How to play with your dog
The games that tire dogs out most, the rules that stop play getting out of hand and the signals that it is time to stop.
Play is the best training tool you have and the fastest way to burn energy: ten minutes of scent work tires a dog more than an hour of running about. These are the rules, the games by type of dog and the signs that it is time to stop.
Quick facts: how much play a day
Playing is training
Everything you want to teach it can be learned through play: come, sit, wait, drop it. Play is a reward as powerful as food and, unlike food, it does not put weight on. The key is that you direct it: you decide when it starts, with which toy and when it ends.
Three rules that avoid chaos
- Hands are not toys. If it chases hands and trousers, as a puppy it is funny and with 30 kg it is a problem. Toy in the hand, hand still.
- Play ends with a simple command (a «sit» or a «heel»), a pause and the end. That is how it learns that you control the game and it does not stay switched on.
- Stop while it still wants more. Better to finish five minutes early than to exhaust it until it cannot go on.
A game for each instinct
- Retrievers (labrador, golden, cocker): fetch and frisbee. To teach the drop, two identical balls: throw the second while it brings the first back.
- Herding breeds (border collie, German shepherd): circuits, sorting by name, frisbee. They need rules as well as exercise.
- Scent dogs (beagle, hounds, mongrels): hiding treats or a Kong around the house. It is the game that tires them most.
- Terriers (jack russell, yorkshire): searching inside boxes, toys with a treat inside, tug. Cleverness, not speed.
- Large and flat-faced breeds (mastiff, bulldog): short sessions, non-slip floor and no jumping.
Signs that it is time to slow down
It does not drop the toy, its stare goes fixed and it lunges without looking; it pants with its mouth wide open, ears back; it lies on top of the toy biting it without looking at you. At that point: pause, ask for a «drop», put the toy away and let it drink. If it carries on the same way, no more play today.
Toys: two safety rules
It must not be able to swallow it (or break it into pieces it can swallow) and it must not break into sharp edges. Rope toys only under supervision, balls bigger than its mouth, rubber bones the right size. Every two or three weeks rotate the toys: the ones that disappear for a few days become new again.
Keep reading these guides
Play goes hand in hand with training:
Frequently asked questions
Is tug of war bad?
No, if it is under control and the dog drops when you ask. It is a good game to release tension, with one clear rule: the hand is never the toy.
How long should I play with it every day?
An adult needs 20-30 minutes of active play spread through the day, plus its walks. A puppy, three or four sessions of five to ten minutes.
What if no toy interests it?
Start with scent: hide treats and let it search. That engages even dogs that ignore balls. Then use whatever it does like —a rope, a ball— as the reward for a command.