Fair play- chewing-is all play good
Why do dogs play? well ask your self why do you play, why do you play games, play sports, do puzzles, we do it to entertain our self’s keep our minds working, to socialize with friends, to de stress. When dogs play it helps to keep their hearts health, joints lubricated, improves their balance and coordination and mental health, keeps the mind sharp and focused and just like us it releases the nice endorphins that make us feel Good, energetic and happy.
A study released by Bristol University found that play is the key to our dogs wellbeing. The study showed that dogs who don’t engage in play often suffer from behavioural issues such as anxiety and aggression. They found dogs that play less can have increase whining jumping up, not coming when called among many more behavioural issues.
Dogs love to chase, hunt, chew, retrieve and even play fight, playing in their family dynamic is a natural way for dogs to build bonds and solidify their bonds with each other and their owners they learn important social skills, manors and it allows them to exhibit their natural behaviours. Not being able to exhibit natural behaviours creates frustration which can result in dogs developing bad behavioural issues.
Why do dogs chew?
Chewing releases endorphins into the brain to help relax them, like a stress relief. It’s also a way for puppy to explore, dogs explore the world with their mouths like a toddler does with their hands, into everything. This is completely natural for them, but its our job to redirect them when they are chewing something unsafe or what they shouldn’t be, this is where a stash of suitable chew toys is ideal for helping to redirect their attention from the object they shouldn’t have onto the chew toy they can have, letting them know this is okay to chew but your slippers are not. Why its important to swop, If you simply take the object of them that they are chewing it doesn’t stop their need to chew so they will just find something else which is why its good to give them a nice excitable looking chew toy to chew so they don’t go on the hunt for something that they probably shouldn’t have. I like to keep some chew toys to one side so when puppy is chewing and I need to redirect the behaviour I am swopping with a toy that isn’t a toy that they see all day every and are quiet Frankly bord of it, this won’t grab their attention, the object they already have has more value to them then what your trying to swop with (which doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me). Its a toy they aren’t familiar with so it has new smells new textures, it doesn’t need to be a brand new toy every time just keep a stash or a variety of differ types of chew toys and vary they toy you give them each time, but once your pup has moved on pick it up and put it to one side again to keep it potency. One method that I think we have all used in the past for stopping our dog from chewing is shouting NO, STOP CHEWING at the dog but in all honesty has this ever worked 100% of the time, your more than likely getting a response to you shouting then the puppy actually knowing what you want. All this teaches your pup is that if I chew this when my owner is around I get shouted at, I will chew this when owner isn’t around. So after shouting No to your pup you then 5 minutes later go of kitchen and then come back to find puppy chewing the same object again, you now have some lovely little teeth marks in your slippers.
A tip when doing the trade is to make what you have look more interesting and exciting than what they have, I wouldn’t want to make a trade with someone if what I have is more interesting than what they have so I wouldn’t expect my puppy to do the same.
Types of chew toys Rope toy, rubber ball, Kong toy which can be stuffed with taste treats, Nylabone or long lasting chews like bull puzzles, antlers and so on.
Is all pay Good.
As mentioned previously play is a key for our dogs wellbeing, but sometimes not all play is good for our dogs in the long run, and may not be enjoying it as much as you think they are.
High arousal/ over excitable dogs even an aggressive dogs, certain types of play can reinforce and make worse certain behaviours that as owners we don’t want. They can create too much excitement and arousal which can lead accidental bites or build up to aggressive behaviour.
Playing rough-and-tumble like with your puppy or dog like wrestling with them and teasing which usually accompanies it is creates high emotional arousal, over excitement that often leads to a lack of inhibition and increased anxiety, which can cause behavioural issues, with even the friendliest of dogs. Rough play is typically okay for play between dogs if it is fair play and theirs give and take on both sides in the play. but rough play with humans can create real a danger for any one that try’s to play with your puppy rough play teaches your puppy to play rough which makes them bite a little hard, rag things a little more rigorously which is where accidents can happen and it can be a real problem especially if a Young child plays with your puppy or dog and they end up biting to hard. Bites can happen, even if the dog has never bitten before.
Structured play, adding structure to your puppy’s or adult dogs play can prevent them getting over aroused and over excited. structuring their play helps to teach them to manage their excitement teaches them to not get to the level of excitement where its borderline aggressive behaviour which is where bites, dog fights and attacks can happen.
Structured play is planning different types of play
Low arousal play like chewing a toy, stationary playing with a toy and High arousal play like fetch and even more higher arousal play fighting. All types of play need structure but the more Higher arousal the play then need for more structure this helps prevents your puppy or dog becoming an adrenaline junkie addicted to the excitement, ever had a dog full on star at you to through a ball like they are fixated on it or can’t stop your dogs from playing nonstop where it gets to the point that recall or commands are just falling on deaf ears.
