How to teach appropriate dog play?
Amira Willms
2025-05-20 09:39:17
Count answers: 2
Play works best when both dogs know the rules, maintain a low level of arousal, and are willing to play at the same level and with similar styles. During appropriate play, conflict is avoided as long as each dog allows the other to take turns "winning" and "losing" the game. Good players are confident and actively seek out other dogs to play with, maintaining order during play by using clear signals so that other dogs do not become too aroused or overwhelmed. Most dogs play safely with each other by relying on a series of cut-off signals that communicate their peaceful intentions. Play bows and displacement behaviors such as sniffing, sneezing, yawning, itching, and licking occur for brief moments throughout play to communicate that any future action is still just play. Teaching a reliable recall and calling the dogs back before things get too rowdy will give them time to calm down before resuming. If a dog is repeatedly pushy or plays too rough, even after intervening and giving breaks, the dog should leave the play situation, and possibly not interact with other dogs until he learns to greet and play nicely. This can be facilitated through taking parallel leash walks together, limiting play to a few minutes at a time, or playing with the dogs separately but in sight of each other. Because play relies on the ability to read vocal and body signals, dogs that didn’t have the opportunity to learn to play as puppies aren’t always as skilled at communicating and identifying these signals.
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