The ability to train a dog depends more on an individual’s relationship with that animal than on anything else.

I also learned that there is a difference between a trainer and a handler and, although many people can learn to be good dog handlers, it seems you are either born with the requisite communication skills as a trainer, or you are not!

There are two basic types of play that are of interest to us:

One is where the dog plays an individual game with a toy to alleviate boredom, stimulate body and mind and to relax.

The second type of play is where the dog plays and interacts with another playmate to build or cement a bond.

Because we don’t really want our dog to play physical games using us as a toy, it makes sense that the best environment for a young puppy to be raised in, is one where there are plenty of novel toys available on a daily basis from the age of three weeks onwards.

This way, most young dogs will have already been conditioned to play with one another using a toy rather than using one another as a toy.

Ever wondered why your puppy preferred to play with your fingers rather than the toy held in your hand?

Also, if the puppies in a litter are already playing games with toys, then it is easy to take a toy from the litter when you buy your puppy.  That way you have a ready made play interaction available to build more play sessions with you and your friends.

Think of it like learning to play the game of tennis. When you have learned to play, you can then go to any tennis club in the world and have something in common with every member of that club, even in very different cultures because you all play the same game with the same basic set of tools (toys). 

First of all, there are probably as many ways to teach a dog to play as there are breeds of dog.

Here is a recap on the concept of play to begin with:  

1.          Play is a way of measuring or comparing yourself against others around you.

2.          Play is a way of building or cementing a bond between two individuals.

3.          Play is a way to release stress or unwind and is sometimes an aid to relaxation.

4.          Play is a way of stimulating body and mind.

5.          Play can remove inhibitions.  

So how we set up a play session and probably more importantly, why we set up a play session can be critical in understanding the process of actually getting our dog to play.

Just whom the dog plays with is also going to be an important fact as is what we are going to play with and when we are going to play.  Obvious really, isn’t it?

All dogs have a need to play.  If your dog’s play requirement is one hour in every twenty four and he satisfies that play requirement every day by playing with another dog (I have assumed that most people reading this either have another dog or the dog you own perhaps has regular play sessions with another canine playmate), then you are going to find it really difficult if not impossible to get him to play with you. 

If you pick a toy that he does not like, then play is going to be difficult.

If you choose a person who inhibits his desire to play – usually by having too much control over him in that environment, then play is going to be difficult.

If your dog is tired it is more difficult to get him to play.

If there is little or no bond between the two of you then play is going to be more difficult.

If the environment is more stimulating than the game on offer then play is going to be difficult.

If a game were organised in the presence of a greater controlling authority (your other bossy dog for example), then play would be difficult to achieve.

Selecting a toy

First, select a suitable toy.  The canine definition of a dog’s toy is something that is fun, novel and good to interact with using a suitable playmate.  A human definition of a dog’s toy is something made of rubber that says dog toy on the packaging that has to be purchased at a dog shop.   Spot the difference?  If you can’t then I promise you that your dog can!

Sometimes the toilet roll out of your bathroom would be seen as a suitable toy by your dog and the store bought Kong toy gleaned as nothing more than a missile that you throw at him!

Be creative and inventive, don’t go out and buy dog toys but instead ask your dog what he wants to play with.

 Is there anything in your house that you have difficulty keeping his teeth off?

Is there anything that he would pay a penalty in order to get hold of? 

Can you safely use this as a toy?

 Some things that your dog might want to play with would be too dangerous to use, such as items that may be easily swallowed. 

If you want to play retrieving games, then the secret is in the choice of the toy; if its not valuable enough, the dog will not run out and pick it up; if its too valuable, the dog will run out and pick it up but will not want to bring it back and give it to you!

If you want to fire up the dog’s instincts and play games relative to his breeding then taste, movement, visual appearance and sound become important.

The obvious thing here is the high pitch squeaky toy for the Terrier to shake and kill, the ball on a rope for the Border Collie to chase, or the tug toy for the Doberman to grip and hang on to.

Let’s move on to who the dog plays with.  It may be the case that you are far too dominant – far too influential in your controlling influence over your dog so that you inhibit his natural desire to play. 

Think carefully, is there anyone who comes to your house who your dog goes potty over ,gets silly around and behaves in a very immature, somewhat out of control way when they are present? 

If so, that might be the best person to start the ball rolling, figuratively speaking. 

The worst place to start trying to teach a dog to play is either where you do lots of obedience/control type training or where the environment is more exciting than you or the toy on offer.

Have you ever wondered why it is usually very easy to get a dog in a shelter kennel to play with you with a toy but difficult to get a pet dog to play with a toy during a walk in the woods?

I assume that it goes without saying that you normally would not try to teach a dog to play with you with your other dog in attendance.

If your other dog is in the habit of taking the toy away or even competing aggressively for it in your presence then his desire to play will be severely inhibited! 

Next, pick the correct time of day.  Choose a time when your dog is on an upward curve towards getting excited but not at the peak of excitement.  As dogs are predators/scavengers then it follows that the time that they are usually most mentally and physically active is around dawn and dusk.   

