Managing Play Groups
- Understanding play versus arousal
- Key to good play group
- Supervising properly
- Recognizing appropriate versus inappropriate play
- Using proper leadership
- Keeping arousal levels low
- Being proactive not reactive
By now you know that arousal is linked to aggression, and that’s always an important point to remember. You also know from Canine Body Language that arousal is a form of high energy which can result from the excitement of dogs who are playing. Arousal always needs to be identified and interrupted if it goes on longer than 60 seconds. By supervising the dogs, and remember that you are the lifeguard watching inappropriate play versus good play, and using your leadership skills you can help keep arousal levels low. This really leads to the best playgroup.
Recognizing Arousal
So, how do you recognize arousal when dogs are playing and how do you know if you should intervene. After all the dogs are excited and moving around a lot, right? So isn’t arousal hard to identify?
Well this may be a common concern when you first start supervising dogs. But there are some good ways to decide if there’s too much arousal. First of all, walk near the dogs. Do they notice you? During high arousal times the dogs may lose mental focus and be so distracted that they can’t even pay attention or seem to notice that you’re near them. Their play will become faster, they’ll become more rough, and they’ll often become more vocal.
If this type of arousal continues, it can lead to aggression. Always remember that arousal and aggression are linked. That’s the main reason you want to keep arousal levels low. That doesn’t mean the dogs can’t have fun, it just means when the horseplay gets too crazy you need to intervene to redirect the dogs, just as a lifeguard would blow his whistle to get the horseplay of kids to settle down. You’ll begin to identify a distinct change in the room when arousal levels get high. The energy in the room takes on a more edgy, sharp feel.
Here is a video that demonstrates the differences between good play and arousal.
Inappropriate Play
Arousal is always going to be a time when you intervene. What are some of the other inappropriate behaviors to look for? Just as you can identify some common appropriate behaviors from an earlier lesson, we’re now going to look at some behaviors that are usually inappropriate, especially if they go on too long.
Bullying
Bullying in daycare is just like it is in schools. Someone is picking on someone else. In the daycare you’ll usually see the dog being bullied acting scared or nervous. If this continues, you should try to separate the two dogs. But sometimes a bully will just find another victim. If that’s the case, the bully might not be a good candidate for your off-leash playgroups.
Excessive Barking
Dogs will bark occasionally during play that it becomes an inappropriate behavior when one dog is consistently barking in another dog’s face. This can be a solicitation to play but it’s really rude behavior that should be redirected. It can cause the dogs to be overly stressed and avoid the other dogs in the group.
Head Posturing
This behavior is a sign of assertiveness. Head posturing means the dog puts his head over the shoulders of another dog. If the dog does this posturing and then stops, it may not be a problem. However, if one dog continues to do this to another dog, it could be a sign that trouble is brewing and you should intervene and redirect the dogs.
Mounting
Mounting can occur for a wide variety of reasons. Often, people think it’s a sign of dominance of one dog over the other. In reality, this happens for a whole host of other reasons including play, stress, over excitement, and even anxiety. Again, if the behavior doesn’t last long, there’s no problem with it. However, if one dog continually mounts another dog, it’s probably best to intervene.
Pinning
In an earlier lesson you learned about balanced play is good behavior and pinning one another will happen during play. If the dogs take turns pinning one another and the pinning doesn’t last very long, there should be no reason to be concerned. However, if a dog pins another dog and then gets stiff or still while standing over the dog, you should intervene. This can cause the dog on the bottom or the victim to get nervous and they may become too stressed.
Playing Too Rough
Rough play usually happens mainly if you match dogs with inappropriate play styles. For instance, one dog wants to body-slam but the other dog wants to chase. This can cause problems because the dogs are not well-matched playmates. In this situation it is best to reassign the dogs to different playgroups.
Pushing a Dog to Submission
What we mean here when we’re talking about one dog pushing another dog to submission is that the victim dog has displayed some signs of appeasement or avoidance but the other dog continues to assert himself. Usually we will see the victim dog becomes fearful and overwhelmed, which is not a good environment for him to be in. You should intervene and make sure the dog finds suitable playmates.
Stalking
Stalking is a common behavior seen in the herding breeds, but for some dogs this stalking behavior can be scary. Watch for dogs who seem to be intimidated by the herding breeds who like to stalk and stare at them. Usually this behavior is easy to manage, but you have to notice that it’s happening.
