Shelter Dog Playgroups - More than just play
Wow, 20 years doing playgroups at shelters. When I started it was unheard of to put shelter dogs in play groups. There was too great of a chance for disease, fights or the mental barrier related to how can you put strange dogs together. Now we have great organizations like Dog Playing For Life and shelter playgroups are slowly becoming the norm. Even with that, people fear the fight when introducing dogs to each other. I originally wrote this article in 2013, updated again 2018 and now in 2020!
If you were to watch me put together playgroups nowadays it may still look like I am choosing random dogs and hoping they get along. It couldn't be further from the truth. Shelter dogs need dog to dog interaction, but they need the right interactions to grow and acclimate into a home.
It serves many purposes, from exercise, maintaining social skills and decreasing stress - IF DONE RIGHT. I bold that because shelter dog playgroups can become a process that is done to make dogs more easy to manage and walk, but a tired dog does not equate into a more adoptable dog.
Please note, that if I am working with a shelter like Kansas City Pet Project I abide by their rules and take the lead of the head play group folks. If I am doing a private consult I will adapt my program as needed based on the client or shelter.
My goal when I do playgroups depends on the needs of the dog. I try to match similar dogs up with one another, play style to play style in most cases, but not all dogs come to the shelter play. All the personality types add to the challenges of dog playgroups and the ultimate goal is help the dog become more adoptable. So once we know who the dogs are, we determine their needs. So that mean the rough and rowdy dogs need to learn manners, shy dogs need to learn how to communicate and gain confidence.
Who they are - So at first, my goal with new dogs is to determine who they are and what they need. If they are wall flower or extremely shy find them a buddy, if a rough and rowdy find a rough and rowdy, if aggressive determine how aggressive and work to slowly integrate. During this stage I do very little to interact with the dogs. This is there time to acclimate, my time to observe. Depending on the size of the shelter, the focus may be to create dogs who can socially adapt to a variety of dogs and this is where they will focus.
What do they need- Once I establish who they are, then I think what do they need? The need is, what do they need to stay sane in the shelter, what do they need to be more adoptable and what do they need to stay in that home. If I can I will add more interaction with my solid play groups it might be a random treat, toss of the ball or petting multiple dogs at once. I observe how they act, do I have resource guarders in the group that might present its self in a home. This is not done until you understand who your dogs really are and you have a playgroup history. I keep this stage to less than 4 dogs. This is more of a Structure Dog Play group and differs from a morning routine to get all the dogs out and exercised.
The Program - The goal of playgroups should be to create an adaptable and social dog. This means the rough and rowdy learn how to play with shy and dainty, shy and dainty learn how to communicate with rough and rowdy. The program includes helping the aggressive dog, be able to be in the proximity of other dog. If the dogs are around long enough then the program moves into the following;
When I have some established groups I will work the following with additional people.
- Group Training - I will take 3-4 dogs and start to work on group comes, sits and simply waiting their turn for treats or toys. At this point of the program we know the dogs are social and safe. Since 80% of shelter dogs go to another home with a dog, I start to teach the dogs to work and exist with another dog outside and inside the shelter. The training can include group fetches.
- Group Training 2- If I have additional volunteers I will take 3-4 dogs and each volunteer will work on basic foundation skills and we will work the dogs next to each other on leash and off leash. In this setting we will practice leashed meet and greets with the playgroup dogs. Again, working to create real life scenarios.
- Quiet Time - The structured training will often decrease the overall energy level of the playgroup. As a result, we will work the dog into down stays, with the purpose to simply pet and relax, while with several other dogs in the yard.
- Real Life Skills - This may involve entering the play yard and working on jumpy dog, hard treat takers, leash pulling, sitting on the ground, all with multiple dogs.
Often I will handle all the dogs in the playgroup and also get down low with a group of dogs. It's everything our adopters might do. I don't push these interactions if I think it's dangerous. At the Structured Playgroup stage I focus on real life scenarios that may become a trigger in a home.
Below is some actual notes from dog playgroups.
These are notes from a shelter (<2000 2018.="" annual="" consulted="" font="" i="" in="" intake="" that="" with="">
Here’s a bit of what goes through my mind when I do play groups. I really observe how the dogs interact when they approach me and when I get down low. Many fights start over the human and some type of resource. I look at how the dog handle the other dog in their personal space, do they freeze, give whale eye, take treats harder and faster, push or block other dogs from getting to me. In a way, the play part is a small part of what we look for during playgroups. I can more of a dogs triggers, behavior during arousal, reaction to reprimands and what happens with fear.
Remember, I comment on what I observed and some of this is just my opinion based on what I see. All we see with playgroups is a small window into the personality of the dogs.
On this day we alternated between Roscoe- high energy, pain in the ass dog and Abel, goofy low intensity, laid back dog as are playgroup starters.
Kenya (Pit) (small brown pittie with white nose snip) - hard mouth, very focused on other dogs, stiff, heavy body language, hard mouth, not a playgroup candidate.