The idea is to coincide times of naturally building excitement to generate the desire to play a game.

Don’t wait until the food is mixed and the bowl is in your hand ready to place on the floor before getting your toy out for a game. Do it twenty minutes before you usually start to mix up his food if you see what I mean. Some dogs are morning dogs whilst others are night owls, so you will need to experiment.

How far have we got? 

·         You have chosen the correct time to start teaching your dog to play.   

·         You have chosen the correct location and eliminated any other controlling influence, including yourself in some instances. 

·         Your dog is getting excited. 

The person playing with the dog should lose all inhibitions and get silly – don’t expect that your dog will immediately start playing or wanting to join in the game.

The game should only run for around five minutes and one of the most important things to remember is that the person doing the playing should not get frustrated at the lack of progress during the first three play sessions, ideally one session per day.

If you see no progress after three days, then you should reduce your dog’s access to any other dogs for three days before trying again.

This means that if you own another dog, they are not allowed any unsupervised access to one another and should not be allowed to play any games together.  They should also be exercised separately for three days prior to the play sessions and for three days after play sessions commence.  The reason should now be obvious for resorting to reducing play contact between your two dogs in order to get one to play with a person instead. 

With some breeds, you will have to change the toy every two or three sessions so that it retains some novelty value, Dobermans for example.

With some breeds like the Border Collie, the same toy can be used extensively as they have a very short visual memory!

As the dog begins to enjoy the play sessions and begins to join in the game with your toy, you will have to start thinking about explaining the rules of the game that you are playing.

If this is carried out correctly, then the game should become more exciting.  If carried out incorrectly, then the game ceases to be fun.

For a dog that is reluctant to play, you will have to allow your dog to win most of the time until his confidence improves.

If he compares himself against you in early games and realises that he has no chance of ever winning a game, then he may retire early in his play career!

On the other hand, if he never loses, he may throw a temper tantrum (fixed reinforcement aggression for the technically minded) and take his ball home if it looks like he’s losing and never let you play with it again!  

Having set up all of the requirements that I outlined, you are now ready to try any one of the following play techniques:  

Teaching an older dog to retrieve

Teaching an older dog to retrieve when it has no inclination at all to play with a toy is  easy. 

Providing your dog is of good temperament and not at all food aggressive, have a try at this:  

Go and get a fairly stale loaf of bread.  The loaf has to be small enough for the dog to pick up and carry around in his mouth and large enough so that he cannot eat it in less than a minute.  In other words, size IS important!   

Now, attach a very light nylon cord to his collar and have a friend come and help you. 

It is better if your friend is known to your dog but this person cannot be anyone that the dog lives with or likes better than you!

 Step 1  

Sit on a chair in your house, call your dog over and encourage him to nibble at the loaf of bread.

You may also want to help him by breaking off small pieces for him to eat.

Keep hold of the bread in one hand whilst (it’s that word again) you are allowing him to eat.

 It also helps to talk to him in a really nice relaxed tone and don’t forget to smile. 

You are presumably the role model for his behaviour and you are not only giving him permission to eat the bread but should also be actively encouraging him to eat it.  

Step 2  

Now have your friend pick up the line and, without saying a word, gently haul the dog away from you.

As soon as your dog is held away from you (a distance of around ten feet), encourage your dog to come back and continue eating his bread.

Have your friend restrain him for a few seconds and then tell them to slacken the line and allow him back.

Immediately he reaches you, tell him what a great dog he is and allow him to start eating the bread. 

After a few seconds, throw the bread into the middle of the floor and let him go to it.  When he picks it up don’t do or say anything, simply sit there and observe his behaviour.

If in the unlikely event that he brings the bread back to you, stroke him and tell him what a great dog he is but do not touch the bread.  Continue then as for step 4.

Step 3  

Assuming that he does not bring the bread back to you but either stays where he is or takes it somewhere else to eat it, have your friend pick up the line and restrain him. 

Now they should, without being aversive, go to him and quickly take the bread away, teasing him and pretending to eat it themselves.  It is very important that they keep a smile on their face to make the dog realise that this is just a game.

You are not trying to make your dog possessive and even possibly aggressive over food! 

Wait for a few seconds and tell them to pretend to accidentally drop the bread.  Let the dog pick it up and now call him to you.  The chances are that he will come right away.

If he does not come when called then simply repeat step three again and again until he does.

Even an Irish Setter will usually bring the bread to its owner after around five repeats! 

Step 4  

When your dog is in front of you with the bread, stroke him and tell him how great he is – do not touch the bread yet!

Allow him to eat it safely.  Now have your friend approach and pretend to try and take the bread away.

As they approach and lower their hand to take the bread, push them away.  Again, this is all carried out in a light hearted way with lots of smiling faces from both the handler and the assistant. 

Do this several times whilst your dog is enjoying his bread.  You can even break a few pieces off it for him to eat. 

You have now established that you are the best and safest place to bring the loaf of bread. 