High arousal play like play fighting with other dogs (not humans as mentioned early why you shouldn’t rough play with your dogs) should be kept to a time limit and always should be watched carefully, It shouldn’t go on for too long ideally you should make your pups take a break, Put them on the lead or keep them away from each other your not bringing play to a halt just making then take a 5-10 minute break, just calm them down a bit if they are still quite hyped up give them a longer break, and then let them play again I give them 20-30 minutes tops when they are play fighting or any sort of high arousal play but this will depend on your dogs breed and temperament, and they history of how over excited they get. You may find your dogs calm them self’s down but this depends on the dog and their previous socialization. Its important to allow them to play again otherwise they will get in to a routine of when owner calls them when they are playing it means the fun stops and eventually they will being to ignore you because they want to keep playing, so it’s important that it is just a break you’re not calling time. Obviously this depends on the situation you are in wether you’re at the park with other dogs at a friends house who has dogs etc, try to work it to the environment you’re in. You sometimes can’t also let pup go back to play again it does depend on the other dog and their owner, it is a Good idea to let the other owner know what you are doing so they understand. There will always be other opportunities to practice this so don’t worry if the other owner doesn’t want to play ball.
Letting your puppy/ dog play fight with other dogs this is completely natural behaviour for them but there are things you need to look out for.
Play fighting should be fair play 50/50 not one soul winner all the time as this isn’t good for the dogs confidence that’s on the losing end and the one that’s always winning is learning to pray on the lesser of the two and generally isn’t learn good manors, they are learning play in a more bullying Manor then a fair playful manor. This is can be where not teaching a dog to manage its excitement they become bully’s in a way and feed of the nervous dogs energy and this can lead to dogs fighting or getting injured, This is why you should always watch your dog’s when they are play fighting and watch if there is one dog that’s backed to the wall or is low to ground (crouched) this can be an indication they are not enjoying the play this dog is more than likely giving clear calming signals to the other dog, but the other dog isn’t listening because it’s got its self over excited. If your dog only ever play in a over excited boisterous way They are going to play this way wether it is a really small dog, large dog, nervous or aggressive dog so its our job to teach them to play nice, how you are or have socialized you puppy will also play a major part in this, if your dog has never seen a tiny dog before they more than likely don’t know how to play or interact with it, so socialization with all types of dogs is important and but keep in mind your pup doesn’t have to play with every dog it meets you don’t want them to start thinking every time they see a dog its play time.
If you’re out at the park and a dog comes bonding other to you don’t be afraid to ask the owner to put their dog on the lead this is a dog that you ideally don’t want to let your puppy start playing with because if this dog has ran other to you its more than likely very excitable and probably means the dog doesn’t have a very Good recall, so adding play to the mix of an ever excited dog that you don’t know and they are off lead, what control do you have if things turn a little nasty, this is where you will hear “he’s friendly” form a distance, even the Friendliest of dogs can bite. This dog may be fine but it’s not always fair to assume both dogs like other dogs and both dogs want to play.
Chasing your dog may seem fun to you and look fun to your dog but chasing your dog can inadvertently teach your dog that you moving towards them mean its play time and start to run away from you thinking it’s a game, this can really hinder if not ruin your recall. Getting your puppy to chase you can also cause behavioural issues, they are chasing you like they would chase their pray this can develop into aggressive behaviour, nipping of your ankles, Even chasing the postman because he smells different and is on their domain. Playing chase is for chasing a toy its not ideal to teach a dog to chase humans unless their a police dog.
Playing tug with your puppy, there is a lot of discussion if you should play tug with your dogs, some say it makes them aggressive, some say Its totally natural for them. Like any type of rough play if your puppy\dog gets over excited they getting over aroused, I believe there are definitely some types of dogs that you shouldn’t really play tug with i.e. if they have a history of aggression or if they are a breeds that was bred to bite unless you have a very Good reliable release command. Keeping a game of tug short and 50/50 meaning you don’t always win, letting your puppy or dog win and don’t pull so hard, keeps it fun for both parties it doesn’t create frustration and because your pup doesn’t have to keep typing harder and harder to keep a hold of the toy it doesn’t built up to much frustration and your pup doesn’t get to over excited. Remember if your playing tug with puppies they have delicate teeth so they can easily be damage or pulled out in a rough game of tug.
Playing with your pup is really enjoyable for both you and your dog, it’s a really good way to bond with your pup and throughout their life you are going to have a lot of play sessions and go through a lot of toys ( your lucky if some last a day) having a variety of different toys and toys with different textures and alternating them around regularly helps keep them interesting and stimulating for your puppy so they don’t get board of them and start to look for fun elsewhere which will probably end up being one of your shoes. Long lasting treats are good for keeping your pup occupied, like natural treats like bull pizzles or antlers try to stay away from rawhide chews and high calorie treats with artificial flavours, preservatives and colours as theses can cause may other issues not just behavioural. Structuring play can benefit your puppy and adult dogs in more ways then you would think, but sometimes we can come more focused on trying to put it to a routine we forget to let our puppy enjoy their puppy hood, although routines are good for puppy's you need to find a happy medium and set a routine that works for you and your puppy. when first starting to socialize your puppy you want to choose a play mate that's similar in size, energy and temperament, putting a nervous puppy with excitable dog wont help their confidence, socializing is about building confidence in your dog so they want to play, if your dog is to nervous they wont want to play.
Deborah batty at Deborah's dog grooming
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