Now we will watch a video demonstrating 5 different interactions of inappropriate play behaviors. Write down at least one inappropriate play behavior that you see in each video. We will discuss after each video. You can pause and rewind the video at anytime if needed.
Controlling Behavior
So now that you know how to identify some of these inappropriate behaviors, what are some things you can do as a playgroup leader to intervene when these things are happening? You should receive a handout of management tools approved by your center for managing play. Take a look at your handout for guidance that is specific to your center. You should always strive for a positive approach and be proactive. Remember our lifeguard scenario again. The sooner you can identify problems and interrupt them, the easier your job will be and the happier and safer the dogs will be. Also, remember to focus on your leadership skills that we covered in the last couple of modules. Remember that good leadership, the use of obedience and enforcing the rules are the best management tools you have.
As you consider methods to control the dogs, remember to avoid group punishment. Loud noises which includes yelling “hey,” throwing objects, shaking metal cans with coins and other things that startle the dogs will punish every dog in the room, not just the dog displaying the inappropriate behavior. You need to refrain from using these things because while punishing one dog for doing something wrong you may scare and intimidate the other dogs in the room who were playing nicely. This just causes confusion and stress for all the dogs.
You also want to avoid physical punishment because it is scary to dogs and unsafe for you. Grabbing dogs by the scruff of the neck, rolling them over, hitting, punching or physically manipulating them can backfire. The dog may redirect aggression to you. More importantly, these methods destroy the relationship you have with the dogs.
Two Things a New Staff Member Will Use
In our experience, the top two things a new staff member will use include rest periods and moving through the room.
Rest periods are used to give dogs breaks from time to time. They are short periods of time when you put a dog in a crate, a kennel, or tether the dog to help him or her settle down. This is a great tactic if a dog is overly aroused and won’t take a break on his own. Puppies are especially prone to playing until they get overly exhausted and need to take rest periods frequently. Rest periods can be from 10 to 30 minutes long and they give everyone, including you, the lifeguard, a chance to relax.
Movement throughout the room is an easy tool to use to manage dogs in your room. Walking around the room and talking to the dogs will help establish your leadership. Playing follow the leader is another good tool and can help redirect dogs when they’re getting too excited. You can also use body blocking to take space or control space like we discussed previously.
Top Three Things an Experienced Leader Will Use
As you get better at supervising dogs, your management tools should reach a higher level. The top three things an experienced leader will use include the come cue, redirecting or splitting, and timeouts.
We’ve talked about using the “come” cue in earlier lessons. You should always take some time to work on “come” with each dog in your group. The “come” cue helps build a relationship with you and the dogs, and gives you a word to use to get the dogs to move away from another dog and towards you. You can only rely on the “come” cue if you’ve practiced it with the dogs and have rewarded them for responding. It takes practice to establish a strong “come” cue with each dog, and this is a sign of an experienced leader when you’re using this tool effectively.
Next, experienced leaders will use redirecting or splitting. These are advanced techniques to manage play. Redirecting means you change the context of what the dog is doing. If he’s barking at another dog, you walk over and distractive barking dog or give him an obedience cue in order to change the context of what he is doing. The goal is for the dog to respond to you, and in doing so forget about wanting to bark at the other dog.
Dogs are very context-specific. So, if you change the context of their environment, it can often change their behavior. Sometimes changing the context can be as simple as getting the dog to turn in a new direction or getting him interested in another dog or toy.
Splitting is an advanced movement in which you walk in between the dogs that are interacting in order to interrupt the play. This is a form of body blocking but is used in between the two dogs to separate their play.
Time-outs are used for training dogs, and a time-out is different from a rest period. Rest periods are a longer duration and designed so the dog actually takes a little break. A time-out is a training tool used to remove the dog from something to teach him better behavior, “If you do ‘X’, you end up in a time-out”. The goal is to teach the dog not to do the unwanted behavior anymore. To use time-outs effectively it takes great timing, patience, and consistency. If you haven’t used time-outs for training, talk to your supervisor about learning how to implement them effectively.
This video shows the tools an experienced leader will use.
You have learned a lot about understanding inappropriate behaviors in playgroups. You know that arousal and aggression are linked. Be sure you’re working with dogs using non physical methods and strive for a positive approach. Work to improve your skills and tools you use to become a better playgroup leader.