Puppies
begin to play as soon as they can walk. Littermates commonly
wrestle and chase each other, pulling on ears and tails. Through
play with littermates, pups learn just how strong they are
or how to turn circumstances to their advantage.
By the
time it is weaned, each pup has formed an impression of its
own abilities and social standing within the ranks of littermates.
This forms the basis for adult behavior, such as achievement
of dominance, in relation to people and other dogs.
Play allows
a young animal to practice important life skills without adult
consequences. Running, jumping, hiding and other playful antics
could be invaluable later when hunting for food or escaping
an enemy. Play is one of the best ways to teach desirable
behavior to a pet by setting standards for a lifetime. By
tolerating subtle or not-so-subtle dominant behavior even
in young puppies, for example, and you may encourage inappropriate
social patterns.
Undesirable Forms of Play
Wild and
uncontrolled forms of play frequently lead to undesirable
behavior in juvenile and adult dogs. Games that encourage
chasing and jumping on people promote aggressiveness. Don't
encourage your dog to mouth, chew, nip, or nibble any article
of clothing or part of a person's body, even if it's behaving
playfully. Avoid games that arouse your dog's aggressive instincts,
such as wrestling or tug of war with any object.
Forms
of play that do not focus a dog's attention on you or reinforce
your authority may lead to misdirection of the animal's energies.
The results of a dog's unrestricted activity are often undesirable
skills.
Obedience Training During Appropriate Play
Ideally,
a pet should behave in a calm and controlled manner. The ideal
dog should obey you and behave gently toward people under
normal circumstances.
Play should
incorporate obedience training to provide an opportunity for
constructive interaction with a practical purpose. As compared
with wild play, controlled play is often more enjoyable for
both you and your dog and tends to inspire more frequent play
sessions.
Use food
treats if you believe this will keep your pet's attention
and give additional incentive to obey. Food treats should
not become habitual, however, or they can actually work against
you. Your dog might not pay attention without them or could
become finicky and work for only particular treats from one
session to the next.
Your dog
will enjoy obeying your command to "sit" if this will earn
it the right to chase after a ball. Call your dog to "come"
as it retrieves the ball and to "sit" again when it returns.
Say, "drop it" as it gives the ball to you. This is a chance
to practice obedience skills and provides the dog additional
opportunities to earn your praise.
Agility
training teaches dogs to go up inclines and over jumps. You
can build your own obstacle course in your back yard and use
it to apply obedience skills for great fun with your dog.
Many dog clubs offer agility training at their facilities.
This has the added benefit of exposing your dog to others
for additional socialization.
