Episode #166 The Power of Play

Have you ever considered turning a game of fetch into a lesson in training? Or imagined that hide and seek could be the key to a well-mannered dog? Join me, Amy Jensen, as I unveil the transformative power of play in dog training. In this episode, we'll reveal how simple playtime activities can be harnessed to address common canine challenges, like excessive barking and destructive chewing, and morph them into opportunities for building a stronger bond with your dog, not matter their age.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Puppy Training Podcast, episode 166,. Play is Powerful. This podcast is designed to help you on your journey of becoming best friends through love and learning, as you train your own dog from home, and I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the Puppy Training Podcast and I'm your host, amy Jensen. Hi, welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm so glad you're here.

Speaker 1: 0:30

Today. We are talking about play, one of my favorite things when it comes to living with a dog. Who doesn't want to have fun with her dogs? Right? Did you know you can use play to train your dog. Today, I want to teach you how. First, let's talk about why play is so powerful.

Speaker 1: 0:45

Play is powerful when we train our dogs for several reasons. First, positive reinforcement Play engages a dog's natural instincts and desires, making it an effective way to reinforce desired behaviors, things that we want our dogs to do through positive reinforcement. When a dog does a behavior during play that we want to encourage, such as following a cue or showing good manners, you can reward them with praise, food or continued play. Now bonding is the second item. Play strengthens the bond between us, between me and my dog right. Engaging in fun activities together builds trust, communication, mutual respect. This makes it easier for our dogs to learn and want to respond to cues. They're more willing to cooperate with us and there's fewer power struggles.

Speaker 1: 1:32

Number three is physical exercise. Many things that we do to train our dogs involve physical exercise, which is really important for our dog's overall health and well-being. By incorporating training into playtime, you can ensure that your dog gets the exercise they need while also learning new skills. So do play. Play is great exercise. Mental stimulation. Number four play provides mental exercise for our dogs, which helps prevent boredom. Boredom is usually the cause of problem behaviors like chewing or excessive barking, things that we don't like our dogs to do. Now, note that our dogs view these quote problem behaviors as normal dog behaviors. It's what dogs do naturally and it is important to give our dogs outlets daily to be a dog, but we can help them choose alternative behaviors through play. Training games challenge dogs to use their brains, problem solve and learn new things, keeping their minds sharp and engaged and happy, which is what we all want.

Speaker 1: 2:28

Number five natural learning. On the note of natural dog behaviors, dogs learn best through experiences that mimic their natural behaviors. Play allows dogs to learn in a way that feels natural to them, making training more enjoyable and effective. Overall, play is a powerful tool in dog training because it taps into our dog's natural instincts, strengthens the bond between us and our dogs, provides physical and mental exercise and allows for those natural learning experiences. Now how can we use play to teach our dogs good behavior at home?

Speaker 1: 3:02

Play can be instrumental in addressing various unwanted behaviors in our family dogs, including, first, excessive barking. And engaging in interactive play can help redirect our dog's attention away from triggers, things that they bark at right or things that they might see and get really excited about. But they're barking excessively and we don't want that. So teaching them to focus on toys or games instead of barking at, say, a passing car or strangers that they see walking past the window can reduce this behavior. I'll even use play for excessive barking. If I'm at a park and my dog sees a trigger and they start to bark at another dog or another person on a bike or anything that again they trigger towards or react to, I can redirect my dog with play.

Speaker 1: 3:47

Next is destructive chewing. Our dogs need to chew, so provide them with appropriate chew toys during playtime that can help satisfy their natural urge to chew and it prevents them from destroying household items that you don't want them to chew, like your furniture or your shoes. Number three is jumping on people. Dogs often get excited when they see new people and they want to go and greet them, and they try to get up to their faces to say hello, which involves jumping. Training games that involve teaching the dog to sit or stay before receiving attention or treats or food rewards can help discourage jumping behaviors. By reinforcing my dog's calm and polite greetings during play, dogs learn to approach people also exciting things right similar to their exciting toys, in a more controlled manner. Number four is pulling on leash. We can prevent this with play Games that incorporate loose leash walking or recall cues can help teach dogs to walk calmly on a leash without pulling. By rewarding them for walking politely beside me during play, I can reinforce that desired behavior and teach my dog that, hey, you want to get to that exciting thing. The only way we get there is if we walk together on a nice loose leash.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Number 5. Aggression or reactivity. Controlled play sessions with toys or other dogs can help desensitize reactive dogs to triggers that cause aggression or fear. Simply exposing our dogs to these triggers in a playful and fun way in a positive environment can help reduce their stress, which reduces their reactivity over time. Play helps them relax and releases that stress. So you may need to create some distance to get to a point where your dog can focus and play with you, but play will help them redirect and calm themselves down.