Appeared to be interested in dogs on a leash from a distance and along a fence. Extremely hard mouth with toys and little bite inhibition on the hand. Extremely toy, driven but hard eyes
Overall good play group. Roscoe annoyed Duke until he had to reprimand. No altercation and it was very appropriate. Roscoe went over to Able and they played chase me games. I could have multiple toys out with the group, provide treats and handling to all three dogs at once without issues.
Duke likes calm dogs and reprimands well
Abel likes all dogs, not very good at reading body language/intention
Starbuck (Pit), Abel (Lab/ret/?), Roscoe (GSDX) -
Starbuck more appropriate than Spence, would do best in a home with a lower energy dog
Dr Clarkson (Pit/heavy stoclky), Abel(ret/lab/?)
Dr Clarkson (PIT), Roscoe(GSDX)
Abel(ret/lab/?), Cora Crawley(ret/??), Roscoe(GSDx)
Wow, 20 years doing playgroups at shelters. When I started it was unheard of to put shelter dogs in play groups. There was too great of a chance for disease, fights or the mental barrier related to how can you put strange dogs together. Now we have great organizations like Dog Playing For Life and shelter playgroups are slowly becoming the norm. Even with that, people fear the fight when introducing dogs to each other. I originally wrote this article in 2013, updated again 2018 and now in 2020!
If you were to watch me put together playgroups nowadays it may still look like I am choosing random dogs and hoping they get along. It couldn't be further from the truth. Shelter dogs need dog to dog interaction, but they need the right interactions to grow and acclimate into a home.
It serves many purposes, from exercise, maintaining social skills and decreasing stress - IF DONE RIGHT. I bold that because shelter dog playgroups can become a process that is done to make dogs more easy to manage and walk, but a tired dog does not equate into a more adoptable dog.
Please note, that if I am working with a shelter like Kansas City Pet Project I abide by their rules and take the lead of the head play group folks. If I am doing a private consult I will adapt my program as needed based on the client or shelter.
My goal when I do playgroups depends on the needs of the dog. I try to match similar dogs up with one another, play style to play style in most cases, but not all dogs come to the shelter play. All the personality types add to the challenges of dog playgroups and the ultimate goal is help the dog become more adoptable. So once we know who the dogs are, we determine their needs. So that mean the rough and rowdy dogs need to learn manners, shy dogs need to learn how to communicate and gain confidence.
Who they are - So at first, my goal with new dogs is to determine who they are and what they need. If they are wall flower or extremely shy find them a buddy, if a rough and rowdy find a rough and rowdy, if aggressive determine how aggressive and work to slowly integrate. During this stage I do very little to interact with the dogs. This is there time to acclimate, my time to observe. Depending on the size of the shelter, the focus may be to create dogs who can socially adapt to a variety of dogs and this is where they will focus.
What do they need- Once I establish who they are, then I think what do they need? The need is, what do they need to stay sane in the shelter, what do they need to be more adoptable and what do they need to stay in that home. If I can I will add more interaction with my solid play groups it might be a random treat, toss of the ball or petting multiple dogs at once. I observe how they act, do I have resource guarders in the group that might present its self in a home. This is not done until you understand who your dogs really are and you have a playgroup history. I keep this stage to less than 4 dogs. This is more of a Structure Dog Play group and differs from a morning routine to get all the dogs out and exercised.
The Program - The goal of playgroups should be to create an adaptable and social dog. This means the rough and rowdy learn how to play with shy and dainty, shy and dainty learn how to communicate with rough and rowdy. The program includes helping the aggressive dog, be able to be in the proximity of other dog. If the dogs are around long enough then the program moves into the following;
When I have some established groups I will work the following with additional people.
Often I will handle all the dogs in the playgroup and also get down low with a group of dogs. It's everything our adopters might do. I don't push these interactions if I think it's dangerous. At the Structured Playgroup stage I focus on real life scenarios that may become a trigger in a home.
Below is some actual notes from dog playgroups.
These are notes from a shelter (<2000 2018.="" annual="" consulted="" font="" i="" in="" intake="" that="" with="">
Here’s a bit of what goes through my mind when I do play groups. I really observe how the dogs interact when they approach me and when I get down low. Many fights start over the human and some type of resource. I look at how the dog handle the other dog in their personal space, do they freeze, give whale eye, take treats harder and faster, push or block other dogs from getting to me. In a way, the play part is a small part of what we look for during playgroups. I can more of a dogs triggers, behavior during arousal, reaction to reprimands and what happens with fear.
Remember, I comment on what I observed and some of this is just my opinion based on what I see. All we see with playgroups is a small window into the personality of the dogs.
On this day we alternated between Roscoe- high energy, pain in the ass dog and Abel, goofy low intensity, laid back dog as are playgroup starters.
Kenya (Pit) (small brown pittie with white nose snip) - hard mouth, very focused on other dogs, stiff, heavy body language, hard mouth, not a playgroup candidate.
Appeared to be interested in dogs on a leash from a distance and along a fence. Extremely hard mouth with toys and little bite inhibition on the hand. Extremely toy, driven but hard eyes
during play. She did not turn to look at the handler when we entered the play yard. She strained forward on lead with a closed mouth and hard stare. During the meeting she chased (restrained by leash/handler) the other dog attempting to grab the neck. It was a combination play and stalking. The other dog was oblivious of the intent, harder dog would have responded. With her hard mouth, lack of focus on the humans and hard attention to the other dog we did not continue the play. I think if a fight broke out with her she would clamp down quickly and with a lot of force. Need a medium energy well seasoned dog to try her with to evaluate her dog skills and safety.
