What's going on with my grumpy boy!

[waisis]

As Bailey has been growing up (he turned two years old today...will post some pics later), he is becoming less and less interested in playing with other dogs at the park.  In fact, he's getting to be a downright GRUMP when any dog tries to play with him as he just wants to sniff around and explore.  Is this at all normal?  Even doggy buddies he's know all his life he'll play with for only a few minutes and then starts tellling them off (i.e., barking and growling) if they keep on pestering him to play.  Unfamiliar dogs get a much more thorough telling off and it's pretty embarassing--yesterday Bailey was off-leash and another dog came up behind him and Bailey was very loud and nasty to him until the other dog became submissive and rolled unto its back.  So what's up with that?  Is this just Bailey's "adult" personality coming out or is there something more going on here?

[wendy]

Hi

It's the 'terrible twos', Finley is more grumpy than usual (he is two).  My breeder told me the 'terrible twos' is a stage they go through she said it like a fourteen year old boy - need I say more.

Wendy

[waisis]

Wait, you mean dogs go through the stages of "crazy puppyhood", the "Kevin teenage years", AND the "terrible twos"!  Why did I ever get a dog?!  Just joking, Bailey was a little angel yesterday at the park so he's in my good books in the meantime...

[Nicola]

Wait, you mean dogs go through the stages of "crazy puppyhood", the "Kevin teenage years", AND the "terrible twos"!  Why did I ever get a dog?!  Just joking, Bailey was a little angel yesterday at the park so he's in my good books in the meantime...

Just wait til he has his midlife crisis! 

[Cob-Web]

At around 2 years old, I saw quite a lot of changes in Molo - and one of them was his "take it or leave it" attitude towards other dogs  Up until then he had made it his lifes work to make friends with anything that moved, but slowly, he was less bothered and when we had an off lead session at training classes over the summer, all the other (younger) dogs played in the middle of the room while he ignored them and mooched around on his own 

He rarely tells another dog off, though - although doesn't tolerate puppies well and will give Snoopy a warning if it gets OTT; if Snoopy comes round to our garden Molo will play for ages.......if we go for a walk together, he's not interested 

The good thing is that recall seems to improve at about the same age, and he became a lot more laid back in the house - happy to slob around with us if needed 

[Petra]

Rachel, I am seeing exactly the same in Dillon...

He used to want to play with every dog we met, and would continue to pester them even if they showed him they were not interested.

Now, some dogs he'll not even bother going up to, some he will have a quick sniff at and then walk off, and only with some will he still be insistent on playing with...

He will spend all day mooching around with us if he could, he definately seems to be growing up....

Mind you, he is only 14 months, if he is like this now, how aloof is he going to be when he is two!!

[Joules]

Wait, you mean dogs go through the stages of "crazy puppyhood", the "Kevin teenage years", AND the "terrible twos"!  Why did I ever get a dog?!  Just joking, Bailey was a little angel yesterday at the park so he's in my good books in the meantime...

Hmm, just when I thought we might be getting to the end of adolescence you tell me that there will be terrible twos? 

[waisis]

The funny thing is Bailey's still VERY interested in sticking his nose up the other dogs' butts...way up there in fact!  Also if other dogs are barking or causing a commotion, then he's there in a flash.  He just doesn't want to play with many dogs now and I miss watching him play and wrestling around BOOHOO 

[pink]

I must admit, my two year old cocker Daniel seemed to change over night when he reached two. He calmed down a lot, but also started growling at my seven year old daughter, which is a bit up setting as he has always been really soppy. He has also growled at me a couple of times, normally if I want him to do something that he does not fancy. Could he be asserting himself?? I was not sure if it was 'hormonal!!' 

[Colin]

Jimmy and Misty stopped being interested in playing with other dogs ages ago - their priority is sniffing about and chasing after balls - they still enjoy a quick sniff but that's about it. Must admit I prefer it that way, I can have proper walks now instead of just standing around. Misty sometimes even sulks when I walk with other dog owners, as she knows it means she doesn't get my full attention - she keeps her distance from us all and sometimes even lies down and refuses to budge. 

[Ben's mum]

Don't want to worry anyone with 2 year olds but, Ben's 'terrible 2's'  turned into even more terrible 3's!!!
Like other cockers on here, Ben was sociable and playful until about 2 and a bit, then suddenly started telling other dogs off if they pestered him. 
He is so unpredictable, sometimes i see a dog run up to him and I worry in case he is going to tell them off and he is fine, other times he will run up to a dog, tail wagging and then lose it???

Someone please tell me - when he reaches 4 - will he revert to my sociable playful boy    or is he on the path to being a real grumpy old man

Ben's mum

[Top Barks]

Dogs change as do we  and you can't expect every dog to be the life and soul of the party for the whole of its life.
I do not like a lot of things that I did when I was young and I know I am anthropomorphising a bit here but could this not be similar for our dogs too?
Experiences gained may change how a dog feels about dog/ dog interaction and I would not worry that my dogs do not go charging up to say hello, infact I'm glad they don't as I know how rude it is for some dogs to have a bad mannered dog in their face.
As puppies dogs learn boundries form their litter mates and in adulthood dogs are still told off for unnaceptable behaviour by their own kind and in their own language. Humans interfering with this process often make matters worse and even provoke an agressive reaction.
Try and ensure positive meetings with other dogs by walking side by side at a distance and allowing the dogs to make a choice as to whether they want to interact or not.

[Joelf]

Like most labs Spike has a "Heil fellow- well met"attitude to other dogs although he's not really interested if he's busy checking out his rabbit holes to see if he can get a rabbit!!

Domino tends to be a little bit wary when he meets a strange dog; occasionally he will bark but once he's had a little sniff he's usually quite happy to socialise with them for a while although he would rather play with his ball!

[dollop]

Dolly also lost all interest in other dogs at 2- virtually overnight! I had worked so hard on her recall as she was desperate to greet anyone and everyone, and then she suddenly started  ignoring them!
She still walks past other dogs without so much as a glance in their direction, whether she knows them or not. Another cocker might get a brief wag of the tail, but that's about it.
She doesn't generally tolerate puppies, but will usually walk away from them if she can. If she can't escape because the puppy won't leave her alone she will give a low growl- but I'm afraid I tend to gently move offenders away from her if the owners don't, so she doesn't have to tell them off herself.
She prefers people to dogs, and if someone stops to fuss her, she will happily sit at their feet for ages!

I also have a rescue puppy (who Dolly does actually play with) who is still desperate to greet every other dog and is currently on a long line, but the recall is coming on a treat- she actually returned to me of her own volition today before I called her as she spotted her cocker friends on the field. Mind you, she shot off like a bullet from a gun when I gave her the "free" command a few moments later!

[isla]

My Dad's cocker sounds just like Dolly!!!

He's six and loves people once they have been introduced to him but he's reserved with other dogs. He likes my Mum's shitz tzu (sp) for company but doesn't play with her. He hasn't fully accepted Jem yet and if she won't stop annoying him he will do the low growl. He's never told her off which I think is the problem... he is a big wuss and just hides from her. He is still a lovely dog but different to how he was in his puppy years. He is incredibly loyal (more so than any other dog we've had) and likes to "talk" to you quite a lot!!!He's the only cocker we've had like this but then again he's the only dog we've ever had that my Dad and I can walk off the lead (he stops at roads and waits for you... bless him).