Puppyhood Made Easy for New Owners: How to Play with Your Puppy Pt. 2!

Structured playtime at home can serve to promote constructive obedience training habits you will use in your day-to-day with your puppy.

In our part one, we covered playing a game of Tug with your puppy, and also the very useful command “Drop-it”, plus a few helpful playtime tips! Now, we’re moving on to possibly puppies’ second favorite game: Fetch!

You can visit our Part 1 How to Play with Your Puppy blog by clicking here!

Playing Fetch With Your Puppy!

“Fetch” is a great interactive way to play with your puppy, get them much-needed exercise, and work on their recall. In the beginning, we recommend start working indoors, in a smaller controlled area where you can quickly go get your puppy if they aren’t coming back to you right away! Also, don’t immediately toss the toy ten, fifteen, or twenty feet away, start at around two or three, and slowly start building up from there.

Puppy training and yes even playing “Fetch” are all about building on previous obedience commands and good behaviors. If you haven’t already, prior to diving into teaching your puppy “Fetch”, take some time to train them the “Come” command. Take a moment to look through our blog “Puppy Training 101: How to Get Your Puppy Responding to Come!” When you throw a toy for your puppy to retrieve, you will use their name and “Come” to get them to return to you. 

Here’s the game step-by-step: 

• Start with your puppy on their Place cot or bed next to you.

• Take your puppy’s toy and toss it for them, saying “Fetch” as you throw it or when you want them to go retrieve it. 

• Once your puppy collects the toy, immediately call them back and say “Come!”

• When your puppy does come back, you’ll want them to complete fetching the toy by asking “Drop-it”

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Troubleshooting “Fetch”

@badu.thedachshund

It all sounds pretty simple and straight forward right? Here’s the thing, sometimes when you’re teaching your puppy to “Fetch” or retrieve something you have thrown for them unless it’s a natural response for them to return to you, your puppy might want to keep the toy away. This behavior is motivated by play and there’s nothing more exciting for your puppy than you chasing after them! Not so much for you. Instead, try this:

• Follow the same steps from before through the third bullet

• After using the “Come” command, reinforce it by adding in “Place”

• Once your puppy gets to their place, you’ll want them to complete fetching the toy by asking “Drop-it” 

LEARN HOW TO TEACH YOUR PUPPY TO NOT JUMP UP, STOP NIPPING, PLAY NICELY, AND MUCH MORE! ASK A PUPPY TRAINER EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 1 PM PT!

“Place” Command to Teach Fetch

Why do we utilize the “Place” command in this situation? The “Place” command helps your puppy learn to target something a.k.a. their place cot. This creates a fun play routine that also reinforces their recall while they have a toy.

Note: We do recommend that you train your puppy the “Place” command prior to “Fetch” as it will be a useful tool for you! You can visit our blog, “Puppy Training 101: How to Teach Your Puppy Confidence for the Real World!”

A Few Helpful Tips!

1. Keep Your Puppy on Leash 

During the first few Fetch sessions with your puppy, keep them on leash. You can attach it to their harness or flat collar as the leash is really there to make sure your puppy doesn’t decide to go rogue, grab the toy, then run and hide with it! Instead, it will help you guide them back and regain their focus on you, as they learn how they’re supposed to play Fetch.

2. Utilize Your Voice & Energy

Adjust your energy and tone of voice to help control your puppy’s actions! Use a more excited tone with higher energy to motivate a lazier pup, and if your pup is too excited, drop your voice to a calm, more neutral tone, and slow down your own energy and body movements to lower your pup's excitement.

3. Short Distances First

Avoid the temptation to take your puppy to the yard or a park and launch a ball as far as you can! Start indoors with tossing the toy short distances of a couple of feet first, and have

your puppy’s leash attached if they haven’t quite mastered “Come” yet. This will save you from having to chase after your puppy if they decide to confiscate the toy, and reinforce returning to you each time as you build up the distance.

4. Try Out Different Toys

If your puppy isn’t showing initial interest in a certain toy, that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in playing “Fetch” with you! Switch it up and try toys with different textures. Soft and plushy or tough rubber they can chew on.  Not all pups will go for a ball right away, so try with their favorite toy first and experiment with different squeaky sounds if needed!

You’re set to start teaching your puppy to play (and love) “Fetch”! Along with tug, these games will not only strengthen your puppy’s obedience but build their working relationship with you. As your puppy grows up and really masters this game, you will be able to bring “Fetch” to a whole new level, playing outdoors, off-leash, and much farther distances!

P.S. Join us every Wednesday at 1 pm PT on @thepuppyacademy Instagram for a live trainer q&a!

Check out these blogs related to puppy training and more!

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Puppyhood Made Easy for New Owners: How to Play with Your Puppy Pt. 1!

Structured playtime at home can serve to promote constructive obedience training habits you will use in your day-to-day with your puppy.

Playing Tug with Your Puppy

Common advice online, and even from some puppy trainers, claims that the tug game encourages aggression, in particular with some large high-energy breeds...Myth busted! 

The tug game is great for puppies of all breed types! It activates their natural prey drive, helps them release mental and physical energy, get much-needed exercise, and strengthens the bond they have with you! It also teaches them to listen to you and look to you for direction, and how to quickly settle down on command!

