Does your dog roleplay?

Sure they do -- well, the ones who 'play' do (Kee doesn't play ... not at all but that's the abuse history).  It's a very healthy thing and frankly it's not unlike THEIR play with each other which is often mimicing of aggressive or play-fighting behavior.

They have a sense of humor -- at least most of the well-adjusted ones do.  They think it's fun ... and some of them actually 'get' humor and enjoy the irony of it (if that's a word I can use).  It's on a more basic level than us enjoying Monty Python ... but it's very similar.

And I think, just as humans differ in their sense of humor and play so do animals.  I'm more prone to do the 'gonna getcha' thing in close play (nose to nose on the floor, etc.) simply because my own physical limitations preclude 'running'.  But oh my yes they play along ("Oh OK I'l turn my unprotected belly to the big meanie just because you MADE ME and I'll suffer thru getting a belly rub";) -- but it's definitely enjoyed by all but often more by some than others.

Luna has had to 'learn' to play with humans ... she's the most incredibly well socialized DOG with **other** DOGS I've ever known, but she's had to learn to bond with humans (because of her history before we got her).  But Billy's  "inner puppy" is well and truly HEALTHY -- oh my yes.  He loves such games beyond belief. 

IMO, dogs still have the drives of their wild ancestors but the drives are sublimated. And some of it is no doubt a mimickry of hunting. Catching prey, they get to practice hunting skills. Being prey, they allow their mate to catch prey. The Terrier mix and Mini Schnauzer on my south side change roles all the time while playing. Other games, one initiates. When it comes to wrestling, they trade off. When it comes to tug and keep away, the Terrier iniates.

Kind of off topic but I was watching a show that said role playing in dogs as well as role reversal is proof that dogs have self awareness which a majority of animals do not. I dont know the ins and outs of this so I'm afraid I'm not equipped for a huge discussion but its something I've been meaning to read up on.

A common game at our house is one of the Danes will pretend to be a "deer" and the other dogs will pretend to stalk, chase, and catch the "deer" as a pack.

 Do they all have a preferred role, or does it evolve out of other games or interactions?

they sort of have preferred roles, but will swap around.

AuroraLove

Kind of off topic but I was watching a show that said role playing in dogs as well as role reversal is proof that dogs have self awareness which a majority of animals do not. I dont know the ins and outs of this so I'm afraid I'm not equipped for a huge discussion but its something I've been meaning to read up on.

Play is something that's being discussed a lot within the cognitive science field, and many scientists are still having trouble defining it. If you ask me, so-called role playing doesn't necessarily involve self awareness; it's just a switch back and forth between a dog's two basic emotional polarities of attraction and resistance, fear and desire. Chasing is attraction/desire, and running away is resistance/fear. The fact that dogs don't take either emotion seriously is another topic, but both polarities are related to the basic survival needs of wolves. Chasing is obviously a key aspect of the prey drive. Since wolves supposedly don't have any natural enemies (except human beings), it's not as clear that running away in play keys in to another survival behavior, avoiding being preyed upon. So it's all just being the predator or the prey, both of which are genetically hard-wired into the dog's emotions and nervous system. There's no self awareness required.

Corvus mentioned a game she plays with her dogs, where she "stalks" them to get them to run away. I always tell my clients NOT to do this. That you should always be the deer, never the wolf. But there is an exercise where it's helpful to do most of what Corvus describes, only you should really end it in a far different manner. (I think I described this on another thread.)

When the dog is a certain distance away from you, you put your hands up next to your head as if they were antlers. It's kind of the same posture you might use when "scaring" a kid on Halloween. Obviously when you do it to scare the kid you don't him or her to really be frightened of you; you want them to think it's a game. The same with your dog, except that it's kind of beneficial to see if you can get a spark of real fear in the dog. You can kind of see this change take place in their eyes which says, "Oh, no! Is he really going to kill me?" Ideally the dog will then bark at you, and when she does, you run away as if the barking has scared YOU. This will reverse the emotional polarity, and the dog will come racing after you.

Doing this has a lot of benefits. It increases a dog's confidence and it makes you more magnetic to the dog's energy when she's in an energized mood. You'll find, for instance, that she'll come running much harder and faster when you call her. It may also increase her ability (or desire) to stay next to you while walking her on the leash. Plus it's fun. But you should never actually chase the dog. Stalking should be done to spark a brief moment of fear, and hopefully, barking at you. Once that happens, you should run away. 

LCK
 

Corvus mentioned a game she plays with her dogs, where she "stalks" them to get them to run away. I always tell my clients NOT to do this.

why do you tell them this? I've been told by a number of dog trainers that if your dog enjoys being chased, go right ahead and put it on cue "I'm going to get you" and use it as a fun game/ training reward. I do it myself with selected dogs. They love it.

mudpuppy

Corvus mentioned a game she plays with her dogs, where she "stalks" them to get them to run away. I always tell my clients NOT to do this.

why do you tell them this? I've been told by a number of dog trainers that if your dog enjoys being chased, go right ahead and put it on cue "I'm going to get you" and use it as a fun game/ training reward. I do it myself with selected dogs. They love it.

For two reasons: One is that I want the dog to feel a magnetic attraction to me, to not feel any resistance whatsoever. Getting the dog to chase you increases their level of social attraction exponentially. The second reason is that you never want your dog to feel that running away from you is fun. I mean, think about it. Let's say your dog is off-lead in the park and you want him or her to come to you. Which dog is going to be more likely to come, the dog who's in the habit of chasing you or the dog who's in the habit of running away?

