Dogs playing for dogs to watch: Episode 1

[@donaldsheldon2097]

The videos sure bring out how tolerant and accepting dogs are of dog behavior and their play styles

[@mskrystlex]

I'm new to training this is so great for observating behaviors in a group setting.

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Yeah, I've learned so much about dog behavior from recording and watching them in groups and I try to include the most interesting things in the videos.

[@louiZiana-Gurl]

My dog loves this! Couldn’t take his eyes off of the screen 🥰

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Glad to hear that. I hope these videos provide a lot of enrichment to dogs everywhere.

[@jerseygirl07105]

WE watch you EVERY EVENING for an hour or so. I have 2 Bostons and one of them cannot stop watching your program. Cha-cha will watch the dogs play and never gets bored. She’ll usually ends up falling asleep. Her eyes move as they play. Never thought one dog can get such enjoyment out of watching You-Tube. Thank you so much. Watching from Southern California.

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Wow, that's amazing!

[@willybeama1]

My dog is so hooked to watching this

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

I think dogs get a lot of benefit from seeing the wide range of dog interactions. The next episode, #59, is going to have interesting situations where a dog wants to play but reacts negatively when the other dog actually does play. I think the dog is expecting a certain type of play, perhaps based on limited experience.

[@-lifeanddharma3807]

it's a great training new dog.

[@sugarnspice9000]

Dragging leashes and wearing muzzles is really great to see happening in this play group! Great video

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Thanks! Wearing a muzzle is a great way to be able to bring a risky dog to the playgroup to see how they behave and to give them a chance to learn how to socialize.

[@shinthantzaw4692]

he's barking at my computer everytime i took it off him now

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Hehe! I'm glad he enjoys it.

[@katiedawn18835]

I think he said “Dolly Parton” at 7:37, I could be wrong lol

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Haha, that's hilarious! I added that to the subtitles.

[@katiedawn18835]

@@DogPlaygroupStories 😂 😎

[@reereerun7251]

Are any of these dogs available for adoption

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Nearly all of them are available for adoption or fostering. The description of each video contains links to the adoption page of all the featured dogs. Some of them are special needs dogs that need a certain type of home (such as no other dogs, no cats, no small children).

[@thembasimelane923]

This is Season 1 and its network is youtube oringinals

[@rickyland3984]

Not boring to me

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

That's good to hear. This first video was just leftover bits from other stuff I was working on, "Video Byproducts", and I more or less just pasted them together in a long video since someone had said their dog liked watching the other dog videos I had made. People and dogs liked it so I started making these episodes with more effort and care. I've experimented with different things, such as video length, labeling dog names, and now subtitles.

[@dELTA13579111315]

@@DogPlaygroupStories Sorry to bug and ask you about a year-old comment, but would you be willing to share some of what you've learned from your experience? I'm about to be making videos that are likely going to be very similar to some of yours and any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time!

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

There were a lot of different skills I needed to develop and a lot of skills I chose *not* to develop in order to gain a good audience. When I started, I didn't expect my audience to be mostly dogs who needed dog socialization. So first thing I'd say is to focus on feedback from your audience. In terms of what camera to use and stuff like that, a realtor I know who is making KZbin videos mentioned that she was switching from a fancy camera to a GoPro, and that made complete sense for me. I use Adobe Premiere Pro for editing, and studied as many videos as I could about editing (This Guy Edits, Every Frame a Painting, ...). I'd say editing is 20% theory and knowledge and 80% experience, but you really want that theory to guide you. Most of the "value add" that I create now is just operating the camera, not the editing, because with a 9-hour video or 2-hour videos every week, you don't have time for fancy editing. But more importantly, I've started taking a different direction: away from cinematic editing and more creating a video that's reality, as if you were there standing around. But the camera work is still very, very important.

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

Some of the best TikTok videos I've seen have come from this guy, who is an expert at walking the fine line between insightful visions and comedy. www.tiktok.com/@jasonkpargin/video/7224235509365640491

[@dELTA13579111315]

@Dog Playgroup Stories Thank you very much for all of the insight, you're a huge help!

[@9682joe]

What a horrible place this is.. not one blade of grass, concrete walls literally like prison.. over crowding like prison. Terrible 😪

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

The dogs don't actually live in this space. It's a typical shelter play yard. The sand, pools, walls, and fences are carefully designed for the dogs' benefit. The dogs that don't get the benefit of going to playgroup are walked every day (often twice a day) around the local park by volunteers who go to amazing lengths to take care of each dog. This animal shelter has an outstanding record for fostering dogs in homes, avoiding euthanasia, and keeping the dogs healthy. The veterinary care is outstanding, there are dog enrichment programs run by volunteers, a psychological decompression program for fearful dogs, and the staff/volunteers are very good at tracking any problems that individual dogs have and fixing them. I would certainly prefer for all of these dogs to be adopted immediately into nice homes, and the staff and volunteers work very hard toward that goal literally every single day. For myself, I prefer to be part of the solution in my volunteer work at the shelter rather than complaining.

[@9682joe]

@@DogPlaygroupStories packing over 25 large dogs together in a cement enclosure is not for the dogs benefit.

[@DogPlaygroupStories]

This approach has been tested successfully in many animal shelters over several years and it clearly improves the dogs' lives and mental health, which is absolutely essential in a shelter environment. Everything in the play yard is there for an essential reason for the dogs' safety and well being, and it's based on a great deal of experience with what is actually good and bad for the dogs rather than just based on someone's opinion.

[@ZenDuchess]

Grass is expensive to maintain, it would be torn apart in minutes with the amount of traffic this play area gets, it can harbor parasites and disease far more readily than sand; plus any feces would be far easier to clean, and urine would flow downward and dry out faster. The dogs all look healthy and are playing energetically, not lethargic or injured. The concrete walls likely are to a building that this partially shaded play area is built against. You clearly are fixating on the thought that this is bad because it's not what you would want it to be, rather than what works best for high traffic play areas. Also, they are not packed in there, they have plenty of space to run and interact with each other. Their wagging tails, perked ears, and playful body language display just how excited they are to be getting to play with so many other dogs right now.

[@NoNo-ce8xb]

How great at parties you must be ..