News |

Puppy play

Alvin would have liked the play group better if his pal Oscar had shown up. But Oscar wasn’t there, so Alvin stood on the sidelines looking forlorn as Clyde, Clifford and the others all wrestled around on the floor.

“Come on, Alvin,” called Roberta Solomon. “You’re going to wait for Oscar, and he’s not going to come. You’re supposed to be playing.”

Solomon is Alvin’s owner. Alvin is a white fluffy-haired Maltese, and his absent friend, Oscar, is a tan Chihuahua. He and eight other canines that evening were participating in the latest rage for pets: the doggie play group.

From New York, where Alvin lives, to Wisconsin and down to Texas, dog play dates are popping up as more owners take their dogs out for exercise and a social life, instead of leaving them home alone to chew on shoes or gnaw on a bone.

“As moms are driving their kids to every possible thing these days–soccer, ballet, karate–they’re doing the same with their dogs,” said Steve Diller, who runs the Center for Animal Behavior and Canine Training in Elmsford, N.Y. “This dog thing is getting crazier every minute.”

Owners particular about just whom their dogs are playing with can visit meetup.com, where French bulldogs, Italian greyhounds, pugs, weimaraners and Welsh sheepdogs can meet others of their breed.

The popularity of play dates seems to coincide with the increased interest Americans have been taking in their pets. According to a survey of more than 1,000 pet owners by the American Animal Hospital Association, 84 percent thought of their pets as a child or another member of the family. And half said they would sooner choose a dog or cat for companionship on a deserted island than another human.

“More and more people are choosing to either have children much later or to forego children,” said Amy Madsen, who organizes matchups in the Chicago area for the National Italian Greyhound Rescue. “So you have more and more people that are not looking at their pet as just Fido. They want to do social things with them and share that with like-minded people.”

Beyond a social hour, play groups help puppies get used to being around other dogs at an early age. More important, adds dog trainer Andrea Arden, who charges $7 for hourlong dog dates in Manhattan, it’s a way of getting puppies comfortable with human beings of every size and temperament.

This is especially important in the city, where a walk down the block can bring pups into contact with all kinds of dogs and people.

“Puppies are naturally social, playful,” Diller said. “If you get them involved in a social setting, they will maintain social behavior.”

This training should start when puppies are under 12 weeks old, he said. If owners fail to keep their dogs interacting with others, the animals can lose their ability to get along with others as they grow older.

The Meetup Web site also allows owners to compare their dogs’ development and exchange tips, much like parents do with their children.

Since she began taking Alvin to his Manhattan play dates three months ago, Solomon has noticed he’s stopped being so nervous around other dogs. He used to hide behind her whenever they ran into dogs on the street.

Now, “he absolutely loves other dogs,” she said, though he’s still selective when it comes to choosing his friends. But since Oscar’s absence, he’s found a new playmate: a 7-month-old Yorkie named Spike.

———-

Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)