A Bit Of Play

Rundle already has a love for toys and playing which I am happy for because not all Bernese seem to get the play gene. So I make sure to play with Rundle every day to encourage that love of toys, tugging, chasing and playing.

Playing tug is a great way to engage with any dog and a wonderful tool to have to use later in training as a high value reward. Right now I am just trying to build the value of tugging and have set no rules except bite the toy not my hand. As Rundle learns more about the game and is more enthusiastic I will start to set rules such as an automatic "drop it" when I ask and waiting to be released to the toy. I will need to teach these concepts seperate from the actual game and then make them a part of the rules. 

For now we have short and fun tug play sessions - I don't want to beg Rundle to play so we quit before he is bored (which can be quick with a 9 week old puppy). 

Here is a short video of a play/tug session.