A
- Actions
Discrete, uncoupled units of movement or response, often context-specific and spontaneous. Actions are the building blocks of skills.
- Action Capacities
The range of physical and mental abilities available to an individual or team during play. These capacities determine the feasibility and scope of actions, influencing the fluidity and effectiveness of interactions.
- Active Construction
The intentional design of training environments, games, cues, and rewards to align with the dog’s emotional state and training objectives. Includes constructing games, toys, rewards, and emotional tone.
- Actual World
The tangible, physical realm where interactions and outcomes manifest. In Play+, the Actual World is where all Skills and Actions occur, while the Ideal World exists only in your head, representing subjective ideals and potentialities.
- Affordance Landscape
The range of actionable possibilities perceived by the dog and handler, shaped by environmental factors and situational context.
- Affordances
Possibilities for action within the play environment; dynamically influenced by awareness, skills, and interaction.
- Affective AttunementAligning emotional states between handler and dog through cues, gestures, rhythm, and timing to enhance engagement and responsiveness. Actions & intent that fit and match the Subjective Tone of the situation–for you and your teammate, are both opportune and engaging. Aporia
A deliberate pause or moment of constructive ambiguity in the flow of play, allowing reflection, recalibration, or anticipation.
- Attention
The focus that springs from awareness, used to narrow and clarify opportunities for action.
- Awareness
The broader perception that enables recognition of opportunities and informs attention; a foundational element in Play+.
B
- Behavior
A combination of actions and skills. Play+ avoids the term due to its broad, sometimes ambiguous usage.
- Bite
The dog’s act of grasping an object. The criterion is a complete take or removal from the handler’s possession.
C
- Can You Do It?
The first level of Play+ Primal Games emphasizes skill acquisition and repetition as a means for learning, performance, engagement, and physical challenge. It seeks to answer the question: Can the dog and/or handler successfully complete the task or skill in the current context?
- Chains
Sequences of Ideal Actions and Skills interconnected to form larger patterns of action. In Play+, Ideal Chains represent structured flows of actions that are envisioned in the Ideal World and ready to be adapted in the Actual World through practice and refinement.
- Collection
The act of gathering and integrating information to adjust movement, change gaits, or target effectively. In Play+, Collection aligns Awareness and Attention to enable fluid, purposeful action and engagement through intentional movement.
- Complex Domain
Activity in the Complex Domain is unknowable until after the fact—if we’re lucky. There are no instructions.
It requires real time reading and navigation of intricate, interconnected processes all requiring adaptive decision-making based upon emergent activity and the integration of multiple skills and affordances in real-time.
Probe – Sense – Respond | Read – Plan – Do
- Complicated Domain
The space in the Ideal World where Ideal Skills, Chains, and Processes reside. These mental constructs combine multiple actions and components to form skills but require environmental input to be adapted into actionable realities in the Actual World.
This domain serves as a mental framework for envisioning and organizing complex actions before they are practiced and actualized. IT IS NOT REAL.
- Constraints
Limitations or rules that shape behavior, focusing the dog’s attention and actions within specific boundaries during play.
- Coupling
The alignment of actions and skills to seize opportunities in the play environment. Coupling marks a transition point from discrete actions to informed skills.
- Coupling Dynamics
The ongoing adjustments and interactions between teammates as they align actions and opportunities during play. These dynamics foster synchronization and adaptability in achieving shared goals.
- Cue
An instruction or signal that sets intention for a behavior, distinct from the trigger that initiates the action.
D
- Dipolar Physical-Mental Process
The structure of the play process, a cascade where physical perception leads to mental intention requiring satisfaction. Examples include Cue-Trigger, Play-Game, and “Can You?” vs. “You Can’t.” This process balances physical and mental poles to foster adaptability and depth.
D
- Dismissal- Go Do Dog Stuff…
The off switch in interactions, dismissal is the act of declaring “I’m unavailable”, signaling a pause or shift in focus. It serves as a universal mechanism for regulating engagement and sets the stage for intentional re-engagement; Engagement starts with Dismissal.
- Dipolar Physical-Mental Process
The structure of the play process is a physical-mental cascade–physical perception leads to mental intention requiring satisfaction. Examples include Cue-Trigger, SEEKING-AFFECT, Play-Game, “Can You?” vs. “You Can’t.” This process balances physical and mental poles to foster adaptability and depth.
- Drop A key skill where the dog releases an object. It serves as a critical mechanism for toy play and transitions.
- Duration
A sustained action with a clear start (cue) and end (release). Everything between these points is an absence of action.
E
- Enriched Marking
Techniques that enhance communication during play by marking moments of coupling and potential opportunities.
- Expectant Marking
A tool to set the stage for potential opportunities, creating expectancy and enabling recalibration.
- Exploration
The telos or purpose of Play+, emphasizing discovery and dynamic interaction.
- Eye Contact
A fundamental form of attention where the dog and handler visually connect. It signals readiness and alignment during play.
F
- Flow
A harmonious state where the challenge-skill balance keeps both dog and handler engaged. Play+ uses flow theory as a guiding principle.- Physical Flow – Challenge
A state emphasizing physical actions and arousal, using challenges to elevate energy and engagement levels - Mental Flow – Skill
A state focused on exploration and understanding, using low arousal to emphasize thought and intent.
Flow Ratios
Training strategies using specific repetition patterns to guide focus and balance between physical challenges and mental exploration. These attuned ratios throttle Flow and shape the Tone of play and players:
- 3:1 Physical Flow Ratio: 3 strong Skills to 1 weak Skill
Emphasizes physical challenges and arousal through repetitive seizing of opportunity which creates a sense of Achievement.
