When Hounds Fly, Foundation Skills

Engagement Games
Objective - Teach your dog to engage with you through fun, enjoyable games.
Engagement games are crucial for building your relationship with your dog. Having fun,
being silly together, cuddling and playing with your dog can deepen your relationship and
positively impact your training by extension. In this exercise, we will focus on having fun with
our dogs.

When playing engagement games, we can also enhance our skills by:
● Using Clean Loops to train our dogs
● Teaching Arousal Control

Goal 1: Learn how to train in Clean Loops.

Have you ever been playing tug with your dog and they nip your hand? Or running around
together and they jump up on you? When playing with our dog, it’s easy for unwanted
behaviours to get lumped in together with the behaviours we enjoy. This is a problem,
because those unwanted behaviours will be reinforced and strengthened with practice
alongside the behaviours we want! A clean training loop is simply practicing all of the
behaviours you want, without incorporating any of the behaviours you do not want. We will
do this by setting up the environment for success.

1. Cue your dog to sit. Once sitting, immediately run away from them in a way that is
exciting and entices them to chase you.
2. When your dog catches up, toss a treat on the floor. This prevents jumping up, by
redirecting your dog.
3. Cue your dog to sit and repeat the process - it’s a loop, after all!

🎯 Troubleshooting:
What do I do if my dog jumps on me or bites my ankles?
If your dog performs an unwanted behaviour, stop playing the game for 10 seconds, then try
again. We want our dog to see that unwanted behaviours end the game, and are thus not
desirable. When you try again be sure to make it easier for your dog to succeed next time:
● Try reducing the excitement level by moving more slowly, and speaking more softly
● Be ready to toss that treat a little fast next time, to redirect them from biting/jumping!

Goal 2: Teaching Arousal Control

Arousal level refers to how excited our dog is feeling. The more excited your dog is, the
harder it can be for them to play appropriately. Highly aroused dogs may struggle to respond
to cues correctly, snatch toys, play too roughly or struggle to settle/relax after play. We can
help them learn to settle quickly after play and to follow cues by practicing arousal control
games.
 1. Cue your dog to stay (in a sit or down). Once in a stay, cue “take it!” and present a
tug toy. Be sure to animate the toy in an enticing way, as though it is a squirrel for
your dog to chase and catch. After playing tug for 15-30 seconds, place a treat by
your dog’s nose to trade the toy for the treat. Cue your dog to go back into a down
stay and repeat the loop.
2. As your dog gets good at this loop, gradually extend the duration of the stay
behaviour. By practicing a stationary, calm behaviour we can help our dogs keep
their excitement in check.
3. Check your dog’s arousal levels after high-intensity play. If your dog is too aroused, it
might be time to take a break. Can your dog:
○ Follow a series of cues instead of lying down?
○ Can they take treats gently from your hand?
○ Focus on another task, or are they fixated on the toy?
Tips:
If your dog gets over-aroused when playing, it is a good idea to end the play session with a
lower arousal activity such as enjoying a frozen kong or chew, playing the “find it” game or
going for a relaxed decompression walk. This will help them transition into a calmer state,
and help them practice relaxing after play.

🎯 Troubleshooting: My dog has no motivation to play!

If your dog has low arousal, or no interest in toys, try practicing the “find it” or treat toss
games below. The more engagement games you can practice with your dog, the more
enthusiasm you can generate through practice. It’s OK to explore other options if your dog
isn’t into toys or balls.

Goal 3: Explore New Games!

Explore new engagement games, or switch up your old favourites.

1. Through the Legs Game:

Wait for your dog to voluntarily orient themselves towards you (turn to face you). Toss
a treat between your legs, enticing your dog to run through. Run quickly to another
place and repeat the loop.
2. Find It Game:
Cue your dog to go to mat or to sit-stay. Hide several treats around the room. When
you are finished hiding treats cue “find it!” and let your dog get up and locate the
treats. If they struggle, you can make it easier by hiding them in plain sight or pointing
out the first few. If they get really good, you can make this game harder by hiding
treats as your dog waits in another room, or by hiding treats in tricky spots like under
a toy or on a low shelf.
3. Treat Toss Game:
Wait for your dog to offer eye contact, then toss 1-4 treats away one by one for your
dog to chase after. Once your dog has eaten the last treat, repeat. This game is
excellent to practice in distracting environments.
 Tips:
If your dog likes to chase balls, modify the through the legs game or treat toss game to be a
ball game instead!