Your Dog Can Learn More… While Playing

Do you love playing with your dog? Watching their eyes light up as you reach for a ball or a rope toy is one of the joys of sharing life with a canine companion. Play strengthens your bond, but it can also be a powerful way to train your dog. By combining dog training with play, you can teach and reinforce behaviors while your dog is already engaged and motivated. 

Use Play as a Reward in Dog Training

When dogs want to play, they’re highly motivated. They want you to throw the ball, start a game of tug, toss a treat, or chase them. You can use this motivation to train your dog more effectively.

Ask your dog to sit before you throw the ball. Use your recall cue as they run back to you. During tug, practice a reliable drop it. These small moments add up, and they help your dog learn that good behavior makes fun things happen.

Training Through Play: What’s the Difference?

From your dog’s perspective, there shouldn’t be a difference between play and training.

Training is simply teaching your dog new skills or strengthening behaviors they already know. When you train your dog through play, learning becomes part of everyday life rather than a separate task. Instead of scheduling formal training sessions, you can use moments when your dog wants something, such as attention, play, or interaction, to reinforce good behavior. This also strengthens your bond with your canine companion and helps them learn to expect the unexpected while having fun, supporting resiliency, and an expectation of good things when interacting with you.

When play, fun, and training are combined, your dog learns faster, stays engaged, and enjoys the process. Training doesn’t have to feel like work. For both you and your dog, it can be the same as play.

Play with me!

What Makes Our Group Classes Different?

At Canine Companion Consulting, we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all training. Our group classes are:

• Science-based and humane, grounded in modern behavior science

• Small and intentional, with limited class sizes for individual attention

• Expert-led, every class is taught by two experienced training professionals

• Skill-focused, we don’t just teach cues; we teach understanding

• Judgment-free, dogs don’t need to be “perfect” to participate

Small class sizes and two instructors ensure every team receives individualized coaching, feedback, and support. Whether your dog is enthusiastic, cautious, distracted, or somewhere in between, we meet you where you are.