Learn to communicate better and be ‘fun and playful’ for your dog because this is key to building your relationship with him! Top FIVE “Do’s and Don’ts” on How to Play with your Dog!
DO’s:
- You will get out of the Play session what you put into it!
- If you’re not tired and breathing hard, you probably aren’t working hard enough!
- Make fun noises, heavy breathing, low growling (Not high pitched)
- Put energy and motion into the games
- Interact by moving AWAY from the dog
- Use two hands – one to tug and one to goose the dog
- Keep it Short!
- You can come back and play more sessions, but keep time down to 30-60 secs
- End the game when the dog wants to keep playing
- YOU end the Game – NOT the dog!
- TRADE food for the Toy to End the Game – End before the dog tires of the game!!
- Give the dog permission to show you what is fun for them!
- LET THE DOG WIN!
You really want the dog to think YOU are the best thing to be around and to play with!
Let a toy be something they want to share WITH you because it’s MORE fun with you!
*Letting them win a lot is very important part of getting them to love to play with you. *
DON’TS:
- Don’t expect the dog to do all of the work!
- Don’t chase the dog to get a toy!
- If they run away with it, have multiple toys on you, and use a different toy to get them to turn and chase you.
- Don’t Throw toys for your dog!
- The Goal is to teach your dog to COME to you with a toy 🙂
- Don’t leave toys unattended for the dog to play with by themselves.
- You want the dog to see toys WITH you to bring value to playing together.
- Don’t scold the dog if they accidentally nip your hand during play!
- Instead, use gloves, or add a rope to have more distance between your hand and the toy.
Overall! Set up the environment so you are able to manage the choices the dog makes in your play session!
Elicia Calhoun has been teaching and Competing Internationally for over 26 years. She has represented the United States on 27 different world championship teams. Her award highlights include having won 3 World Championship Gold Medals as well as 4 National Championship Titles. Her gift is her ability to connect with dogs and develop an amazing relationship for that winning team.