My last two sessions today were with a Corgi and a boxer and both of those dogs are just a ton of fun. I’ve always secretly said that if I didn’t have a German Shepherd that I would probably get myself a Corgi. That breed is just a lot of fun. Now, they can be a handful, and you really have to know how to train those dogs. Nevertheless, they’re still just super cute and super fun dogs to play with. Boxers, they’re the same thing! I love just getting down there and playing with the boxer. So that leads me to today’s topic “when and how do you play with your dog?”
Play Is Important
Play is a very important thing. One thing I’ve learned recently is that humans and dogs are among the only mammals that continue to play into adulthood. Even into the golden years! We’ve been spending so much time with dogs as a species together, that we both have this thing where we want to play with each other. Next time you’re doing your obedience skills, or fun skills like maybe scent detection or fly ball, or agility. You may ask yourself “When is it time to play? “
I always think it’s a good idea to interrupt some of your training with a little bit of play with your dog. It could be just getting on the floor and rolling around with them. Or you actually doing some structured play by using a tag or playing some fetch. Maybe just being silly with your dog. I think it’s really important, in the midst of any of those really structured things, that you have this super fun time with your dog.
How Do You Play
So how do you play with your dog? Do you play with your dog by maybe rubbing on their head? Or do you play with your dog by biting them with your hands? That’s something that I do sometimes. I’ll get on the floor with a dog and I’ll use my hands like a mouth and I’ll bite one side of their body with my hand. Then they go to get that and I bite them with the other hand. Then, we’re just kind of rolling around playing with each other.
I work with dogs that are aggressive sometimes. And it always seems to be that we’re trying to correct the dogs and get them to be less aggressive. However, if we could find a way to play with them, we could get rid of some of that stress they have about the relationship. It is really easy with aggressive dogs to just start being structured and too disciplined and forget they also want to have fun. They want to be played with and they want to be respected as well.
Well, I hope that’s useful. I hope it inspires you to go out today and just be extra playful with your dog and work on your obedience skills.
Remember to visit my YouTube Channel for more tips like this or find them right here on my website www.longoriahausdogtraining.com.
Happy Training!
