Build Communication Through Play
Unregulated, high arousal play may wipe our dogs out but could contribute to hyperactivity and arousal-related behavior disorders. Learn how to use Structured Play to teach your dog to regulate their arousal and build impulse control.
We hear all the time in dog training that "a tired dog is a good dog", and young pups, particularly working breeds like retrievers, shepherds, and terriers can seem like they have endless energy to burn. Of course, every dog has different enrichment needs however, on average, most dogs don’t need more than 30-45 minutes of high arousal enrichment (e.g. tug, fetch, chase) a day. One problem we see commonly at CCA is a dependence on short bursts of extremely high energy activity to wear a dog out for the rest of the day. It seems common sense: hype the dog up to wear the dog out however unregulated, high intensity play can contribute to hyperactivity and may not be in their, or your, best interest.
Intense Play Builds Intense Dogs
The fact is massively reinforcing play in high states of arousal can fuel impulsivity, pushiness, and create a dog that struggles to calm down. This excessive high arousal exercise can contribute to a chronic high arousal state, lower impulse control, and chronic stress.
We all know a few of these “intense” dogs. They are hyper, barky, running around, on and off the furniture, all up in your space with wide eyes and big panting smiles. They may play nicely, and be very friendly but they struggle to “switch off” and just chill out, and can get pushy and impulsive when denied something they want. Or perhaps you know one of those intense dogs who similarly struggles to chill out and relax but who’s excitement and arousal tips over to more aggressive behavior. These are common behavior issues seen at Calm Canine Academy, particularly with working or high arousal breeds.
There can be a genetic component to arousal disorders, but we almost always see hyperactivity, over arousal and low impulse control coming hand and hand with inappropriate play habits. Think about it, how often have you heard “practice makes perfect” or perhaps the more nerdy “neurons that wire together fire together”? It seems to be common sense that if our dogs regularly practice super high arousal activities, with little to no control or moderation that neurological pattern of excessively high arousal may seep into other areas of their behavior and create dogs that jump wildly on guests, excessively mouth, nip, bark and generally lack control over their body and behavior.
It horrified our wonderful clients to hear that their pup’s favorite wild, ruleless fetch and tug games may be contributing to their behavior problems and many asked us what they can do to help their dog play in a more appropriate state of arousal. The answer is… Structured Play.
What is structured play?
Structured play is a play method that fosters clear communication, reinforces healthy arousal habits, and builds impulse control. Particularly useful for dogs that struggle with impulse control, hyperactivity, arousal, reactivity, anxiety, and aggression.
Who benefits from structured play?
Minimizes puppies practicing unwanted nipping
Young and adolescent dogs who can get overexcited/ over-aroused when playing
Dogs with low stimulus control around toys (lunging, jumping, snapping, etc)
Dogs who nip, jump, bark or paw to initiate play
Dogs who generally seek interaction and attention through unwanted behaviors like jumping, barking gets
Anxious dogs who benefit from predictability and routine
Impulsive, predatory and high arousal breeds like shepherds, retrievers, terriers, and sighthounds.
Reactive, fearful or aggressive dogs
How does it work?
Reinforcing calm with play
Playing is highly reinforcing for most dogs, and using Structured Play to harness its power for your training can be a game changer (pardon the pun)
This means we can use play time as an opportunity to train and reinforce specific behaviors not have a
Through this we can increase dog-handler communication, and - through classical conditioning - create a dog that loves to do things like sit, give you attention, stay, and wait
From now on we are going to ask your dog to “say please” with any polite behavior, or trick, mark the good behavior (say "Yes" or Click) and then engage in play as the reinforcer (e.g. throwing the ball, or 30 seconds of tug etc)
Moderating arousal through impulse control
Asking for “say please” impulse control behaviors in between bouts of play can help moderate arousal and - through increasing difficulty - develop impulse control
Some common impulse control behaviors are sit, down, stay, attention, and wait
If your dog struggles to perform any impulse control behaviors while playing, try interspersing Relaxation Work into play sessions to keep arousal down
Clear communication and boundaries
Clear communication that the game is over can help our dogs shift into relaxation, and minimize frustration.
Pick a verbal cue and gesture, people often use “all done” with an open palmed gesture to show they don’t have a toy or food
When you want the game to be over, give the verbal and gestural cues, and put any toys down/away.
It is often wise to give your dog a low arousal project like a chew, frozen kong or puzzle toy to help them shift into relaxation
Ignore your dog's attempts to solicit play. Often even looking at your dog when they are attention seeking is reinforcing, so make sure to ignore completely or walk away. Reinforce calm settling behaviors like laying down with pets and verbal praise
This sounds awesome! How do I get started?
If you sound like you and your dog could benefit from structured play, check out our tutorial below that goes into the steps of structured play. Remember to start at step 1 and move through the steps over a variety of weeks - don’t get greedy and try to skip straight to the end steps without setting a foundation!
HAVE FUN and let us know how it went in the comments :)
