What IS Play?
Seems like it’d be obvious to describe and recognize. Unfortunately, pet owners have a tough time determining if their pets are actually playing. More often than not, clients I see with Nancy Williams, MA, ACAAB, RVT describe interactions between their pets that meet the criteria of bullying and sometimes pure harassment from one or more of the pets toward another. I can’t say I blame anyone for being confused. Unfortunately, there is a lot of really bad information out there. What makes it really tough to near impossible for pet owners is when honest to goodness, well-meaning dog trainers get confused about play (and other dog behavior) and publicly post false information.
The worst example I found to date was on a doggie day care website (no names shall be mentioned) that claimed the possibility of suture-able wounds, punctures, nicks on the ear, scrapes and scratches are a part of “normal” dog play! They made it sound as if injury is an expected occurrence when animals with claws and teeth play. I don’t know about you, but I was shocked! You don’t see animals in the wild torn up after play. My friends and I all have teeth and nails, and I have not yet come back with sutures and a black eye from hanging out with them. Further more, I’d never drop off my beloved dogs at a place that openly tells me it is perfectly normal to find wounds on their bodies by the end of the day. And if for some reason I don’t find wounds, well that’s unusual and, dare I say it, abnormal.
These bold claims with no peer-reviewed scientific citation backing up the sentiment really concerns me. You see it everywhere! At times it appears that anything dog related has spiraled out of control. I sincerely hope that my little blog helps clear up a small piece of the confusion.
Now that we know what play is NOT, what IS play? Bekoff (1974) lists 4 definitions of canid play:
- Canid play incorporates actions from various behavioral contexts (i.e. aggression, hunting, etc…) into unpredictable temporal sequences.
- A bout of play is preceded by a communicative signal that indicates the following sequence is play. The same signal is repeated during the bout. The classic example is a play bow (see video example).
- Some behaviors seen in other contexts may be repeated often and appear exaggerated (i.e. a loose bouncy gait approaching a potential play mate).
- Most important - the activity appears pleasurable and fun for all participants.
As a general rule of thumb, play is when all parties involved are having fun. This means no one is hiding or cowering. Play should be mutual with each play mate taking a turn soliciting play. While in play, the behaviors may resemble aggression or hunting behavior. The difference is that everything is slowed down and loose. There are no sharp movements.
My favorite thing to watch are herding dogs play for the first time. Often they exchange a ton of play bows in a row. It is almost as if they are taking turns saying: “I’m playing are you? Yeah, I’m playing are you? Yeah, I’m playing” and so on. It makes me smile!
Reference
Bekoff, M (1974). Social play and play-soliciting by infant canids. Amer. Zool., 14, 323-340.
Related Posts
How Dogs Initiate Play: Descriptions & Video Examples of Play Behaviors
The Amazing Multi-functional Play Bow
When Play Goes Bad: Theories on How Play May Become a Fight
Video: Example of Appropriate Play Behavior in a Group of Dogs of Various Sizes
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