (though not that particular book). He doesn't seem to be trying to calm the other dogs; he isn't doing any of the things we have come to recognize as his calming signals. In fact, he's trying to get them worked up to play more than anything else.

Dave

[Chris Smith]

My dog does the barking thing all the time when he wants to play with another dog. He will stand next to the other dog and do this friendly, higher pitched yappier type of bark as if to say "come on; let's play". If the dog doesn't respond, my dog will sometimes sort of prance around and continue to bark to get the dog to play.

I have been told that it could be a herding trait - like they're tring to round up the other dog to start playing or to run. I don't know elkhounds so I don't know if they do any herding.

My dog trainer observed this several times and said that's what she thought it was. And that it is harmless although maybe a little annoying to people (or the other dog).

[Grace Erick]

Capri will put her butt in the air and her head down when she wants to play. Then if you don't get up right away to play with her, she gives you a little growl. It's kind of like her saying "hey, buddy, don't you get the hint?"

Bye, Grace

[Andre Mendizabal]

Nala does that too, just that instead of barking she will do her "playful growl" or weird whining noises (she's a beagle) but the standing part is the same, most of the dogs go for it and play with her, the grumpy ones will throw her a "shut up" bark and she'll be on her way... :D She also does the "fun dance" when she wants to play, she stands there moving her legs front and back, front and back, until she gets them to play with her.
Dog behavior is really complex and you learn something new each day...