My Dog And Its Play Time

Playing Styles

A dog's experiences establish the trends that continue throughout its life. This especially applies to the way it play and interacts with its owner. Young puppies will instinctively chase a toy, and it is generally easy to persuade a puppy to bring the toy back as it soon realizes that you will throw it again, allowing the game to continue. Your pet's ancestry is also significant to some extent. Retrievers, for example, almost instinctively bring back toys that are thrown for them. A dog's superior sense of smell also means that it can locate toys that have fallen out of sight, for example, in a ditch or under a hedge.

Skilled soccer players?!?!

On hard surfaces, some dogs learn to use their front paws as legs, to control the movement of the ball, like a soccer player uses his or her feet when dribbling a ball.

Toys for different breeds

Mastiff-type dogs, which tends to not be as athletic as many other breeds, are also less enthusiastic about chasing after a ball. Instead, they prefer toys that they can chew with their powerful jaws, or ones that can be used safely in a tug-of-war. As described above, you will need to train your pet to release the toy when instructed, as required.

Learning to drop objects

Early play with your pet provides the opportunity to teach it not just to drop its toy when instructed, but also to open its mouth. This allows you to take away objects such as shoes that you do not want chewed and will also simplify the task of giving tablets when they are needed in the future. A dog that is used to having its mouth opened from puppyhood will never resent this procedure later in life. However, an adult dog confronted by having its jaws unexpectedly pried apart is likely to act aggressively, out of fear. With your hands so close to its jaws, you can easily be bitten. It is not a difficult lesson to teach, and your dog will soon come to realize that dropping its toy will allow you both to continue the game. Place your left hand over the top of the dog's muzzle and use your other hand to pry the lower jaw down gently. Use the command "drop" as you do so.

No Teasing Your Dog?!?!

Dogs can wait for their chew toy intently, sitting and waiting for it to be given to him. Avoid inadvertently teasing your pet in any way with a toy - which you can do by keeping it just out of reach - because you could cause it to become so frustrated that it tried to grab the toy aggressively.