Play with Your Dog

Playing with your dog seems like a no-brainer, but often times we assume the kind of play we’re engaging in with our dog is beneficial or constructive to building a relationship with our dog, but is it really? Let’s first examine what play is intended to do:

Play is an arousing engagement between the dog and another dog or human. Dogs naturally tend to enjoy things like chase, running, tug, digging, sniffing – these are natural behaviors found in wild canids and can be used to motivate them for other types of behaviors.

There are 2 primary types of play: 1) Fun, unstructured play, or 2) Structured play for training and reinforcing behaviors. Remember: behaviors that are reinforced increase in likelihood of being repeating.

Play for Fun. It’s spontaneous, feels good, and have loosely structured rules. Promotes physical activity which releases stress-reducing endorphins. It can include mind games hide-and-seek, food puzzles, controlled destructive play (ex: ripping apart a cardboard box to get to treats), digging in a designated sandbox for rewards, searching for food in grass, etc. Fun play can also involve physical games like chase, climbing, hiking, and many more types of activities!

Play for Training. Constructive and goal-oriented play that builds upon behavioral goals. An important thing to note: animals don’t play when sick, exceedingly hungry, or stressed. This is crucial to understand when incorporating play with a training mindset.

Being able to incorporate play into training is a fine art! It keeps the process of training your dog exciting and enjoyable. Play can be used in a formal, structured way that is still fun and engaging for both you and your dog. Learning and training can add some stress to the dog as it learns to figure out a new language and behavioral system. Use play to re-associate a stressful situation with a positive one. The process of changing an association is called “counter-conditioning.” Don’t just play before the stress or else you could inadvertently associate play TO the stressor. Play during non-stress times, too. Play, when timed and conditioned properly, can lessen stress in the dog so they are more apt to receiving instruction and reward during higher stress situations.

Break and Play! Breaking up training sessions with spontaneous, structured play can be so engaging and rewarding for your dog! This can be less structured than play for shaping behavior and serves the purpose of a mental break from learning so much.

Structured play is intentional and planned out, typically done with playing tug or ball, but it is up to you know know YOUR dog, what he responds to, and how to engage and build his motivation. To better illustrate these concepts, check out these very helpful and informative videos by Michael Ellis, an internationally renowned dog trainer and teacher. Also check out Leerburg for more amazing dog training content.

Playing for exercise sake helps release a dog’s pent-up energy. This can be accomplished with physical play or mental games. Playing for the sake of building training engagement makes training something the dog looks forward to and enjoys. Training should be FUN! Momentum is REWARDING! Reward a good behavior with the dog’s favorite tug or ball, use these items for faster recall or obedience.

Play can reduce stress, give your dog tools needed to overcome difficult or new situations, motivate them to perform more quickly and acutely, and best of all, play builds a positive relationship with you and your dog – an invaluable asset in your long-term dog ownership. Make the relationship between you and your dog a priority.