If you want to create a close bond with your dog, you can also fool around with it.
Tips on how you can easily play with your four-legged friend.
Most dogs love to romp with their fellow dogs.
But you should also play with them yourself.
Because, according to connoisseurs, playing is an important means of communication for dogs, through which the bond between four-legged friends and humans can be deepened or strengthened.
And that, in the truest sense of the word, in a very playful way.
Do you play with your dog?
There are not only retrieval and search games
It's not just about the fetching or search games loved by many dogs, in which they have to find and bring back a dummy that is hidden for them.
Or throw the stick or ball.
This part of the game promotes the ability to concentrate and practices a certain situation with the dog - and praises or rewards it with a treat.
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In a playful way you can create trust in the dog.
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© Westend61/Imago
There is another type of dog play that some owners may sometimes neglect: the more intuitive, uncomplicated play, such as getting on your knees, gently nudging the dog and signaling that you want to play with him.
If he accepts the request and runs away from you to make you chase him, do him the favor or fool him.
He will usually move towards you again and you will react again.
This creates a kind of active communication with the dog at eye level.
Why it is important to play with the dog - tips from dog professional Martin Rütter
“I often experience that dog owners think that play must be connected to an object.
And they're already looking for a stick, a Frisbee or a ball," explained dog trainer Martin Rütter in an article on
Stern.de
from 2019. "This is absolutely not true," Rütter is convinced.
"You can just romp around, fight or hide, there are many options beyond fetch."
His tip: “The start and end of the game phase is determined by mistress or master.
Exception: If your dog shows clear signals to play, do him a favor and go with it.
Because, as the dog professional explains in the article: "Playing is a socially bonding element, and the impulse to do so can of course come from both sides - just like with our children."
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Physical contact when playing - puppies want to be close
Physical contact also plays an important role - not only when playing among the animals, but also in the interaction between humans and dogs.
"Cuddles, petting and contact lying are important for the development of a trusting and stable human-dog relationship," explained Rütter in the article.
This is especially true when you are a puppy.
His tip: “Lie down on the floor with your puppy and let him explore your body.
If he climbs on you while doing this, it doesn't matter.
On the contrary, it just shows that he trusts you more and more.
Once a relationship of trust has been established, everything else becomes child’s play.”
List of rubrics: © Westend61/Imago