Of course, during the game, you will want to reinforce positive obedience habits of releasing toys when asked, a.k.a. “Drop-it” command! In your puppy’s day-to-day, opportunities may arise, for example, finding a sock, TV remote, or all sorts of items, and you’ll want to ensure they have a strong release!

Initiate the game with your puppy, getting them excited about the tug toy. You can either shake it or squeak it (if it has one) and call your pup’s name in an excited tone of voice! Not the same technique will work with every puppy so you may need to try out a few different methods of engaging your puppy to play!

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On and Off Modes

During the game, you will use different modes to both engage and disengage from playing. On mode simply means you’re actively playing in a fun tug game with your puppy. Fluid movements back and forth, or pulling back on the toy. Any time the toy is in motion and you’re engaging your puppy is On mode. 

Off mode is your way of using body language to communicate to your puppy that you want them to stop tugging. To do this, tuck your elbows into your ribcage and add tension to the toy while also stopping those fluid movements. This essentially forces the toy to go still, out of play, and it’s no longer fun for your puppy encouraging them to let go. 

Depending on the size of your puppy, you may prefer to be standing with your knees bent while holding the tug toy out and away from you. If you have a smaller puppy, you may be able to kneel or sit on the ground while playing. In the lowered standing position, it allows you to have control of the toy while also allowing your puppy to pull but limits their ability to jump up on you. 

Note: If you stand up completely straight, this may encourage your puppy to jump up against you. Also, if you have a very strong puppy, it increases the chances of losing your balance while playing. With any game, reinforcing good behaviors will translate to other parts of your puppy’s life so try to keep yourself forward and low so your puppy doesn’t have the opportunity to jump up or potentially knock you down!

Teach Your Puppy Drop-It

In the earlier section, we talked about Off mode which is the foundational activity for “Drop-it”. To teach your puppy to drop a toy on command, you will start to incorporate that phrase each time you stop playing with the toy and your puppy lets go of it. Make sure that when you say “Drop-it” out loud, you are applying the word to the action. This will help your puppy create the association and begin to learn to drop a toy on command.

Getting your puppy to drop a toy can be a bit of a waiting game in the beginning. Your focus should be on remaining as still as possible to the point where you make yourself boring and your puppy no longer is interested in trying to tug. Don’t resort to pulling the toy away as that will only communicate the game is back on to your puppy. Instead, be patient and wait, eventually, your puppy will let go on their own. 

This activity may go on for the first few sessions of playtime and “Drop-it” training before you can ask your puppy to do the command. Once your puppy starts to let go of the toy more consistently, start to say “Drop-it” first instead of waiting them out. 

Troubleshoot Drop-it

If you’re struggling with a stubborn puppy that doesn’t want to drop their toy, you can use the trade method. Show your puppy another toy, gain their attention on that new toy by shaking it, squeaking it, etc., until they let go of the one they have in their mouth. Once they let go, say “Drop-it” and reward them with the new toy. And yes, you can reward the “Drop-it” command with a treat to reinforce the good behavior! Offering an equal value or high-value trade is a good way to speed up teaching your puppy “Drop-it” but try to begin by waiting for your puppy to let go first and use this method if you are having issues!

LEARN HOW TO TEACH YOUR PUPPY TO NOT JUMP UP, STOP NIPPING, PLAY NICELY, AND MUCH MORE! ASK A PUPPY TRAINER EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 1 PM PT!

A Few Helpful Tips!

Keep Your Puppy on Leash 

During the first few playtime sessions with your puppy, you’ll want to have your puppy on leash. You can attach it to their flat collar as the leash is really there to make sure your puppy doesn’t decide to go rogue, grab the toy, then run and hide with it! It will help you bring them back and regain their focus on you.

The leash will be helpful when playing Tug, especially if you have a very excitable pup that’s literally chomping and jumping at you to play. The leash will help you redirect your puppy’s energy, for example, into a quick “Sit” and “Stay” just to get them to settle down.

Opt for using an actual tug toy

Ropes are great for this type of play. Using a ball can be tricky, especially for those of you with large breed puppies. Using a tug toy that has a handle or enough room for your grip allows you to grab hold and tug back but also, it keeps you from accidentally getting nipped!

Modulate Your Body Language and Tone

When you are actively playing i.e. On mode, with your puppy, your body language and tone are excited, high energy, and overall fun. But what if you switched to Off mode and your puppy is full-on zoomies? This is when you need to modulate, bringing your energy to a calm and still level so your puppy can cue in on its time to settle down. 

Strength Matters

Be mindful when playing tug of your puppy’s size, breed, and strength. A puppy is still growing and their jaw (especially on small breed puppies) can be more delicate and can even dislocate if tugging with too much force. Match your motion and the resistance with tug appropriately to your individual puppy for the utmost safety!

All successful tug games will end in a happy and ready for a quick nap pup! That is, until the next game! How did your tug game with your puppy go? Let us know in the comments! If you are having a tough time teaching your puppy to “Drop-it” on command, join us every Wednesday at 1 pm PT on @thepuppyacademy Instagram for a live trainer q&a!

Stay tuned for “How to Play with Your Puppy Pt. 2!” the following week!

Check out these blogs related to puppy training and more!

Puppyhood Made Easy for New Owners: Teach Your Puppy Not to Bolt Out of Doorways!

What Vaccines Does Your Puppy Need in the First Year?

Puppyhood Made Easy for New Owners: Teach Your Puppy to Calmly Greet New People!