Sanity check re play

[Shalista]

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So. I think we’re on the right track but just checking.

Freddie loves to play. But he has adhd I swear. About once a day he will become obsessed with a single toy and play like mad with it. For about fifteen seconds. And then like a light switch turning off he completely drops it and ignores all toys for the rest of the day.

So far he’s pretty equal opertunity with his toys. No clear favorite. He just grabs one and runs like mad. Then boom. Instantly done with toys for the day.

Playing with Bax was one of the highlights of our day and we’d love to play with Freddie more but it’s impossible to get him interested in toys. He finds us so much more interesting than the toy we’re trying to get him to play with.

He does appear to use play as a way to get attention. If we have guests over or we aren’t paying attention to him the odds of him grabbing a toy and dragging it in to squeak like mad are much higher.

He also does appear to want to play with us. Whenever he grabs a toy he brings it to us. He’ll play tug and he even brings the toy back if you throw it away.

Everything I’ve read says to treat heavily for toy interactions but I want him to associate toys with fun not food.

So far we’ve immediately dropped down to play with him if he brings us a toy and praised heavily.

Play time remains sporadic. Any way you guys know to encourage more play or are we on the right track and it’s just going to take time?

 

[JudyN]

Let him take the lead. Some dogs like to play a lot, others really aren't bothered at all. There's no reason to praise or treat him for playing - the enjoyment of play is reward enough. But if he doesn't enjoy playing, that's fine too and you should respect that rather than giving him the impression that he ought to play.

Don't overthink things - he's still settling in, and you're still getting to know each other. Give him space, rather than trying to 'do' things to try to 'fix' or 'improve' anything. Sometimes, less really is more

 

[Hemlock]

None of my dogs played. They had lots of fun in other ways, but weren't interested in toys. As has been said - don't overthink things. He is a different dog so I'd also respectfully suggest you avoid comparing him with any other dogs. It's as counterproductive as parents comparing children (or children comparing parents!).

Slow down - you're doing fine. Relax. Let things happen in their own time.