This blog looks at how you play with your dog and what good dog to dog play looks like

Playing with your dog

Its great to play with your dog – it gives people and dogs a good feeling.

  • Have a supply of toys so you can switch to a new toy when you need to
  • If you use a tug – have a long one so you can move your hands away from their mouth
  • If you use a ball – roll it along the ground rather than throw it
  • Switch between types of play (chasing, tugging, finding etc) and different toys to build a wide range of play your puppy enjoys
  • Be ready with a snuffle mat, likit mat, sniffing game or other food toy to calm the puppy down if they struggle to stop play!
  • Dogs will play intensely for prolonged periods (dogs can play until they are exhausted) but this triggers high stress chemistry in the brain and reduces their ability to learn, physically stresses the body (potentially leading to long term injury) and increasing their reactivity/fear/anxiety levels, so keep play sessions short. Remember, just because they can, doesn’t mean they should!
  • Keep swapping a toy for another toy/a treat/a chew etc – don’t force anything from their mouth as this can create future issues

Ball throwing

Lots of dogs love chasing a ball and as humans we enjoy it and think of it as wearing the dog out. However, there are risks associated with throwing toys for your dog for them to chase and retrieve (including a frisbee and sticks). The biggest risk is to do with the very rapid braking and/or twisting movements the dog does to get the toy – this can easily lead to injuries and damage such as cruciate ligament tears, sprains, strains and other chronic conditions. Dogs can easily become obsessed by a toy – this is to do with the release of hormones when they are chasing – this can mean that they struggle to be calm when you are out, with chronic stress when the toy is absent.

With your puppy, enjoy rolling the ball or kicking it along a little bit – you can still teach a retrieve without the ball being launched rapidly and at a long distance.

Have a read To Throw or Not to Throw? Ball Throwing Explained – WOOFABILITY for more information. Also see this 1hr video https://www.youtube.com/live/Zjgrkfy9M8o?si=Rr46kY-Q76qQ8Gu7 for in depth information about the potential injuries from rapid breaking, severe changes of direction and twisting.

What does good dog to dog play look like?

Lots of people worry about how their dog interacts and plays with other dogs. This can be a challenge for some dogs in adolescence as they play a bit like rugby players – slamming into another dog, shoulder barging or standing over the other dog.

Here is a fabulous video of great dog play to see this in action.

Its almost 30 mins so find a quiet time to watch this as its really good.  She talks a lot about looking for relaxation in your dog to ensure that the dog doesn’t feel under pressure and she identifies body language you can look for

  • At 12 minutes she talks about getting attention – we can support this with short play, keep an eye/off you go games. Make sure when they come back to you, give them 3-4 treats for staying with you – rather than grabbing a treat and lunging back again.
  • The videos at 14 minutes show the same exercises we do in class where we work with distance and brief contact.
  • At 23 minutes she talks about ‘consent’ and demonstrates how you can build good play and friendship with your dog and others. This style of play is really important when you have more than 1 dog at home as often pups can constantly hassle an older dog to play and can be learning the wrong skills.

Keep in mind that dogs playing is just that – play. Its commonly believed that playing with dogs is socialisation, but remember that socialisation is the process of exposing your puppy to new things – surfaces, sounds, people, environments, foods etc. Its about teaching the puppy how to live confidently in the human world without being unduly worried or excited.

You often need to mediate dog play – if you have another dog that your puppy/adolescent wont leave alone, or when they dont see other dogs much.