Two more posts about play from presentations at APDT: this one about play between people and dogs, and a post coming on Friday regarding Karen London’s presentation on using play to treat aggression-related behavior problems.
I spoke in the afternoon about play between people and dogs. It’s a rich topic, with many nuances and complexities, and I only I had 45 minutes to address it, so I focused primarily on two issues: the importance of clear signals and the importance of pausing to allow emotional arousal to keep from overwhelmed our dogs.
CLEAR SIGNALS: Play bows in dogs are truly unique; there is no other species that I could find that had quite as clear a signal that means “Hey! I want to play, and everything I do next is meant playfully!” (Also see my post on Oct 21st.) In relation to that, I discussed the research of Rooney, Bradshaw and Robinson (2001) who video taped people trying to get their dogs to play (without using toys.) They found that people tried a variety of actions to get their dogs to play, some were effective and some weren’t. (And there was no correlation between how frequently someone tried a behavior and how effective it was! I just love that.. it is so human.)
People, ineffectually, tried whispering, patting the ground, kissing the dog and barking at the dog (to name a few). The effective signals were play bows, lunge toward and away (also called “start/stop” in other literature), running toward and away and adding vocalizations to other actions. I video taped a raft of cooperative people replicating the above, and here’s what came up:
1. People are REALLY bad at playing bows, unless they are willing and able to get down on all fours! (We’re just not designed to do it, you really need 4 legs after all.)
2. Running, as Rooney et al found, is a powerful way to elicit play (and has it’s dangers too… see Play Together, Stay Together by Karen London and me.)
3. “Start/Stop” is the easiest way to get many dogs in a playful frame of mind, but again, can elicit mouthiness or nipping in dogs if you’re not careful.
Keep in mind that the research kept toys out of the picture… as many of your comments have noted: there’s nothing like picking up a toy in front of a toy-loving dog to say RECESS! LET’S PLAY!
The other primary point of my talk was that dogs tend to play hard and fast and then pause, so that play sessions look like strings of play PAUSE play play PAUSE play PAUSE. This is especially true when they are play fighting (and less true, I suspect, when they are chasing and running). Given how many aspects of play, especially play fighting, are the same actions you see in serious fights, it makes sense that something needs to be built into the system to keep them cool. My suggestion is that we need to explain this to our clients in beginning family dog training classes… I think every beginning class should include a “How to Play with Your Dog” section in it. People are going to do it whether we bring it up or not, and besides emphasizing the value of object play, we can give them guidelines and boundaries about other types of play. We all know that play can go bad in a hurry (“I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.”) and it’s important for us to help owners avoid that.
Overall, I argued that play is a wonderful, wonderful way to enhance our healthy relationships with dogs (and is probably one of the reasons dogs and people get along so well.. play really isn’t that common among adult mammals) BUT, we need to be sure dogs understand when we are and when we are not playing, and play in such a way as to avoid over arousal. Karen London and I talk at length about the value of play, and how to do safely and constructively in Play Together, Stay Together (linked above)… I’d love to get your feedback on the booklet if you have it, on whether you include “How to Play” in your family dog training curriculum and/or more on how YOU play with your dog.
Here’s me playing silly with the same statue from the last post….
Kelly Ladouceur says
We have one training school in my community, and as of right now, how to play with your dog is not included in any of the classes. I have gotten your booklet (written with Karen London), but haven’t had the chance to read it yet. Hopefully once I’m done, I can encourage the instructors to include a short talk on playing with your dog do’s and don’ts in their classes.
Amy says
I finished the booklet on play, and found it to be a very useful tool. I’m always searching for new ideas to keep my dog (and myself) entertained – we’ve been playing Hide and Seek at your book’s suggestion.
One of my favorite games to play with my dog is to have a good old fashion snowball fight; he absolutely loves to chase snowballs. He is also a fan of learning new tricks, playing the Find It game, and chasing after his retriever Kong toys. He has even tried herding sheep, but since the farm is several hours away, he has to make due herding the cat and me.
Susan says
After reading these posts about play I now realize I did not teach my dog to play, he taught me. I am especially grateful for the pause/play/pause…I need the pause to catch my breath as much as he needs it to keep his cool!
The whole play ritual of dogs is so (for lack of a better word)civilized.
Kaiser Soze says
The most fun game we play with our Lab/Border Collie puppy is what we call “dogball”. He keeps a toy in his mouth (not required for the game, but good nonetheless as it keeps him from nipping while playing) and basically tries to get a hold of a ball, while I do the same with my feet, soccer style. Kinda like “dog soccer”.
Jen says
Tug and fetch are the play games at our house. My little dog’s desire to play tug 24/7 is one of the main reasons I picked her from the shelter. I find it interesting that all three of my dogs like to play with me but don’t really play with each other very much. Two of them will play with each other from time to time, but the other pairings can’t seem to agree on a game and give up after only a few seconds.