Duke (chow/lab), Roscoe (GSDX), Abel (ret/lab/?) -Played well together
Overall good play group. Roscoe annoyed Duke until he had to reprimand. No altercation and it was very appropriate. Roscoe went over to Able and they played chase me games. I could have multiple toys out with the group, provide treats and handling to all three dogs at once without issues.
Duke likes calm dogs and reprimands well
Duke is a well mannered dog, low to medium energy and did attempt play. A gruff dog, but tolerant of goofy Able. Gave Roscoe an appropriate reprimand for being rude. He could live with a high energy dog, but would do better with a medium to low energy dog. Did not see any resource guarding of items, treats or humans. Enjoyed handling and was attentive to the people. Did not jump on anyone and was a polite portly dog. Probably would do fine in a home with a smaller dog too, or large.
Abel likes all dogs, not very good at reading body language/intention
Able is an easy going dog, but somewhat dog stupid. He is unaware of the signals of a dog, until they get more obvious. As a result, his high energy can get him into trouble with high energy dog where he gets the other dog aroused, but does not know how to control the situation. Loves attention, handling and pretty much just hanging out. Able does have play drive, but not excessive and had a soft mouth with treats and toys. I think Able would be good around kids and would fit into a home with most dogs, even a semi-grouchy one. Avoid very hard or bossy dogs with Able, I think he’d let another dog bully him. Soft personality. Able could probably live with any size dog, but may not know his own size with smaller dogs
Starbuck (Pit), Abel (Lab/ret/?), Roscoe (GSDX) -
Nice playgroup, but Starbuck quickly ramps with his play intensity. He overwhelmed Abel, but his bite inhibition is wonderful even in full chase mode. We had to break he and Roscoe several times to initiate a play break between them. I think Starbucks could be in any home with dog, I would suggest a medium energy home. If you stuck him with a Roscoe like dog, the play would get out of hand. After about 4-5 forced breaks with the dog shield (low energy breaks) they began to stop play when we approached. While a high intensity dog Starbuck is sensitive and somewhat inhibited. His leash meeting (human and canine) are rude and he may start of his D2D meeting with too much energy. Unknown how he would do with smaller dogs. I was able to handle, feed and get down low with the dogs without any issues (except getting jumped on). No human/treat resource guarding noticed.
Starbuck more appropriate than Spence, would do best in a home with a lower energy dog
Starbuck and Roscoe needed frequent breaks, otherwise played well together
Abel, William Mason (Shar pei X) -
Will was fine with other dogs, didn't mind anything, humps a lot
William Mason was great. More playful than you might think due to his age and size. Probably would play more as he became relaxed. Mr Mason does want to hump and this would probably subside with time. Until then, a younger dog or a tolerant dog would be a good home for him. Able did not reprimand him for humping, but Mr Mason was easy to swoosh off with the dog shield. He did not freeze or respond when we pulled him off Able. Some dogs will take this better than others. I was able to pet and handle both dogs together and feed. No resource guarding over toys, or treats were noticed. Matter of fact Able and Mason ate treats off the dog shield at the same time. Neither dog tighted up or showed any whale eye towards each other.
Dr Clarkson (Pit/heavy stoclky), Abel(ret/lab/?)
Good match, not too much energy, could be because of kennel cough
Looks can be deceiving. The Dr approached like a standard stocky bully breed. While he chased Abel and overwhelmed the poor guy, it was all play. As he pursued he was careful to never lay teeth on Able as they played. Dr C is very sensitive and responded quickly to verbal or dog shield breaks. Heavy handed training would really be a poor choice for this dog. I was able to pick him up ease. I was able to handle and feed both dogs at the same time without issue. I would not match him up with a high energy dog. His strength and energy would be a lot to handle with another equally sized dog. A medium energy sturdy dog would be a good match for him. Did not test with a smaller dog, but I think he could acclimate into a home with a smaller dog.
Dr Clarkson (PIT), Roscoe(GSDX)
Good intro, Dr Clarkson reprimanded Roscoe for being pushy, didn't do much biting, just chased, Dr C has a soft mouth.
Nice intro with two high energy dogs. Dr C did reprimand Roscoe for being pushy, but responded to a verbal and the interaction stopped on its own. Nice play between them, rough, but on a single call back both would return to one of the handlers for a treat. Both dogs gave great attention.
Abel(ret/lab/?), Cora Crawley(ret/??), Roscoe(GSDx)
Cora didn't care, was cool with everything, may be good in a home with an active dog because she is so laid back
Cora didn’t care about much. Probably more focused on the humans and treats than the other dogs. Started to play a bit, but her portly size probably did not help. A home with a low to medium energy dog of any size would be good for her. I could treat, handle and get low with all three dogs with no issues at all. Cora would be a nice dog for a family with kids. She’s play motivated, but not extreme.
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See you soon -- Dana