There's another scenario, a fairly unlikely one but it's happened to me on a couple of occasions, and I was glad as hell I'd had these dogs chase me instead of vice versa, because none of them had a reliable recall or down-while-running when these events occurred. In each of these instances the dog was suddenly free on the streets on New York City. In one case the leash broke, in another the dog's collar came unclasped, in a third the dog shook herself and the clasp on the leash somehow came loose from the collar. In all three cases the dogs were ready to start running toward traffic, but when I gave a happy shout and started to run in the other direction each one turned and came running toward me.

At any rate, that's why I tell clients not to chase their dogs. It's okay to start a game of chase by making a feint in the dog's direction, but ultimately you always want the dog to be chasing you, not the other way around. I don't care what any other trainers says...

LCK 

Lee Charles Kelley

At any rate, that's why I tell clients not to chase their dogs. It's okay to start a game of chase by making a feint in the dog's direction, but ultimately you always want the dog to be chasing you, not the other way around. I don't care what any other trainers says...

LCK 

Those are nice reason but I don't think that advise should take priority of teaching the COME command to the dog.  When new fosters come into my home the only obedience command I work on is the COME command and housebreaking.  I then pretty much give the dogs about a month's time to acclimated to their new environment, and the pack.  I stay aloof and work on the relationship and bonding. 

Roleplay.  I play Frankenstein with the dogs.  I am stiff, my arms are extended out, I sway, and move slightly forward while growling.  The new dogs reaction is confusion, maybe some fear, backups, and barks.  My growl turns into a 'hee hee', the dog comes forward, I wrap my arms around the dog's waist and give a big hug.  The rest of pack sits back, watches, and enjoys.  If I target them, they immediately come forward for their big hug.

One of my former fosters, Newt a pittie mix, begin mimicing the Frankenstein role into the pack play.  Funny to watch.

For me personally, I don't chase my dogs or get chased by dogs.  Its no fun because the dog is faster than and easily catches me...so game is over fast.  I really have no reason to chase a dog.  In the pack, all the dogs like chasing and like being chased.  They are much better at it than me.

Lee Charles Kelley

it's not as clear that running away in play keys in to another survival behavior, avoiding being preyed upon.

I've seen documentaries of wolves in their natural habitat chasing after prey. Sometimes, they get out numbered and more than few wolves have received a nasty kick or head butt from a bison. Turning and running the other way and evading allows the wolf to hunt another day. Some prey, while not apex predators, are not without defensive abilities that can injure a wolf. So, running away can have survival value, IMO.

Here's one for you. The two dogs next door, the Terrier mix and the Mini Schnauzer. The Terrier will pick up anything and run and teh Schnauzer will chsae after her. presumably to play tug, which is usually the case. Is the Terrier running away or leading with a valued item? And it could be a twig or stuffing from the chair they shredded to bits.

 I had a dog with an extremely unreliable recall. Good in formal training, not worth a spit in exciting every day life. He was also a bolter, who would jet out the front door any chance he got.

He didn't often get the chance, but life being what it is, it happened a few times. His love of being chased *slowed him down" enough to eventually trick back into containment. I tried running the other way, he didn't care. But when I ran after him, in desperation, he thought it was fun enough that he moderated his pace. I pathetically slogged after him 1 1/2 miles, feverish and in flip flops, until my husband arrived with the car. Escapee dog loved the car, and jumped right in.

If I had stopped after he showed no interest in running after me, who knows if he'd ever come back. All I know is that once I started in after him, he SLOWED DOWN to enjoy "the game." He bolted for the love of bolting, but being chased was much more fun than running free.  

Lee Charles Kelley

For two reasons: One is that I want the dog to feel a magnetic attraction to me, to not feel any resistance whatsoever. Getting the dog to chase you increases their level of social attraction exponentially. The second reason is that you never want your dog to feel that running away from you is fun. I mean, think about it. Let's say your dog is off-lead in the park and you want him or her to come to you. Which dog is going to be more likely to come, the dog who's in the habit of chasing you or the dog who's in the habit of running away?

Hmmm, good point. I've never had any problems with Penny running away because she's just the kind of dog that doesn't feel there are many things in the world potentially more interesting than her people. But Jill thinks keep away is the greatest game in the world. At least, she did until she discovered rope toys. Penny doesn't play with people much. I'm not really sure why. It was a long time ago that she stopped and it was back before I developed any of my own ideas and experiences with animals. What does get her playing, though, is running in the park. We play a sort of tag where I run after her, then I run away and she runs after me, then she veers away and I chase her, and then I run backwards and she comes bouncing after me again and so on. It's a good game and a lot of fun. She likes it a lot. She always modifies her pace, though, so as not to get too far ahead. And Kit does that one, too. Kit is purely a prey animal, though, and he just doesn't chase. Never. He does like to be chased, though, and he's been known to pick up a peg or some other hare-sized stick and lead me on a merry chase around and around the house. He can't be too worried or he'd drop the bloody peg so I could leave him be. I think it's interesting that he doesn't take it seriously, and interesting that Penny will get right into pretending to be afraid of me, but her eyes are sparkling and her mouth is open and her ears tell me she's secretly having fun.
 

I like your point, to, Dog Ma. I'm aware of a Siberian Husky who had won off-leash obedience rewards. The owner had him outside somewhere, off leash, and the dog was fantastic. Until he smelled something on the wind. And took off at a fantastic rate of speed. And never came back. One of the standard wisdoms of owning Siberian Huskies is that you never walk them off leash. This would fall under the heading of breed trait which, to me, has an effect. Essentially, the dog thinks you are great but that smell is too good to pass up, see ya, gotta go ...

But I can agree that the principle is to be what the dog finds more rewarding, which is what I aim to do.