{"id":12407,"date":"2019-12-04T22:14:46","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T22:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=12407"},"modified":"2019-12-04T22:14:46","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T22:14:46","slug":"making-the-most-out-of-playtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/04\/making-the-most-out-of-playtime\/","title":{"rendered":"Making The Most Out Of Playtime"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY FRAN JEWELL<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
I always use playtime as a time to teach and reinforce name response and \u201ccome.\u201d For Mariah, I use a toy instead of food. Toys are more important to her than food. Photo credit: Fran Jewell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of us make play dates with other dogs, especially for our puppies so they learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs. While this is a great idea, many times playtime teaches dogs to become nuts and uncontrollable around other dogs. One of the biggest concerns people call me about is that their dogs \u201ccome\u201d very well, EXCEPT WHEN THEY SEE ANOTHER DOG!<\/p>\n

Well, unfortunately, we probably unconsciously taught that to our dogs as puppies by letting them have play dates that are wild free-for-alls.<\/p>\n

Play dates can be a marvelous time and place to use as a training opportunity. It isn\u2019t just our time to chat on our cellphones or drink wine with our friends.<\/p>\n

What can you teach during playtime? Two very important skills:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How to \u201ccome\u201d even when there is another dog around.<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cImpulse control, which is the new jargon for self-control.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To start teaching impulse control, as the playtime outing begins, start by not letting your dog out of the car until he sits and looks at you. These are skills that should first be taught in a low-distraction situation first. Then attach a leash. Have your dog sit and look at you again. Reward him with a special treat to help him feel good about sitting and waiting to get out. Use a release word such as \u201crelease\u201d or \u201calright.\u201d Do not use \u201cOK,\u201d since we use that word too much in our everyday conversations. The goal to work toward is waiting until your dog settles before releasing him to get out. Let him drag the leash for the playtime.<\/p>\n

    It will seem like the leash is such a bother, but here is where it becomes such a wonderful tool. As your dog (hopefully as a puppy) is playing gleefully with the other dog, walk over to the play, grab the leash and say his name. Draw him away from the play with the best treat he can imagine. Maybe use some cooked chicken breast or freeze-dried liver. Gently pull him away from the playtime, using the leash, if necessary. When your dog comes away from the play, ask him to sit, then reward with lots of goodies. Have him look at you again, then say, \u201cGo play!\u201d and let him go back to playtime.<\/p>\n

    Let him play for a bit. Do this several times until he willingly comes from the play without you having to use the leash.<\/p>\n

    Once you get to this point, start saying \u201ccome\u201d as he comes to you. The owner of the other dog can do the same thing at the same time, which will help tremendously.<\/p>\n

    Two of the biggest mistakes I see is using the word \u201ccome\u201d and ending the playtime to go home;\u00a0 then \u201ccome\u201d becomes an evil word. If you start associating \u201ccome\u201d with food, and a moment of rest and cooperation, pretty soon \u201ccome\u201d becomes a wonderful game and no longer associated with ending a good time. Then the leash can come off.<\/p>\n

    The same exercises can be done with your dog before and during hikes to create an excellent recall in the woods.<\/p>\n

    A dog with self-control is a safe dog. A dog that jumps out of a vehicle anticipating playtime or a walk can be dangerous. He may actually jump out knocking someone over or into an unexpected car!!!\u00a0 Incorporating some simple obedience exercises can help you have safe adventures\u2014and fun ones, too!<\/p>\n

    Fran Jewell is an Idaho Press Club award-winning columnist, IAABC-certified dog behavior consultant, NADOI-certified instructor #1096 and the owner of Positive Puppy Dog Training,<\/em><\/p>\n

    LLC, in Sun Valley. For more information, visit www.positivepuppy.com or call (208) 578-1565.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    BY FRAN JEWELL Most of us make play dates with other dogs, especially for our puppies so they learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs. While this is a great idea, many times playtime teaches dogs to become nuts and uncontrollable around other dogs. One of the biggest concerns people call me about is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-no-bones-about-it"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}