Play time is a great way for your dog to burn off some energy, and by engaging in constructive play, you can also use this time to teach your dog some polite manners. Unconstructive play can lead to mouthing, jumping up, pulling on clothes, snatching toys out of your hand or encouraging excessive chasing.
Before introducing constructive play, it can be helpful if your dog already knows a ‘drop’, ‘sit’ and ‘down’.
The most important thing to remember during constructive play is not to overstimulate your dog too much. We want them to be excited but not so excited that they aren’t able to respond to commands.
Playing fetch with your dog
Fetch can be a really fun game to play with your dog, but it can be quite overstimulating and encourage excessive chasing if you don’t enforce clear boundaries and training. However, when done right, fetch games can help your dog to learn impulse control and manners.
Before you throw the toy, ask your dog for a ‘sit’ or a ‘down’. Once they have responded to your cue, throw the toy as a reward.
Throw the toy for your dog and say a cue like ‘get it’ or ‘fetch’. They should only get up from their ‘sit’ or ‘down’ position when you have said your cue word and thrown the toy. Once they bring the toy back, ask them to drop it or exchange it by showing them another toy.
If your dog breaks their ‘sit’ or ‘down’ before you say ‘get it’, reset by asking for a sit or down again. If your dog is struggling to hold their position, you may need to reduce the length of time you’ve asked them to stay before rewarding them with a toy. Alternatively, consider practicing the behaviour some more before using the toy during playtime. You can then build up this training by gradually increasing the time they must wait in this position before they get the ball. Start with just a few seconds and build up from there.
Playing tug with your dog
Tug toys can be a really fun way to play with your dog, but they can encourage some bad habits if played without any rules or boundaries. To avoid this, we’ve got a few tips on how to play with a tug toy.
When you are ready to play, show your dog the tug toy and say a cue like ‘get it’ or ‘tug’. Let your dog tug on the toy for a bit, and then before you drop the tug toy, say a cue like ‘yours’ or ‘free’. Once they have the tug toy, ask them to drop it or exchange it by showing them another toy. If you are playing with a tug toy, try to avoid jolting the toy upwards sharply, as this can encourage your dog to jump up, and can hurt their neck. Instead, keep the toy low and move it back and forth and side to side.
Before allowing them to tug on the toy again, ask them for a ‘sit’ or a ‘down’. They should only break this position when you say your cue word again.
Over time, gradually build up holding the toy in front of them and wait a few seconds before saying the cue work. You can then work on making the tug toy more animated whilst your dog waits for the cue word.
Unconstructive play
Some examples of unconstructive games include pulling on clothing, playing games that encourage mouthing on hands and feet and games that overexcite your dog and encourage jumping up or mouthing. These games should be avoided as they encourage jumping up, mouthing and tugging on clothes, behaviours that your dog may begin to do in day-to-day life if they continue to practice them during play.
