So how can a stronger understanding of dog play lead to a family dog that is happier and better behaved?
Mechtild Kaufer, in the recently translated Canine Behavioral Play, provides a thorough summary of the current scientific research on dog play. The book can be a bit dense in places (typical sentences include: “Animals that exhibit such behaviors have a lower number of opioid receptors in the brain, and animals that are particularly susceptible to such compulsive behavior have a dopamine deficiency in certain regions of the brain (Gansloßer 2007, p. 73)”), so I’m going to highlight some key takeaways that you can use in your everyday training.
You likely already know that play is important for a well-adjusted dog, but let’s dive a little deeper.
Key excerpts from the book, and how you can use them to make life better for you and your dog.
- On the puppy secrets page, I emphasize the importance of socialization. The research on play further supports this point.
1). “It is important for all breeds of dog to participate in mixed-breed puppy groups in order to avoid mis-imprinting and to recognize that not only members of their own breed are conspecifics.”
Play with one other dog in the house is not enough for adequate socialization. Dogs that misread social cues tend to end up in fights, even if they are not predisposed to aggression.
2). “If dogs grow up in an environment where there is a lack of stimuli—such as in the desolate kennels of a puppy mill—this leads to dopamine deficiency, fewer dopamine receptors, and thus increased dopamine sensitivity.”
Get your young dogs as much positive interaction as possible. These are investments that will pay off throughout their life. Teach them to play well with people, dogs and objects.
3). “During object play, a dog discovers that he can influence his surroundings and the objects in it. He finds out that he can make things happen. The feeling of not being helplessly exposed to the world, but being able to exercise control, is a feeling that increases the puppy’s confidence, reduces stress, and encourages him to continue playing and learning.”
A key point I emphasize in a lot of my training packages is teaching dogs proper play. People often find this a bit puzzling at first, assuming that dogs should just naturally learn these things.
But a lot of dogs need help both learning proper play and learning how to relax in modern society. This is often the difference between a dog that stays in his home and a dog that is relinquished to the shelter for euthanization due to destructive behavior or “needing more room to run.”
- Play remains important as the dogs age. It’s not quite a cure-all, but it certainly makes behavioral problems easier to manage and less likely to emerge.
4). “You can limit stressful situations such as visits to the vet by playing extensively with your dog beforehand. You will further enhance the effect when you end the play bout with a lengthy stroking session.”
A dog that is stressed is a dog that makes poor decisions. Giving the dog an outlet for lowering stress is one of the best ways to improve behavior quickly.
- Insights for multidog households
5). “While puppies also bite the fore/hind legs and tail in the first weeks of life, juvenile and adult dogs prefer to bite the muzzle, throat, and scruff (Althaus 1982, Heine 2000, Günther 2009).”
Play styles do evolve as dogs age. Keep in mind that older dogs may find a lot of young dog behavior rude, and they will need you to protect them from the relentlessness of the younger dog. That said, monitored play between dogs of different ages is very important to a dog’s development.
6). “Puppies and juvenile dogs can learn in playgroups that are watched over by a confident adult babysitter dog, or through playing with adult dogs and observing the behavior of the more experienced dogs.”
7). “The relevance of play for dogs is underscored by the fact that the play bow is a genetically hardwired play signal.”
- Some final precautions:
8). “In addition to increased arousal, factors that trigger aggression during play are fear, pain, and frustration.”
Some dogs may need help with keeping the arousal levels from getting too high. This is especially true of dogs who do not yet know each other well, and dogs that may not be 100% healthy.
If the dogs are not naturally pausing in their play, or are frequently escalating, then add pauses to the play.
If one dog is relentlessly going after another dog, end the play and separate them.
Finally, if one of the dogs is clearly fearful, do not force them into play. This is a very quick way to turn a fearful dog into a highly reactive dog.
9). “If you are in any doubt as to whether a dog is behaving appropriately, have a look at the dog’s play partner: his relaxed reaction shows you that they are still playing.”
You can also briefly separate the dogs. Does the “victim” re-initiate play, or slink away? This will usually tell you whether she was enjoying the interaction. (This same trick works for figuring out whether a dog is enjoying attention from a person: Stop petting for three seconds and wait to see if the dog actively seeks continued attention.)
- Healthy play each day keeps the behavioral problems away!
10). “The more senses that are involved in learning, the better the learning experience. Learning during play is effectively learning with all of the senses. The more playful, diverse, and creatively you design new challenges, the easier and better your dog will learn.”
11). “In multi-dog households, a dog’s desire to play with his owner is not lower, but in fact higher than in single-dog households.”
Even with other dogs around, your dog would still benefit greatly from some one-on-one play time with you. In fact, he’s probably looking at you right now, ready to go! Enjoy!
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