Speaker 1: 5:32

Next up is separation anxiety. Relative play before leaving the house can help alleviate anxiety in dogs prone to separation anxiety, mental and physical exercise during playtime can tire them out and make them more relaxed when left alone. By incorporating training principles into play and using play as a tool to reinforce desired behaviors, we can effectively address a wide range of these unwanted behaviors in our dogs. So use play. Play is powerful. Now that we've talked about why play is so powerful and how it can help change behaviors that we are looking to change, let's talk about some fun games and ways that you can play with your dog. So here are some examples of games you can play to teach your dog good behavior.

Speaker 1: 6:15

First, fetch. Teaching your dog to fetch not only provides them with physical exercise, but also teaches them to follow cues like fetch drop it, leave it, get it those kinds of things, and dogs usually like to chase things, so fetch is fun. Number two is hide and seek. I love this game. My dogs love this game. Every puppy I've trained loves this game. This game helps reinforce recall cues. I start by hiding and then calling my dog to me, gradually making my hiding spots more and more challenging. You can also practice a sit, stay a down, stay, a go to bed behavior or mat place, whatever you like to call it. Or you can simply have a family member hold your dog by the collar or unleash while you go hide.

Speaker 1: 6:56

Number three is tug of war. Now we have to be careful with tug. We don't want to get our dogs all riled up, but I use tug a lot because a dog likes to grab onto something and they like to tug or play with it with you. It's a great way for you to interact with your dog and play with them, but there's a toy between you, so there's no biting of your hands, arms or feet. Literally, the dog is biting onto the toy and you are directly engaging with them. So tug of war can be a fun way to teach your dog self-control and impulse management. Make sure to establish those rules that we talked about and stop the game if your dog becomes too aggressive. My favorite way to play tug is again just to get the dog to bite onto the toy, and I walk around the room with them. While the dog is holding onto the end of the toy, I like to release it first and if my dog wants to keep playing, they'll pick up that toy and bring it back for more tug. Have fun. You may also practice a drop-it or a give cue with this game, so there's good things you can practice with it as well.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Number four is a treasure hunt. I like to hide treats or toys around my house or yard and then I encourage my dog to find them using cues like search or find your toy. They get really excited about this one and once they learn these cues the search and the find your toy their ears perk out up, their eyes get excited, they're like what, where's my toy? And they start looking around. Number five is an obstacle course. This one's fun if you have kids in the home. Set up a simple obstacle course using household items like chairs, boxes, tunnels, anything you can find, and then guide your dog through the course using cues like go, stop, wait, pause, whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Number six training through play. I incorporate play into every training session I do. If I can make something a game, I do it. So incorporate training cues into regular playtime activities. For example, ask your dog to sit and then throw the toy or to lie down before receiving a food reward. So we're incorporating the training into all of these little games and practicing things that we've asked our dog to do or taught our dog to do. It's more fun for them to train this way than doing 20 sits in a row or 10 downstays in a row. That gets boring pretty quickly and if we want our dog to stay engaged with us and excited about training, use play.

Speaker 1: 9:09

Number seven is impulse control games. Games like wait or stay before crossing thresholds or before getting a food reward can help reinforce impulse control and patience in our dogs. Remember, dogs come with zero patience. It is our job to teach them. Good things come to those who wait. That does not come naturally to a dog. It must be taught. By incorporating these games into our daily routines, we can make training sessions more enjoyable for both us and our dogs right, strengthening our bond while teaching important behavioral skills. What are you going to play with your dog today? Do you have a favorite game? I would love to hear about it. You can connect with me on Facebook or Instagram at Baxter and Bella, and I hope to hear from you soon. Have a great week, you guys. Happy training. If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other puppy training question, visit my site, baxter and Bellacom, to contact me.