- 1:3 Mental Flow Ratio: 1 Strong to 3 Weak
Focuses on mental challenges, opportunity identification, and exploration which embodies the Skills, Chains, and Processes.
- Focus
A narrowing of Awareness that aids in identifying specific opportunities or tasks.
G
- GameA game begins with a question…
A game is a structured, dynamic system of consequent opportunity and interaction that aligns opportunity, expectancy, and achievement within a shared flow, fostering the intentional coupling of actions and skills to produce emergent, meaningful outcomes.
- Give
The transfer of an object from the dog to the handler, requiring precision and location awareness.
H
- Horizon
The boundary of perception and actionable possibilities in play. A horizon represents the limits of what can be seen, anticipated, or acted upon, shaping the flow of interaction. Awareness expands the horizon, allowing recognition of opportunities, while Attention narrows focus within it, directing actions and expectations.
I
- Ideal Horizon
The conceptual space where skills align with aspirations and ideals, guiding play and learning.
- Ideal World
The Ideal World in Play+ is a subjective realm of envisioned perfection where skills, actions exist in uncoupled perfection. It serves as a mental reconstruction of what is possible & desired.
- Inceptive Marking
Signals the transition from action to skill by marking the moment of coupling.
- Initiative
The starting point or driving force behind action during play. Initiative defines who has control or sets the pace, determining who “has the ball” in the interaction and directing the flow of engagement in a purposeful manner.
- Initiative Transfer
The dynamic exchange of leadership between dog and handler, crucial for maintaining rhythm and engagement. Initiative Transfers are offered, expected, negotiated, seized, and stolen.
J
- Jam
A freeform, improvisational play session emphasizing connection, creativity, and flow.
L
- Layered Behaviors
Combining simpler actions (e.g., “On,” “Off”) to create complex and dynamic play sequences.
M
- Markers
Signals used during play to highlight moments of transition or significance:
- Mark to Disclose: Illuminates hidden actions or opportunities.
- Mark to Inform: Highlights key transitions or opportunities.
- Mental Flow
A state focused on exploration and understanding, using low arousal to emphasize thought and intent.
N
- Next Now
The affordance framework guiding fluid transitions in play, maintaining a rhythm of engagement.
O
- Opportunity
An affordance or possibility for action, emerging dynamically during play.
P
- Pedestal Work
A training technique using objects like platforms to build focus, position awareness, and duration behaviors.
- Performance Envelope
The amount of time it takes to perform the interaction, defining the operational limits of an action, trick, skill, chain, or process within a specific context.
- Physical Flow
A state emphasizing physical actions and arousal, using challenges to elevate energy and engagement levels.Play
A self-directed engagement with novel, consequent opportunities, driven by curiosity and the intrinsic joy of exploration.
- Primal Elements
Fundamental aspects of behavior and interaction in Play+, including attention, awareness, initiative, pressure, position, and threshold. These are the building blocks of complex play.
- Process Layer
The layer of reality that bridges the Ideal World to the Actual World. It organizes concepts and methods into actions and real-time strategies through dynamic feedback and decision-making, turning ideas into practical outcomes.
R
- Read and Reading
The act of perceiving and interpreting the dog, the situation, or the environment during play. Getting a “Read” involves collecting actionable information, while “Reading” is the ongoing process of interpreting this information in real time to guide decisions and actions.
- Release (Duration)
The moment that ends a Duration Behavior, marking the transition from sustained action/inaction to decoupling. In Play+, the Release is essential for defining clear boundaries between actions and providing a sense of completion and Achievement.
- Release (Resolution of Actions & Skills)
The moment that resolves a sequence of actions or skills, marking the transition to disengagement or a new engagement. In Play+, the Release is essential for defining clear boundaries, providing closure, and creating space for anticipation and future actions.
- Ready-to-Hand and Ready-to-Paw
Terms describing when tools or skills are so practiced and embodied that they are immediately available for use without conscious thought. “Ready-to-Hand” refers to human tools and actions, while “Ready-to-Paw” adapts this concept to canine partners, emphasizing fluidity and instinctual use in play and work.
- Rhythm Contours
Strategic variations in the pace and timing of play to manage engagement and novelty.
S
- Skills
Informed, intentional actions incorporating environmental input and shaped by awareness and experience.
- Small-Sided Games
Simplified training scenarios emphasizing coupling, interaction, and foundational play dynamics.
- Studio Trick
A decoupled or uncoupled skill not immediately available for coupling with the environment. Studio Tricks emphasize control and creativity outside the context of real-time environmental interaction.
- Subjective Aim
The focus or intent during play, encompassing opportunity, expectancy, and achievement. (Operant, Skinner)
- Subjective Tone
The dog’s emotional state, modulated through physical and mental challenges. (Classical, Pavlov)
T
- Trick
A complicated or complex action not immediately available for coupling with the environment. Tricks are often used to showcase creativity and advanced skills.
- Trigger
The release point that actualizes a cue, initiating action.
V
- Vitality Forms
Elements such as movement, pressure, intention, and aliveness that reflect the energy and initiative of interaction.
W
- Wait
A moment of pause before the release (trigger), essential for building anticipation and precision in behavior execution. Waits are potential Triggers.
X
Y
- You Can’t Do It
The second level of Play+ Primal Games, where constraints are set to challenge the Skills and encourage mental exploration of the task. This stage builds resilience, fosters problem-solving, and develops adaptability in the face of challenges.
