Guided Play

Apr 22

Guided Play is a learning approach borrowed from child education that may be applied to dogs, too. It involves ongoing observation and interaction to understand the subject's needs and preferences. As dog parents, we should actively pay attention to our dogs at dog parks to ensure optimal engagement. Some dogs may love socializing or only want to play catch with you. Some dogs may prefer wide open, unfenced public land to explore and express their natural instincts.

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About the EPISODE

Dog parks’ original intention was to provide a place of freedom for off-leash play. This was necessary at the time to fight back against the societal restriction to have dogs on leashes – especially in tightly-packed cities.

Dogs already live a compromised lifestyle, often spending so much time indoors.

And while basic dog parks have been important to provide some dedicated spaces to not be on a leash, there needs to be more opportunities for them to find enrichment.

To accommodate this need, we need to be more intentional and creative about how we design and think about our dog park spaces.

Select designers have been taking this into account over the years. Landscape architect Leslie Lowe – who designed the five-acre Hugh Rogers WAG Park in Montana – sought to create a more interactive park for both dogs and people to participate in activities.

“I really wanted to design a park that would engage dogs, get them interested in exploring and learning and trying new things,” Leslie says. “If you have a large enough space and you give them options to explore different stuff, then play becomes much more prevalent, exploring becomes much more prevalent. Not having anything for dogs to do – just (having) a piece of lawn and calling it a dog park – I think is a huge disservice and has given them a really bad reputation.”

As dog parents, we can also take on a more active role in our time at any kind of dog park. Being more involved in your dog’s time there can bring you closer together, and help understand their personality and enrichment needs in a deeper way.

The concept of Guided Play is a learning approach – typically for kids – that involves ongoing observation and interaction to better understand needs, strengths, challenges, and preferences. In our case, as dog parents, we can present different types of activities to see what they gravitate towards.

The idea is to embrace our dogs’ innate curiosity, while you take note of what works for them and what doesn’t. This can better help provide the most fulfilling experiences for our dogs.

A traditional dog park experience may also not be right for your dog. If that’s the case, there’s nothing wrong with them. These spaces are not meant for everyone, just like how not every human likes loud parties. Your dog might prefer doing things like walking in the woods, agility activities, or playing frisbee at the beach.

All of our dogs are unique individual beings with distinct personalities. To really understand them, we have to approach them with a clean slate, no matter their breed or other preconceived notions.

Through this more intentional and open-minded process, we can commit to doing our best to give dogs the life they deserve.

About the GUEST EXPERTS

Teena Patel is the Founder and CEO of Doglando, a dog training and behavior company based in Orlando, Florida. After originally being raised in Kenya, Patel came to the United States in her teenage life. While she was interested in working with animals from a young age, she discovered the idea of dog training and found her passion in that field. Incorporating her experiences from Kenya into her practice, Patel has aimed for Doglando to be a place where dogs can be in an open environment and to have them live in the most natural and enriching way possible.

Dr. Camille Ward is the President and founder of About Dogs LLC. She specializes in canine behavior problems, focusing on relationship building and working from the dog’s point of view. Dr. Ward received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan studying cognition and the development of social behavior in domestic dogs. She recently published a paper entitled: “Greeting Behavior between Dogs at a Dog Park” in the journal, Pet Behaviour Science. Dr. Ward also worked as an Animal Behaviorist for the ASPCA’s Anti-Cruelty Team, helping dogs rescued from fighting, puppy mills, and other forms of abuse.

Leslie Lowe is the Founder of Beargrass Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. She is a landscape architect who aims for intuitive and natural places that are organic to beautifully functional environments. Her interest and appreciation of the outdoors give her a holistic view of the ecosystems and native plants she works with. Lowe also has developed and taught courses on native grasslands, native plants, and more about the environment.

Meredith May is a book author and former longtime journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. Her latest book, Loving Edie: How a Dog Afraid of Everything Taught Me to be Brave (2022), details her experience and lessons from an extremely anxious and sensitive canine companion. Meredith’s other books include I, Who Did Not Die (2017) and her memoir The Honey Bus (2019).

About the Narrator

Jenna Blum is a New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Woodrow on the Bench. The book focuses on the time that Jenna spent with her ailing black lab in a public park and the community they found. Jenna is based in Boston, teaching at Grub Street Writers, where she has been running master fiction and novel workshops for over 20 years. She is one of Oprah’s Top Thirty Women Writers with her books published in over 20 countries. Her other novels include Those Who Save Us, The Stormchasers, and The Lost Family. You can follow Jenna on Instagram.

About the Company

As It Should Be is a production company and creator behind the Dog Walk Meditation and Dog Save The People podcasts. The company develops original shows for self-release and produces commissioned podcasts for select companies. Content specialties and categories under development include animal advocacy, sustainability, mental health/wellness, and more. The production company also serves as a content studio for SOVRN STATE artist management.