Clean Run Magazine - April 2009 - 73

Play with a toy Tugging Play without a toy The dog needs to understand that what you offer him really is valuable and very cool. Try out different materials, shapes, and sizes of toys you play with. Different dogs might have different favorites, but I try to play with everything. This helps what we’re playing with not to matter that much; rather the playing itself is the important part. Toys and things the dog doesn’t have constant access to are often more valuable to him; something always on offer will be less valuable. Try hiding the toy or pulling it out of your dog’s mouth and throwing it. Then make sure the first to get to a thrown toy is the one to get it! Try revving up your dog by holding on to his collar and using the words and phrases you’ve been using when playing without a toy to rev him up further before letting go of his collar. I enjoy training a high-drive dog with a low threshold for stress, so it’s a priority for me to develop that attitude in the play training. Most dogs can learn to appreciate play even if it might not come naturally to them at first. I’ve met a few adult dogs where playing with toys isn’t appreciated no matter what method was used or what commitment was put into play training. At that point, treats can be a good alternative in play training. even if your dog enjoys toys, it’s a good idea to play with food and treats. When using treats as rewards it’s easy to become a machine and lose the feeling. To avoid this, play with your dog as described above, but simply exchange the toy for food. April 09 Clean Run Increase Value with limitations Anything that’s normally unavailable is often more valuable. Think about this when it comes to both treats and toys. Play with your dog’s food and have him work for it; if he doesn’t want to eat, simply wait until hunger strikes. A healthy dog eats when he needs to. For toys, your dog should mostly be playing with you to make both you and toys increase in value. Playing in itself and the fact that you offer the toys will increase your value in the dog’s eyes, and the toys will also become more valuable since they’re not constantly accessible to the dog. I also limit how often my dogs play with other dogs for many reasons. First, I think there is a high risk of injury when dogs play together. They don’t pay attention to what the surface is like and what’s around them, and suddenly they stumble or run into something. If the dogs aren’t the same size, the risk of them injuring each other increases further. Second, I want to be the center of attention in my dog’s life; I don’t want his dog buddies to occupy that spot. I let my dogs play with other dogs occasionally to provide the social skills my dogs need and to develop their personalities, but I make sure to control which dogs they play with, and when and for how long. tricks for the brain To strengthen the relationship and to develop my dog’s and my own creativity I use shaping. I use shaping in my formal training (for certain behaviors), but I also devote a great deal of time to teaching tricks where the end result really isn’t that important in agility. The focus then lies on the road to the finished behavior. Trick training is an activity that can strengthen your relationship and let you and your dog get to know each other better. Dogs are smart and I work toward always putting their intelligence to use when training. get out there Training and competing are a great deal easier if the dog is comfortable and used to a lot of different environments. I try to not make a big deal out of being in new situations, experiencing new distractions, or new activities. I assume that the dog will be just fine and view it as an opportunity for him to learn more about the world. If I see that the dog is apprehensive, I try to be the leader who always keeps her cool. But if the dog gets to tag along with me as much as possible, problems are rare. I expose my dogs to distractions and different environments early on and their ability to focus on playing or training with me is never a problem. |

Clean Run Magazine - April 2009

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