Dog Games: The Do's and Dont's

Chase

Many times when you would like your dog to come to you, they decide it’s “play time.” If you have developed the game of “chase,” which all dogs love, they will pounce with their front paws, rear up, tail wagging, and say “Catch Me.” This is the opposite reaction you want when needing your dog to come to you. Refrain from this game, and rely on the classic “Fetch” game to burn energy and bound with your pet

Tug of War

This game is very aggressive in nature. It is not a good game to start. Many destructive dogs use the same tearing actions with your belongings that is instilled with Tug of War. Competition between dog and owner should never be developed, even when it is playful in nature. Often a pet toy can provide equally amounts of stimulation based on problem solving rather than aggression. Toys like Kong Jawrobics are great examples of items that keep your dogs attention while promoting positive brain activity. And since you are in charge of replenishing the treats, your job in this game is very important!

Slap Fighting

Slap Fighting - or taking your dog’s head roughly and pushing it from side-to-side is a favorite game of many owners and their dogs. Unfortunately, it often leads to a “mouthing” problem. “Mouthing” is when the dog places his mouth on your hand or arm and exerts pressure. With adult dogs, it is annoying and sometimes frightening to guests. If you do not teach this as a form of play, you will not have a difficult time teaching your dog that it is not acceptable behavior. Often time’s gentle petting or a mini doggy massage can give you and your pet a fulfilling, interactive experience without it escalating into bad behavior.

Things to remember

• Start training early. Developing good habits is much easier than correcting poor ones. Highly demanding obedience work should start after 6 months of age. Then, with the proper techniques, you will be well on your way to having a trained puppy by the time they are one year old.
• Learning takes time. Look to yourself to make sure you are using the proper methods and techniques for teaching. If your dog is not learning, make sure it is not you or your approach that is preventing them from understanding what you want. Above all, have patience.
• Enforce everything you tell them. Make sure they knows what you want. Do not assume your dog understands your commands after only 1 or 2 weeks of training.
• Dogs have short attention spans. Work about 5 minutes per session, although you can have 3 to 6 sessions per day. As you progress, increase the amount of time per session. If you learn to read your dog, you will be able to tell when they are tiring.
• Master one command then move to the next: SIT, SIT-STAY, DOWN, COME, and WALKING ON LEASH. Start training when there are no distractions. As you and your dog become proficient with the commands, gradually introduce distractions.
• Consistency is critical. All family members participating with the dog’s training should use the same command words. Linking commands with food reward and praise will further reinforce proper behavior.
• Always finish. If you do not have the perseverance to carry out what you want, your dog will not believe you mean what you say.
• Intonation. Screaming at your dog in anger will only work against you. If you cannot control your own reactions, how are you going to control your dogs? Your dog realizes this also.
• Formalized obedience work. You may choose to seek professional guidance, private or group training to teach you how to handle and train your dog. When looking for a qualified trainer, ask for references, look at group classes in progress, and use your intuition about people to select the best trainer for you and your canine.
• Training is teaching. A good teacher does not use intimidation, anger or pain as a technique for learning. Anger, frustration and physical punishment will confuse and scare your dog, interrupting the learning process.