[Dailydrool] dog won't play

[bevzap at comcast.net]

It sounds as if he was separated from the litter very very very early, and never learned the social signals of the other dogs, so he feels attacked whenever they try to play. Or it is possible he was attacked at a very young age and is now quite fearful. It wouldn't take much to convince a 6 or 8 week old that dogs were very dangerous if he were bitten or seriously gone after by a bigger Basset  or even another breed, and would not necessarily have scars. 

At any rate since he is terrified I would not try to get him involved in other-doggie-playing. In fact I would let him stay someplace he feels safe,and watch. If he plays with toys maybe you can play with him alone, but I think pushing the issue will make it worse and may end up backfiring totally. 



I don't think there is any way to know what has happened to him, but clearly he associates playing with other dogs with serious danger. Poor baby. 



MomPerson to Nigel, Llewis, Conley (who will play with anyone anytime anyplace) and Cooper
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