Tuesday, February 24, 2009

New Friends

Bailey the Beagle's owner the other day asked me if there were certain breeds that Theo tended to get or not get along with (apparently Bailey has a complete disdain for all things Poodle).  I had never quite thought of it that way, but yes, there definitely are!  Theo is a lover, so he likes most dogs, but I will say if he's not a fan, then the dog is probably either a Lab or a Boxer.  I think Labs are a bit too exurberant for Theo's taste.  There's a lab the same age as Theo named Max that we often see on our walks in the evening.  Despite the fact that he's played with Max on several occasions when they were younger, and they've smelled each other on dozens of times, somewhere along the way Theo decided he didn't like Max.  Now whenever Max comes bounding up to him to say hello, Theo snaps and growls at him.  I think he's afraid he's going to get stepped on.  Max isn't exactly a graceful dog, and he's big.  As for the Boxers, I have no idea why, but whenever he comes across a Boxer it's all snapping and growling again.  I think, like Labs, he's just afraid of getting pummled.    Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the Lab that lives next door to my parents in Reno.  He was mellow and gentle enough that Theo tolerated him.  I wouldn't say he has a problem with big dogs in general because there are several big dogs we know that he's fine with.  For instance, Theo just loves Sanook, the 150lb Malamute that we often encounter on our walks.  A gentler giant I've never seen.  

While Theo mostly likes all dogs there are definitely breeds that Theo likes more than others.   Of course, that would be the herding breeds.  It's amazing how herding breeds really seem to prefer each other!  Obviously, Theo likes other Corgis best, but after that I definitely think Australian Shepherds are his next preference.  They have such a sweet and playful temper that Theo just eats up.  He hadn't really played with any Border Collies until recently, so I wasn't sure what he thought of them.  Of course, now I know that he loves them too.  A neighbor of mine just rescued one a few weeks ago named Brody and they are becoming fast friends.  Theo even jumped on Brody's head a few times the night before last.  I haven't seen him do that to any dog besides another Corgi in a long time.

Has anyone else noticed this?  Are there any breeds your dog doesn't take to or any that they can't get enough of?

10 comments:

ClassyChassy said...

My corgis get along well with our Aussie - except ONE corgi girl - she screams at him loudly and excitedly, and he is clearly annoyed by her screaming! It's funny to watch and listen to, but we are forced to correct her, before it becomes a life-long habit of hers! Their other playmate is a pitbull cross, who seems gentle and loves to romp with them.

Philip's Mom said...

Philip's favorite game with other dogs is to be chased, so he really loves other herding breeds because they will chase him very willingly :)

He hasn't met a dog he didn't like yet, not a single one. The closest it came was a mix breed dog at the dog park this weekend. The dog was chasing him and I think she either ran into him or stepped on him, or otherwise hurt him somehow on accident. I heard him squeal and then he stayed away from that dog for the rest of the time at the park. He also barked his head off at her whenever she came near or tried playing with the dogs he was playing with. It was really quiet funny, I almost think Philip's pride was hurt and he was just bitter :) I'll have to see how he behaves next time we run into her.

Kelly said...

The only dog Gibson really did not like was this wire fox terrior that kept humping him over Thanksgiving haha. He just loves other dogs. He is so cute and lays down looking as friendly as possible whenever a new dog approches him. He seems to really get excited around other dogs his size and herding dogs. I guess he figures they will be more likely to play with him *shrug* :)

betty said...

Koda basically hates all dogs, will tolerate other corgis; definitely hates Boxers (came from puppy class years ago when the Boxer kept trying to paw him and then a Boxer attacked him about a month ago while we were walking so he definitely hates them). Walking is not a joy with Koda; we have to cross the street to avoid other dogs if we see them coming our way.

So glad Theo is a lover :)

nice weather we are having, isn't it?

betty

eikoleigh said...

My corgis definitely prefer other corgis too, but are pretty good with most dogs as long as they're pretty calm. Otherwise, it's time to take charge....!

JuLo said...

Wow, poor Philip must have been really hurt if he squealed over it! I remember that Cardi was playing so rough with him that first meetup where we first met and he never seemed to care. Poor thing!

Is Gibson an exhibitionist too!? Theo lays down for all dogs to smell his goods. It makes me laugh.

Betty, I think Theo is more of a chicken than a lover sometimes, but he's definitely not much of a fighter usually. And I'm loving the weather, though I think I preferred it colder and just slightly drizzly. I'm not ready for the icky icky summer yet!



Oh, and I forgot to mention how much Theo loves dogs with long droopy ears. The better to tug on with of course!

Philip's Mom said...

I felt so bad for him, but he took off running after the fact and wouldn't even let me look him over until much later, but he was just fine :)
Haha, I almost forgot about that Cardi, he was just chomping away on Philip, so determined! Did I ever show you the pictures from that meetup?

Dances with Corgis said...

Boxers almost seem too... high for a corgi! Linus rarely plays with boxers that we run into at the dog park. Oddly enough, he gets along very well with labs.

Maybe it's less of a breed thing and more individual dog temperaments?

ocmist said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ocmist said...

OC HATES our Border Collie, Sadie (Might be jealousy's ugly head though...) but the pups LOVE her... She is their Auntie Sadie, big time and they think she's WONDERFUL. None of them like the neighbors Australian Shepherds but that is probably a territorial thing.

None of the corgis like my sister's yellow lab (feelings are mutual though OC has known her since puppyhood) and they aren't crazy about her Shitzu or Weimaraner either. They love my other sister's Chihuahua mixes, though.

Actually, OC is pretty grumpy most of the time now that she is getting older (almost 11) and is achy… I think she just doesn’t want to be fooled with by others so they won’t hurt her. She used to be pretty playful…

We don't know any other corgis in this area, so I'm no help there... Linda (OC's Mom)

PS sorry about the aborted post... I needed to redo it...