What is Reddit's opinion of Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul?

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Play is crucial for human well-being! Many adult mammals “play” - so - buying the drone and allowing the child inside you to run free and PLAY is a scientifically proven act of self-care!

Source: this book. Might be a fun read for you!

Play is a wonderful thing.

There’s nothing wrong with playing as an adult.

Here’s a great book in the subject.

Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/1583333789/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_J306A74R8YD0J8VAKZ2F

It’s not opinion it’s science. The dog doesn’t actually retain very much moving from a stale environment to a higher distraction environment but the reverse is true. And this is why world champions (that I named in my previous comment) teach through play (high arousal) rather than food and also why they don’t teach in stale environment. I suggest this book if you wanna learn more https://www.amazon.ca/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789/ref=asc_df_1583333789/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=293008485980&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7567630577090119903&hvpone=&hvptwo=&h...

It’s not only that. Play is very powerful and gives your dog purpose and increases their self esteem. Much more powerful at changing emotions than food/treats.

This is a good book https://www.amazon.ca/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789/ref=asc_df_1583333789/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=293008485980&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3970433948354219140&hvpone=&hvptwo=&h...

I do agree suppression may not be the right word but it’s not (for lack of a better word reinforcing). The other issue I could see arising is developing a transactional relationship. This is something that took me a long time to wrap my head around but for example a lot of people who use a ball reward for obedience have a transactional relationship and it isn’t true play. You do this -> you get a ball and their sessions go from obedience, reward, obedience, reward etc.. food is even more so transactional. And from the outside it could look like a really good relationship but it’s actually a really good relationship the dog has with food or the ball not with the handler/owner. The way I view training is we play a whole bunch and throughout our game every once in a while we take brief pauses and do some obedience and then go back to play. It’s a weird and subtle mindset shift. I think on Instagram @normthegsd has a good highlight reel about that. This is another good book I recommend https://www.amazon.ca/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789

This makes sense to me! I read a book earlier this year that identifies collecting as one of 8 types of play. Acknowledging the parts of collecting that create flow space for you and thinking through what kinds of collections wouldn’t create clutter might be interesting for op.

Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/1583333789/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_9WF7FbPCMPH1V

The real problem was my state of mind. I used to reject any form of “non-productivity.” I wouldn't do anything if it didn’t contribute to earning money or doing something “meaningful.” Even when I was with friends or doing something that was supposed to be fun, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the time I was wasting. I wasn’t being productive; I was losing valuable time. I had to get back to work!

For two years, I was a complete workaholic, which is tough when you work solo. No one tells you to stop or take a break, or that you’re burning yourself out with your idiotic rituals. Drinking coffee all day, binge drinking alcohol on weekends with other workaholics. I didn’t get outside, I didn’t move enough, I didn’t sleep enough. My weeks were a cycle of over-stimulation and numbing.

Over time, I became very serious, even though I’d never been serious in my entire life. I couldn’t have fun because that meant I wasn’t working, and I couldn’t really work because I always felt tired and jaded (because I never let myself have fun!) I became convinced that life was a miserable grind for adults, that I needed to be very serious if I wanted to get through it.

Giving myself permission to PLAY was the cure for my anxiety. It was a subtle but powerful shift in how I viewed the world. I read Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. The message of the book hit me like a brick wall. I had completely deprived myself of play for years!

Play utterly destroyed my anxiety. It got me around other people, face-to-face, and allowed me to form real connections with them again. Play allowed me to stop taking my life so damn seriously, so I could start living again.

Define scientific and define Art. I suspect that you are looking for scientific papers (written by academics, peer reviewed, and the published). Not easy. You might find something in Google Scholar as relates to Art Therapy.

This is an interesting book about PLAY, because after all Art is Play.

http://www.amazon.com/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789

Not a good source, but I read here that other animals play too.

His course doesn’t actually teach recall specifically but teaches concepts. The course is the same whether you are a dog owner or professional trainer except professional trainers can use TWC in their advertising and take a test to be certified. Last I checked it was 8k for a owner/handler and 10k for a professional trainer who has an existing business.

If I were you I would just start with his “cornerstone collection”.

With other behaviours I think Ivan uses mostly leash pressure rather than luring and shaping with food. All done through play. This is how he teaches competitive heel. He can still use negative reinforcement without an ecollar. I know that people who have taken his course have said sometimes an ecollar is only used a handful or two times in the dogs entire life. In a Facebook live Ivan once said the entire point of tools is to use them in a manner that eventually you don’t need them. So his dogs don’t have an ecollar to them their entire life because what he does sticks. The thing is though I don’t think Ivan and twc think through an operant lens. Even if negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement etc… are happening in the background I don’t think that’s the learning theory they are implementing. There are a lot of other learning theories besides operant conditioning and dog trainers don’t really explore them. The only other non operant conditioning thing I’ve seen dog trainers do (besides twc) is the class by Denise fenzi on mimicry which is a cool learning theory.

Would I learn it with another dog? Yes. With my current dog her recall is bomb proof shield k9’s method is somewhat similar I’d say except they start with low levels but very quickly you move to high levels and the behaviours become obligatory. So my dog doesn’t have issues with competing reinforcers. We also play a lot so when she comes she comes FAST. I did shield k9 in person so my dog got a lot of practice doing recalls and obedience around other dogs. I think the most important aspect of having a good recall is having a good relationship and then using the electric to essentially enforce the command.

Here is my dog for reference at just under a year old (unfortunately I don’t have any videos of her recall… I’ll get some tomorrow). https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLjEMyrC/

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLjEMNTR/

Here are other links you may find interesting

https://iamlearning.pressbooks.com/chapter/six-learning-theories/

This book is also good https://www.amazon.ca/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789/ref=asc_df_1583333789/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=293008485980&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9861432165060841435&hvpone=&hvptwo=&h...