Nurturing Play Drive

Since mastering cross-paws with just an auditory cue, Ace has been working with me while I try to develop his play drive. If you remember, when he first came to live with me the initial worry I had was that he was completely disinterested and unmoved by toys of all shapes, sizes and squeaks. There's a Kong in absolutely immaculate shape after I stuffed it with everything short of filet mignon. Our tennis balls have their fuzz intact, and we have a rope toy with knots still stiff.

The only toy Ace responded to was a fishing pole for cats. And it continues to be the only toy that really gets him excited. He's a pretty serious little guy - just shy of 11 months, and at no point was he ever a rambunctious handful like I would expect most puppies to be. He's quiet, reserved, aloof and when he receives a correction during training, he puts his head down and thinks about life. Ace, in short, is not about to be caught dead going goofy over toys.

Until now? Well, I've been trying to sneak in tugging (which he offered as a behavior ages ago) as a reward during our short training sessions. Ace is not incredibly food-motivated, which means that he's never really chomping at the bit to prove himself. Tugging seems to excite him just a little bit - he pants, he wags his tail slightly, he paces around. All of these behaviors I want to nurture so that in the end, I have a dog who is EXCITED! to "work".

It's been tough! I've had to resort to a tiny bit of terrycloth, torn from a cat fishing pole, and dunked in all sorts of gross things - yogurt, beef heart juice, chicken broth. Basically all the stuff that could make something smelly and tasty, I've had to lace this toy with it. And it's working, at least for now. Ace is pretty happy to accept both tugging and his dinner as currency for our various exercises. I hope I can keep this rhythm up, and a year from now, end up with a dog who loves toy rewards just as much as food.

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Comment by Ludi on March 26, 2012 at 8:55am: I think he is. He's wholly disinterested in soccer balls. I have a yellow, glow in the dark, squeaky soccer ball (so the holy grail) and he ignores it completely. Not a single nick to it, and we've had it since he was 5 months old. My husband and I can play an entire 90 minute game of soccer with it and he'll just watch. :D

Comment by John Wolff on March 25, 2012 at 9:53pm: >...completely disinterested and unmoved by toys of all shapes, sizes and squeaks. ... tennis balls have their fuzz intact... not incredibly food-motivated...

Not a corgi.

>I hope I can ... end up with a dog who loves toy rewards just as much as food.

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!!!!!

Try a soccer ball. If he doesn't respond to that, I'm afraid the prognosis is grave. He might be the reincarnation of an investment banker or something...

Comment by Ludi on March 25, 2012 at 3:07pm: Thank you! :) And yes, I think with the introduction of a puppy to the house (much later this year, we'll see~), Ace could very well change things around. I'm very content with how he is now, and I love him to pieces, but it is a little strange to say to folks "Oh, well he's not very playful...". He looks so goofy that you'd think he'd be a little more happy-go-lucky!

Comment by LA Stewart on March 25, 2012 at 3:04pm: Keep trying!

Our male, Will, was a show dog before his owner died. When we got him he was quiet and reserved. He was almost 2 years old and had never played with toys. I think what helped him come out of his shell was our puppy, Wynne. Before we found out about him we had adopted our puppy and she was about 6 months old when Will arrived. She played with the toys and he watched for a long time. It took probably 6 months before Will actually picked up a toy on his own. Now at 4 1/2 years old he is a goofy boy that likes to romp and play with all kinds of toys.

Ace is a beautiful boy. Enjoy him.