Camp Bow Wow at the Association of Professional Dog Trainers: Play in Our Dogs' Lives

Camp Bow Wow attended the APDT conference in Louisville, KY this October.  Among the presenters were noted animal behaviorists Patricia McConnell, PhD (author, "The Other End of the Leash, among other books), Suzanne Clothier (author, "Bones Would Rain from the Sky) and Grey Stafford.  You likely have seen Grey on the nighttime talk shows or with Jack Hanna. He is a marine animal trainer and Director of Conservation for the Wildlife World Zoo in Phoenix.  

An entire day of the 5 day conference was devoted to PLAY and it's importance in the lives of our dogs.  Through early play, puppies learn bite inhibition, emotional control, and social boundaries. Dog may engage in  solitary play, wrestle play, chase play, object play or social play.  One concept in social play is that of self-handicapping play.  An example of self -handicapping play is when a younger, stronger pup plays tug-of-war or wrestles with an older dog.  The younger dog clearly can outmatch the older dog, yet he gives the older dog a "leg up" by putting himself in a voluntary down or relents at times in order for the play to continue as meaningful for both.  In general, play does not follow a 50/50 rule and research shows that play is increasingly asymmetrical over development.

If you watch your dogs play with their partner or in a doggie daycare setting, you'll will notice that dogs communicate with each other through tactile signals (using their body to invite  or monitor play bx's), visual signals (position of tail, ears, commissure), and vocalizations (eliciting sounds, pleasure sounds, warning sounds, withdrawal sounds).  

CBW was impressed at the number of people with PhD's focused on dog behavior! If you are interested in some of the resources we picked up at the conference, let us know and we will be happy to share what we learned. (www.apdt.com)