Anne says
I like to think I’m pretty good at playing with my dogs. For me, the hard part is teaching my kids how to play good games with the dogs. I have two little boys, age 7 and 4 and they play like boys do. I want our pup (5 month old Australian Shepherd) to grow up with good habits (not jumping or biting or playing keep away when we want her to come), and our other dogs somehow manage to be reasonably well behaved, but it is a daily battle. Any tips on getting kids to play the right kind of games? So far our best game is to tie a string to half a tennis ball and have the pup chase that as the kids run.
I have tried the two ball method of getting Sprite to bring back a ball or toy, but the kids can’t seem to get it, and generally end up chasing the pup trying to get the toy from her.
Rachel says
I very much appreciate this topic. I just adopted a 9 month old basset hound/something bigger (border collie? lab?) mix a month ago, and am learning that she can get very startled by new things – including play – and will start barking in what appears to be a fearful tone. My neighbor tried “play bowing” to her and she immediately started to bark at him. She very much enjoys play that involves toys, but I don’t think she has ever experienced play without toys because she starts barking even if I try with her and she takes awhile to calm down. It’s possible that I’m misinterpreting her bark, but to me it seems fearful. I will check out the play together/stay together and see if some of the tips help. If I notice anything I’ll be sure to report back. Thanks for opening this discussion up!
Hank Simon says
A litle late to this blog, but I have 3 ways that I signal my dog, Shep, that I want to play. I didn’t purposely create these play-signals, but it was a mutual training experience, when Shep was less than 5 months old.
1. I stare at him … in the rudest canine way… and he tries to back down, but I persist for 2 minutes. So, he takes the challenge, growls at me, then runs and jumps at me, missing by a hair, starting a bout of play fighting. Not sure if he play bows during this. But I started this when he was a tiny puppy and continued it as he grew to a 70 lb dog capable of making a Happy Meal out of me … but it is always a game. And he will lie down, if he is not in the mood.
2. As a young puppy, Shep did not want to go outside, so he would run away from me. So, I pointed and said “that way.” Then, I chased him – which he loves – and he’d run to go outside. This became a game of us running around the house (I used a different cue when I wanted him to go outside …. it is 100% proofed – one of the few – and I don’t even remember when or how I taught him.) When he doesn’t want to run, he will just wiggle and bark, so that we can play fight. And when he doesn’t want to even fight, he will just lie down.
3. When I (illegally) take him for a walk off-leash in the fenced playground, sometimes he will run off to smell the wonders of spilled milkshakes or leftover peanut butter sandwiches left by children, long since departed. That is not allowed, so I will run up to him, and he will either come back to the straight and narrow… or run, trying to track down the smell. If he runs, then I break from positive training and perform a punishment most heinous – 3 doggie pushups. Yes, one man’s training is another man’s 2×4.
I know it is useless for training purposes, but it slows things down and makes me feel better. Besides, after he finishes, he jumps up and (play) bites me, growling and barking to start a full play fight.
Sometimes, in this same playground, if he has not had the opportunity to run off, then he will turn and bark at me, so that I will chase him. If I threaten him, but don’t chase him, he will play bow.
There is a 4th way, but I consider it a little more structured. If I am willing to chase Shep around the yard (how useless an activity for an adult, but good to have on cue), then I will toss a tennis ball to Shep. He will grab it out of the air and run around the yard barking, if he wants to play. If he is not interested, then he acts like Homer Simpson’s dog and lets the ball hit him in the forehead – he looks so brain-dead when he does this – doesn’t even move out of the way. But it is effective, because he can go lie down and sleep
BTW, Shep is a 9 year old brown, German Shepherd, Lab mix with a curly tail… But he still gets carded when I take him into bars….
Stephanie says
I recently got a 8mo old rescue. The two months she was in foster she was at a foster with 15 other dogs. She loves chasing other dogs, and play fighting with them, but she won’t play or chase me. She loves going on walks and snuggling. If I try and play bow I just get kisses. I also don’t think I have found her favorite kind of toy. I asked her foster mom is she had one and she said she basically loves all toys. I have only had her a couple days so I know this may be just her warming up. I just am kind of confused she doesn’t want to play with me just snuggles. I don’t know if it is because she had more doggies to play with than people or what. I have had 4 other dogs in my life time and have never had this issue with a puppy. Please help.
Mark Boycott says
Ive got a 10 week old rotty and when i try and play fight with him his tail goes between his legs and just sits and cowers and also whines very loudly as though hes being killed. I haf a rotty previously and this wasnt the case. How can i get him out of this mood and to play etc.