Providing there is enough bread left then you can get your friend to quickly pick it up and throw it again.  Do not throw it yourself.   

Does all of this make sense yet?

Can you see what we are teaching the dog?  Actually, teaching any dog to retrieve is best approached by thinking of this not as an exercise but a concept – the concept of sharing something with you. 

All that remains is to build a few more sessions using the same basic ingredients and then you can put the bread into a sock and play the game again.

When he returns to you with the sock, reward him with your voice, face and hands before opening up the sock and allowing him to eat the bread. 

Then try putting a tennis ball with a small split in it containing a few tasty treats into the sock before you throw it.

Now when your dog returns with the sock and ball get excited and open the sock, take out the ball and open it to deliver the food treats.

It should not take too long before your dog will retrieve a ball.  

Teaching tug games

How can you get a dog to play a game of tugging with you?   

Start with an old sock – the smellier the better! 

Now place some really tasty treats inside the sock and tie a knot in the top.

Attach a length of bungee cord to the top of the sock and suspend it in an open doorway of your house.  The height of the sock should be sufficient to allow a distance of around six inches from the top of your dog’s nose to the bottom of the sock when the dog is standing with all four paws on the ground.

Sit back and watch the dog’s attempts to get the food from the sock, occasionally giving a few words of encouragement. 

As your dog tries to pull the treats from the sock it will keep on bouncing away from him.

When this happens he will learn to hold on and grip and tug in order to pull a hole in the sock to release the treats.  I did tell you to use an old sock didn’t I?   

Repeat this three or four times each day and then when your dog is eagerly awaiting his daily opportunity to pull the treats from the sock, instead of hanging one end of the bungee cord from your open doorway, hold onto it instead.

Hold it at the same height and in the same doorway as before and wait for the dog to start tugging against you.

Verbally encourage him as you gently pull and release, pull and release, pull and release. 

Finally, stand still and allow him to pull a hole into the sock and get his food treats. 

When you have reached this point you can occasionally let go of the bungee and allow your dog to take the sock away to a safe place to pull it apart for the treats. 

As your dog does this, go over and give him some assistance.  Then continue as for the previous retrieve – get a friend and a fine length of nylon cord etc!  

You have now trained your dog to bring a toy (sock) and play tugging games with you.

This is merely a slightly different slant of the basic retrieve game.  Retrieving to play tug as opposed to playing tug in order to win the game and take the toy away.   

Still having problems?  Then try this:  

Take a handful of small dog treats that are easily seen plus a small squeaky toy concealed in the same hand.

Stand in front of your dog and start throwing them for him to catch. 

Watch carefully, if the treats keep bouncing off his nose before he has a chance to open his mouth, then stand a little further away. 

If the treats are scattered all around because they hit his nose after he has closed his mouth, then stand a little closer – that much should be obvious.

Once he has started to catch them, set up a rhythm throw, catch,  three seconds, throw, catch, three seconds throw, catch, three seconds and so on.

After catch number ten, wait your three seconds and throw the squeaky toy – if you got your rhythm right I bet he catches it and may even squeak it. 

Quick as a flash, go to him, he will have dropped it by now – and pretend to find a small even better food treat inside the toy. 

Allow him to eat it and then continue your normal – thrown the food treat, catch, three second sequences as before. 

Surprise him with the toy at random, rewarding him with a better food treat when he catches it. 

Progressively only reward him when he manages to squeak it and in no time at all he will enthusiastically grab and squeak the toy whenever it is thrown to him. 

Make sure that if he actually grabs the toy and runs away squeaking it you don’t get excited and chase around after him.  You can now either leave this game as it is or pick it up from the retrieving game by getting a friend and a length of fine nylon cord etc.  

What !! you still cannot get your dog to play?

OK when all else fails I use this one.

Pick up a copy of yesterdays newspaper or use today’s after you have read it.

Tear off a small piece and let your dog see you place a food treat on it before you crumple it up.

Don't crumple it too tightly to begin with, the looser the better.  Now drop this to the floor and let him sniff it.  Drop to your hands and knees in a really excited way and, holding the edge of the paper with one hand, start tearing the paper to pieces to finally reveal the treat.

Let your dog eat it from the paper, do not pick the treat up to give it to him. 

Repeat a few more times until he gets the hang of joining in the ripping part of the game by putting one foot on it and tearing it with his mouth to get the treat. 

Encourage him as much as you can.  You are trying to set up an alellomimetic behaviour err sorry trying to get him to mimic your behaviour. 

This is the same as you can teach him to dig by getting on your hands and knees and digging sand on the beach.

Now all you need to do is crumple the paper tighter and tighter to make him work harder to get the treat.

The last bit is to have him on the lead and let him see you crumple the treat tightly in the paper before you finally throw it for him.  When he runs out and tries to rip it apart simply put some pressure on the lead and hey presto.... he will pick it up and carry it.

Only ask him to carry it for around three paces and then drop to your knees, praise him and help him to get the food treat out.

When he will happily carry it for ten paces or so then you will need to get a friend, a fine length of cord etc, etc.