How to Use Play to Reinforce Pro-social Behavior⏬
If you have a dog, I implore you: figure out a way to play with them.
It is so important that we follow basic principles of nature and use play to model and reinforce pro-social behavior with our dogs.
Hi, my name is Emma Brent. I am a Certified Dog Trainer specializing in socialization, foundation & advanced skill development, and reactivity rehabilitation.
In my opinion, most of our miscommunications with dogs come from our cumulative lack of skills. Specifically in regard to teaching dogs how to play.
There are thousands of books on how to teach your dog how to sit and come when called.
But, when I searched for books on “how to teach your dog how to play,” the results were underwhelming.
An Example of What We Mean When We Say “Play”
In this video, Meaghan and I are working on a parallel play with two dog-reactive dogs.
Before this moment, Bailey (the dog I'm playing with) had a pretty hard time hanging out on her side of the fence.
It took about 8 minutes & many attempts to finally get Bailey to start playing with me!
You’ll see in the video the exact moment, and then once I got her to play, her mood shifted entirely. <3
She happily went from playing to sniffing for treats at the snuffle mats and, most importantly, was no longer fixating on the other dog behind the fence.
Why We Use “Parallel” Play
We use parallel play to help dogs learn how to perform prosocial behavior in contexts where they have previously demonstrated antisocial behavior.
We utilize snuffle mats to give the dogs the option to opt out at any point during the session and just sniff around for treats, which helps them decompress.
However, the goal here is not to do "training" with food.
How to Encourage Your Dog to Play
There isn’t really a one-size-fits-all approach.
Many steps come before and after this to encourage dogs to perform pro-social behavior. This post is just a short snippet to show you what’s possible!
Play can be used for so many different reasons when working with dogs, and I hope that learning how to play with your dog can help you develop a better relationship.
Need help teaching your dog how to play?
Reach out to us via email: team@urbanpawsibilities.com
Post shared from our Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0KauuJyVVU/
Need a good toy to play with your dog without giving treats?
Our team loves using this plush toy tail teaser by Outward Hound.
The Tail Teaser dog wand is made of a durable nylon cord that's flexible enough to last you through hours of playtime.
It’s also a compact toy you can bring to the dog park to get them to play more throughout the week.
