Mastering Play: The Art of Arousal Control and Ending the Game

The Role of Arousal in Play

Play should be exciting; it’s an opportunity for your dog to cut loose and act on instinct safely. As far as interactive dog training goes its my favourite way to train. But it’s crucial to teach your dog how to regulate the arousal that comes with excitement. The ability to transition from high to low arousal quickly is a valuable skill that makes training and daily interactions much less stressful.

Victory Laps & Self-Regulation

When your dog wins the toy, allow them to parade with it while on leash. This:

- Helps them lower arousal.

- Prevents them from adding their own game of keep away or perhaps more importantly it prevents your dog moving to the next phase of the predatory sequence which is consume. That can get expensive in toys or vets visits! So use your lead and keep your dog moving!

- It allows you to restart the game by guiding your dog back to you at the end of the victory lap.

GTDog Bea enjoying a game of tug

Pro tip:

If your dog drops the toy during the victory lap, quickly run in and grab the toy off the floor. You can now play keep away from your dog!

Remember those pesky squirrels that your dog is so interested in? They are interesting because they disappear fast! So make your toy disappear fast if your dog drops it.

Don’t make the toy too hard to get, make them miss a couple of times then allow them to grab it. Be careful to present the toy clearly so your hand doesn’t get bitten!

The End Game: Teaching the “finish.”

To bring play to a structured close, introduce an end word. (e.g., “Enough” or “Done”).

1. Say your end word while gently stabilizing the toy.

2. Wait—avoid prying the toy away, if your dog continues to tug, use your lead to block them from continuing the game on their own.

3. The moment your dog releases, slowly remove the toy while preventing the dog from re-starting the game.

4. Be patient—this takes time and repetition, but it pays off in overall arousal control.

Adding rules to play:

Once your dog understands structured play, you can add rules:

- “Drop” or “out” is useful for impulse control and listening in high arousal. This should always be used to interrupt the game never to end it!

- Obedience elements. Using play you can teach sits, downs or even heel work, this is also a good way to practice impulse control.

- You can add game variations based on your dog’s natural instincts (e.g., chase, fetch, scent-based play). To see some more advanced concepts in play, take a look at these games I created for a Vizsla which have strong hunt, point and retrieve type genetic drives see this IG post here.

Final Thoughts

Structured play should be fun— but it’s also a powerful training tool that strengthens your relationship and improves impulse control, helps your dog with arousal control and listening while in high states of arousal.

Training with play is good exercise and genetic fulfilment! With consistency, you’ll have a dog that listens better, manages arousal, engages with you more enthusiastically and feels better!

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