While training a service dog is important and serious work, incorporating play into the training process benefits both members of the team. Play can be helpful in everything from training tasks to public access work. Play can also help meet the dog’s exercise and enrichment needs and, of course, foster a wonderful relationship for the team.
1. Task Training
Play can be used to elicit behaviors needed for tasks, such as grabbing and picking up items for retrieval or pulling a tether to open a door. Play should be incorporated into training carefully to avoid loss of control and precision. Too much play may inadvertently trigger unwanted chewing, mouthing or overly intense pulling. Trainers can prevent this by carefully using only the amount of play needed to prompt the desired behavior and then transitioning back to other training strategies like shaping. For example, when training a dog to take an item in their mouth, the trainer might wiggle the item playfully in order to elicit the desired behavior. When the dog is readily grabbing the item, the trainer can fade out the wiggling, and eventually hold the item still while marking and rewarding the grabs.
2. Positive Emotional Association with Tasks
Integrating play into the task training process can help build confidence and create a positive emotional association with the tasks themselves. Some dogs may not feel comfortable picking up certain items, for example those that are unusually shaped or made of metal. By playing fetch with items of various shapes and materials, the handler can help the dog gain confidence and enjoy retrieving various items. Additionally, both trainers and dogs can sometimes feel stressed and pressured when working on challenging tasks. Dogs enjoy the training process more when play is incorporated, which usually will translate to enjoyment on the other end of the leash. This shared joy can reduce the pressure of training challenging tasks and make the training process more lighthearted.
3. Help Handler Meet the Dog’s Exercise Needs
Clients with disabilities may find it difficult to meet their dog’s exercise needs, and incorporating play into the training process accomplishes multiple goals at one time by exercising the dog while also teaching new skills. However, it is important to be judicious about the use of certain types of play. For example, while retrieve games can be helpful in meeting both goals, too much retrieving could potentially trigger a range of unwanted outcomes from compulsive behavior to joint issues. It is important that trainers teach clients a variety of ways to play with their dogs.
4. Strengthen the Relationship with the Handler
Play can promote a wonderful relationship between the service dog and handler. Just like humans, dogs get varying levels of enjoyment out of different activities. In order to effectively play with their particular dog, handlers need to experiment with different styles of play. It’s also important that handlers try using their voice and body, watching and dynamically adjusting to the dog’s behavior, so that they maintain the right balance of excitement and control. The skills needed for play naturally promote interaction between the dog and handler and ongoing communication. In addition, handlers who know how to adjust their voice and body language to increase excitement in their dogs are also more aware of what types of communication will promote calm, which is another valuable skill for the team.
5. Use in Public Access to Reduce Stress
Public access work is stressful, both for service dogs as individuals and for teams in training. Bringing a favorite toy and allowing for play breaks in appropriate locations can help reduce stress for the service dog when they are working or training out in public. Additionally, a playful voice and body language can be used subtly in some settings to distract or convey levity to the dog when the team encounters certain stressors.
6. Incorporate Play as a Reward in Task Training
Play can be integrated directly into tasks as well. For example, a dog trained to alert the handler to anxiety could then be trained to retrieve a toy for play. Additionally, for some dogs, a short game of tug or fetch with a favorite toy may be used as a reward for some tasks.
Considerations for Incorporating Play
- Adapt Play to the Handler’s Disability and Living Situation: Customize play activities to suit the handler’s abilities and environment. For example, indoor retrieving or scent games can be ideal for dogs with limited outdoor space. Working with the dog to deliver toys directly to the handler’s hand can be helpful for people who have difficulty bending. Using larger or softer toys, and teaching the dog to play tug gently, can accommodate handlers with limited hand strength or dexterity.
- The Handler May Need Help Learning How to Elicit Play: Some handlers will need coaching on how to engage in playful activities with their service dog. For instance, handlers may need to be shown how to use their body, voice and toys to prompt play.
- The Handler May Need Help Keeping Play Safe: Intense play behavior may be unsafe for some handlers. Exuberant large-breed adolescent dogs can injure a person with a disability by jumping on them in play. Clients may benefit from learning how to modulate and reduce the intensity of the dog’s play, for example by moving more slowly, using a softer voice, or cuing a familiar behavior like a sit and rewarding with treats.
The process of service dog training is sometimes intense and stressful for handlers and service dogs alike. Incorporating play into the training process can take some pressure off the team, making the experience more enjoyable for both ends of the leash. Incorporating play into service dog training is also a great way to enhance the dog-handler relationship, making it a win-win for all involved.
