How to Play with Your Puppy
by Evan Davis, Admin
Filed under Dog Talk Tips
I think “play” with your puppy or adult dog is a very important, though under-the-radar sort of subject. I’m not sure that most dog owners actually consciously think about play and the way in which they may play with their dog (or dogs).
For dogs, play often means physical contact, and many activities that we may think of as play, your dog may look upon as a job. Dogs are very job oriented and much of their sense of self worth and confidence is related to their having a job to perform, doing it well, and being rewarded for it.
Our German Shepherd loves to “play” fetch. My wife and I think of it as playing with our dog, though for our pet considers fetching a job, albeit a job that she loves to perform. Although fetch does not involve much physical contact, a fetch well-performed is always rewarded with praise.
I personally think that physical contact with our dogs is very important. Dogs relate to physical contact. I have a lab mutt, mixed with snow dog and something more aggressive, who loves to rough house and engage in practice fighting. He knows that he isn’t to jump on me, but he goes to great lengths to show me how to play-fight with him. It’s really quite amazing.
Roughhousing, done correctly and not too roughly, teaches your puppy to play and not bite and to work to get something he wants, still without hurting the person holding it.
In the course of a good rough and tumble, you will use words that he will remember next time. He will learn “Stop that,” if he gets rough himself. If he needs reprimanding, a firm “No!” and a quick, gentle hold on the muzzle (for biting) should make him behave.
Protect your puppy against what is really teasing, as when children call it “play” to steal his toys and hold them out of reach or to wrestle too roughly and hurt him. In addition, never play with him, or let children do so, until the point of exhaustion.
Reward your pet when you are teaching him something new, and let the play increase his understanding of you and your understanding of him. The time you spend with him can develop into a closer bond. He is learning, among other things, that you are the head of the pack.
Check out Dove Cresswell’s video series on basic dog and puppy training!
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