K9 Playtime
Socialization is critical for normal development and nothing will wear your dog out faster than playing with other dogs. K9 Playtime is a FREE service that helps you find playmates for your dog! Find your dog’s perfect match or several if he’s a social butterfly! You can search by play style, location, dog size, play history and more.
Just like people, dogs can be selective when choosing playmates. K9 Playtime helps you find the perfect playmates for your dog or puppy.
A well exercised and socialized dog can greatly reduce the chance of your dog developing these unwanted behaviors and improve the quality of your dog’s life.
When you enter a dog park, you and your dog can often be rushed by several dogs at once, all wanting to meet the new dog and owner that just walked in. In my experience, dogs that have not had a lot of socialization do better when they meet one dog at a time. If your puppy missed the critical socialization period between 8 – 16 weeks of age, taking them to a dog park may not go well and could result in your dog learning to fear other dogs.
While some little dogs have no problem playing with big dogs, many dogs only want to play with dogs that are close in size. K9 Playtime allows you to filter by size.
Dogs have personalities, likes and dislikes just as we humans do. Some dogs want to play chase, others want to wrestle and some want to just sunbathe with company. K9 Playtime can help you find dogs that have the same playstyle as your dog.
Once you’ve set-up a few playdates with different dogs, you can begin setting up group playdates.
You’ll be able to browse through dogs near you and find the ones you think your dog will like the most, based on their profile. You can even talk to their parents first!
While your puppy should still meet adult dogs, puppies typically play best with other puppies. Adult dogs have often left their crazy play days behind and can be agitated by puppies. Nothing will deplete your puppy’s energy like another puppy!
Need more help with socialization?
Introducing your dog to other dogs or people can be daunting for new dog owners and owners of dogs that are anxious, especially if your dog is reactive and barks and lunges at other dogs. That doesn't mean your dog is aggressive and that it won't play with other dogs.
Check out our knowledge base section on socialization to learn dog body language, what play looks like, when to implement play breaks. Make an introduction document.
CCPDT®
If you'd like expert eyes and advice present to help foster productive and safe greetings we're here for you. We can even teach you how to do it yourself so you don’t need us for every introduction.
