One of the big secrets to having a deeper bond with your dog is hidden in the power of play.
Whereas old school thinking about dog-human relationships suggests that the way to get a dog’s loyalty and reverence is through domination, the more enlightened view tells us that play, coupled with gentle and clear leadership, will go a lot further than trying to pass oneself off as an alpha wolf that runs around on two legs.
Interestingly, there are very few species that enjoy playing into adulthood. Play is considered a juvenile trait in most species, but since humans and dogs tend to be exceptions to this observation, it’s only natural that we should engage in play with one another.
In fact it’s worth noting that dogs that do not play when they are young can be very socially compromised as adults.
While our playing with puppies comes naturally (because they’d so darned cute!), we tend to confuse exercise and play in the later years of a dog’s life; in other words, we often think that we’ve met our dogs’ needs by taking them around the block once a day and attending to other tasks like feeding, grooming, etc.
However, as Sue Sternberg, renowned expert in shelter dog welfare, puts it, “Playing with and exercising your dog are the two most important components to having a happy, contented, well-behaved dog; they are necessary gifts, not luxury items.”
She goes on to spell out the relationship benefits in being your dog’s source of play.
“Being a fun owner goes a long way to success in all other areas of your life with your dog. When you’re the source of the most fun, your dog, plain and simple, likes you more.
And when you’re well-liked, you get listened to, you get paid attention to, and you have control over other situations having nothing to do with play.”
So how does one play with their dog? Well that would take up a lot more than a column to address with detail, but here is a list of possibilities to explore.
When looking over this list, remember not to stick to just one activity. This keeps you, the source of play, of great interest to your dog.
- Fetch
- Hide and seek
- Tug of war
- Find it
- Agility
- Tracking
- Flirt pole play
- Flyball
- Freestyle dancing
- Training
- Mushing
- Canis-cross
- Play with commercially available interactive toys
Not sure what some of these activities are? They’re all over the Internet.
Have a look! Also, it should go without saying that when games have rules, they work best; when they are played with no rules, they can lead to unpleasant surprises.
By way of example, hide and seek should not turn into a game of chase. Tug of war should be played with clear rules about the dog’s dropping the tug toy on command. And so on.
Let the fun begin! Make today the first day that you commit to enrich your dog’s life with play.
Hany Hosny shares life with his adopted shelter dog, Stella. He volunteers at animal shelters and shares his relationship-centered ideas on living with dogs, on his popular Facebook page, Smarter You, Happier Dog.
