The fact that your dog keeps asking you to play is often due to the fact that your dog lacks your attention. Boredom or injuries can also be reasons why your dog always wants to play with you. Make sure that your dog gets enough exercise and is always challenged by you through variety. A dog that is exhausted will no longer ask you to play.
Many dog owners know the situation. You are sitting comfortably on the sofa and immediately the dog comes running up and wants to play with you. Your dog doesn’t understand that you want a bit of peace and quiet after a hard day at work. Instead, he wants you to go outside with him and play a round with the ball together. If your dog shows this behaviour very often and constantly asks you to play, this can have various causes:
- Your dog only wants to play because he is bored.
Many dogs are bored just lying in their basket. Dogs need a lot of exercise and often want to be challenged. It is important to provide your dog with enough toys and intelligence toys. With some toys, your dog can occupy himself for a while.
If your dog keeps coming back to play with you because he is bored, it is a sign that you should offer your dog more variety.
- Your dog always wants to play because he is looking for your attention.
This is the most common reason why your dog keeps coming to you and asking you to play. Often dogs are left alone for a period of time during the day, so they don’t get much attention. When you are finally home, your dog is desperate to get your attention and keeps asking you to play.
Often dogs want to play to get attention from their owner.
In order to prevent this behaviour from becoming permanent, species-appropriate and early dog training is very important. Because you can retrain your dog to look for attention relatively well even as a puppy. If your dog keeps asking you to play in order to get your attention, it is important to ignore your dog. If your dog loses interest in you and goes back to his sleeping place or to his toy, you can praise him and reward him.
- Your dog always wants to play as your dog suffers from separation anxiety
Dogs often seek attention when they are not feeling well. If the play partner or a family member has passed away or moved, it may be the reason why your dog keeps asking you to play.
When asking your dog to play, ignore it until it calms down and is in its place. Gently stroke your dog and try to communicate to your dog that everything will be all right and that you are kind to him.
- Your dog always wants to play because your dog is in pain
If your dog is constantly asking you to play and is limping slightly, it may be due to an injury or even pain that your dog is seeking your attention. In this case, it is important to have your dog examined by a veterinarian so that your dog can get better quickly.
All causes for your dog wanting to play with you again and again are often a lack of attention or boredom. In this case, it is important to keep your dog busy with new games that your dog can do all by himself. A lot of exercise is also part of a dog’s daily routine. When your dog is sufficiently exhausted, he will no longer ask you to play.
It is important that you ignore the begging and demanding for attention and only reward him when he has calmed down again and is in his place.
Why is play so important for dogs?
Play is very important for dogs to get enough exercise and to let off steam. Play is also very important for building social contacts. Playing can also improve your dog’s communication and reduce aggression.
For your dog to have a full and happy doggy life, your dog needs plenty of exercise and enough time to play.
Play has very important aspects for dogs.
In this table we show you what skills and benefits your dog gets from playing.
| Ability: | Advantages: |
| Communication | Through play, your dog can learn and improve communication with you very easily. Your dog can learn certain signals from you through various eye contacts, which are especially important for fine-tuning communication. |
| Building and consolidating social contacts | Your dog learns to build relationships with you and other people through play. Dogs are very social animals and need others to feel comfortable and to relieve stress. Contact with other members of the same species is also very important for dogs. |
| Reducing aggression | If dogs in a certain group do not like each other, their conflict can be settled very well through play. |
| Improved mobility | Only when your dog is sufficiently active can your dog maintain its mobility and get enough exercise. Mobility helps your dog relieve stress and makes him less susceptible to illness. |
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Summary – My dog always wants to play
In this table we show you why your dog always wants to play:
| Reason 1: | Your dog is bored and wants to be kept busy playing. |
| Reason 2: | Your dog is looking for your attention and therefore wants to play with you. |
| Reason 3: | Your dog only wants to play with you because he has separation pains and misses a conspecific or a person. |
| Reason 4: | Your dog has an injury or is in pain and therefore wants your attention to play. |
The fact that your dog only wants to play can have various causes. Boredom or lack of attention are the main reasons why your dog keeps asking you to play. But illness or pain can also be reasons why your dog always wants to play with you.
Make sure that your dog gets enough exercise and is sufficiently challenged by you. Intelligence toys can help your dog improve his skills.
Play is very important for dogs as it helps them to improve their communication with their owner.
Play is very important for dogs to socialise and reduce their stress. Playing helps dogs improve their communication and keeps them mobile, which can prevent illness.
