Common canine playstyles
Play is an important activity for dogs that are still growing up. Your dog’s play style can depend on many things; breed, age, experience, genetics and more. Be thoughtful about setting up play for your dog. Playmates will influence his behavior and his feelings about life.
Cheerleaders: These dogs play on the fringe of dogs who are actively engaged with each other. They are often herding breed (Shelties, German Shepherds, Cattle dogs, etc.) dogs who bark a lot and desire to control others. They may nip at the legs and tails of other dogs, try to split up or stop others from playing. These dogs chase the dogs that chase after balls. Although these dogs can be offensive and can cause fights, their behavior is hard-wired and they do not realize their potential to annoy other dogs. These dogs should be kept busy by handlers and be placed with proper playmates to keep them occupied and allow them to practice this behavior safely.
Body Slammers: Often Labs and Boxers, but other breeds also enjoy running full speed and slamming into other dogs to knock them off their feet. These dogs can be compatible with Wrestlers and Chasers, but generally do not do well with Cheerleaders or Soft Touches.
Wrestlers: These dogs play roughly with lots of chewing on each other’s face and neck, pin each other down and play almost non-stop. This is healthy play, as long as both dogs are enjoying the contact and take turns. These dogs need intervention to keep arousal levels from getting too high.
Chasers and Tuggers: These dogs love to run. Some prefer to be the chaser or the chased and some are happy to take turns. Chasers often enjoy playing “keep away” with a toy. This can sometimes turn into a game of tug. Watch for it to be mutually enjoyable. Chasers should be about the same size. A big dog chasing a smaller dog may run the risk of play turning into predatory drift.
Soft Touch: These may be dogs that are old and arthritic, or dogs that are unsure about interacting with others for any number of reasons. Soft Touches should play with other Soft Touches, as they can be easily overwhelmed and stressed by play that is too rough for them.
Self-Play: These are dogs that can happily entertain themselves by tossing a ball and catching it, or rolling around with a toy in their mouths.
As dogs age, they need less and less playtime with other dogs. Puppies LOVE to play and often can’t stop, even when they are tired. Adolescents need playtime to finish learning their social skills, build confidence, learn how to avoid conflict and to build self-control. Adolescent dogs are often pushy or shy. Ideally, we want to teach the pushy dog some manners and teach the shy dog to be more confident. Even tempered dogs with good social skills are safe and can adapt well in different environments. A pushy adolescent can benefit from a tolerant, but strong adult dog with which to play. A shy dog can benefit from playing with dogs smaller and younger than itself. In addition to finding proper playmates to bring out the best in your dog, it is important to limit play to about 20-30 minutes at a time. Without breaks, dogs can become tired and irritable, and the play can escalate to undesirable behaviors. One on one play is the best. Small groups of well-chosen dogs are also good, but a large group of mixed ages, sizes, and breeds can often be stressful, overwhelming and end in unsocial behaviors.
