Playing with your dog is an opportunity to deepen your connection and bond. The stronger bond you have the more willing a partner your dog becomes. You become a fun and dependable friend that your dog is more likely to listen to and act when you make requests. Of course you can't short cut practicing and training your dog to understand the expectation of your request but with a strong bond they will be more attentive.
In the video below I talk about how to play tug with your dog and show some video demonstrations of myself playing and interactive with two very different dogs.
A key take away is that play time should be fun for both of you. You shouldn't continue to force play if one of you is irritated or upset. Put it away and try again at a later time.
Think about your relationship with your best human friend, how do you treat them and them you? Your relationship with your dog should mimic this in many ways. There should be lots of shared joyful experiences between you; you can both safely and politely express any feelings without being met with anger or frustration; you and your friend respect each others unique personalities.
Playing with your dog is part of the attraction for pet ownership. I am approached all the time by people who want to teach their dog to play fetch or interact with their dogs but their dogs aren't into it. This is often due to them not being a fun and engaging partner for their dog.
I want to encourage all pet parents to spend more time playing with their dogs. In fact this time together trumps most all other activities you might do together, including walking. If you have a reactive dog play time is non-negotiable and a great substitute for leashed walks in the neighborhood.
Once you and your dog are equally enjoying play time together, I encourage you to integrate training skills into your play time. By asking for and practicing skills you have now turned play time into a fun learning experience that will help keep the game fresh and interesting with new challenges to tackle when you pick up a toy and start to play.
Have fun with your dog!
If you have any questions regarding your play with your dog reach out. If you are a program member feel free to submit a video of you and your dog playing for assessment and feedback. My work here is help everyone have a healthy relationship with their dog.
Bonus: Can you see why Baker the golden retriever became sensitive and unwilling to continue playing with me? (What are your thoughts in the comments.)
When recording this video I didn't pick up on it but after when uploading I realized there was a very clear reason why Baker became disengaged and started shutting down.
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