Play
Play...
Group Play can be an enriching activity for puppies and dogs who would benefit from more exercise, and for those puppies and dogs who would benefit from more interaction with like kind as well as humans during the day.
Our staff’s behavioral expertise enables us to use group play to help socialize and support the softer, less confident population who will benefit from having appropriate canine companions, as well as the “Yeehaw, let’s go play!” dogs.
Size matters.
Dogs are social creatures, but large, loose groups can be stressful for some dogs. Instead of actively playing, a stressed dog may just stand, sit or lie down in a corner, or mill around on the fringe of the group, overwhelmed by the numbers and the activity. When it comes to play, it’s the size of the group that counts. That’s why we tend to keep our playgroups small (usually from 2 to 10 dogs) so that everyone gets to participate and have a good time in the context in which they are most comfortable. WAGD playgroup leaders construct every playgroup twice a day. Consequently, your dog may be in one group in the morning and have different playpals in the afternoon. These supervised groupings are created based on breed(s), temperament, size, gender, play style, and our knowledge of each dog and their play companion preferences. We are constantly listening to the dogs and making adjustments based on what they tell us.