Puppy Bowl is playtime unleashed

The referee blows the whistle. “Puppy foul!”

Unfortunately for Andrew Schechter, this call means just what you imagine. In real life, Schechter, a production coordinator for Animal Planet, is training to be an actor. He probably never expected to have a role that requires so many paper towels and plastic bags. But they’re part of the deal at the channel’s “Puppy Bowl,” to be broadcast the same day as the Super Bowl, Feb. 3, as an alternative for those who are bigger fans of dogs than of football.

For the uninitiated, “Puppy Bowl” consists of a pack of puppies turned loose to play on a miniature football field. There’s no script or plot, just all puppies, all the time — except, of course, for the kitten halftime show.

Watching it can teach you lots about puppy play, an important part of a dog’s development.

“One of the best parts of ‘Puppy Bowl’ is watching the pups figuring out how to interact with one another,” said dog trainer Victoria Schade, who works on the show. “Pups are constantly testing the mechanics of social interaction.”

You can see dog body language in action, including the “play bow,” which Schade calls “the universal ‘Game on!’ gesture” for dogs. Watch the responses to the bow, she said: “a return bow, a hop, or a quick stare, then a dash away, which are all affirmative play gestures. Sweeping, exaggerated movements usually indicate playful intent.”

To the novice dog owner, puppy play can seem surprisingly rough, but all that chewing, jumping and wrestling contains important lessons. Hearing a loud yelp from a playmate in response to a nip helps a pup learn his own strength — and that he’d better not bite so hard next time if he wants the fun to continue.

Allowing this type of play is crucial if you want to end up with a well-socialized adult dog. The trick is to learn to judge when any behavior has gone too far.

“Sometimes it looks awful, but if the other puppy is coming back with the same intensity, it’s OK,” Schade said. “What’s inappropriate is when we see relentlessness: when a puppy keeps coming back when the other puppy is trying to get away.”

When evaluating playmates, size may matter less than you think. During the show’s taping, there’s an Alaskan malamute who’s perfectly gentle with the little guys on the field, backing off when they show discomfort by a yip or a rapid retreat, while a couple of the smaller players need frequent time-outs for what referee Schechter calls “Unnecessary ruffness!”

What’s important to keep in mind is that like the rest of us, individual dogs have different ideas of a good time.

“Some pups like to chase, some like to be chased, some like to wrestle, some like to stalk,” Schade said. “The problem arises when you try to pair a chase-crazy pup with one who prefers to wrestle; those contrasting play styles won’t make for a very fun game.”

All the puppies on the show came from shelters and rescue groups, and part of the show’s goal is to inspire viewers to adopt pets of their own. And when the pups have personalities like these, watchers may find doing such a thing easy to imagine.

Lise Gehrke adopted the Labrador mix called Panda on the show from the SPCA of Anne Arundel County, Md. He’s now named Oliver, and lives in Annapolis, Md, where he’s learned all the places that will give him treats.

“When you walk him down Main Street, there are certain stores you can’t walk past without stopping,” Gehrke said. “If you don’t take him into Paws, he will lie down and not move.”

Oliver has come to expect people to stop and tell him how cute he is, she says.

“He’s indignant if a large group of people passes him and doesn’t stop,” she said. “He stops and watches them walk away.”

Kimberley Nelson of Brooklyn, Md., adopted Janet, a pit bull and Lab mix, from the same shelter.

“She’s a well-mannered dog,” Nelson said. That’s what caught her eye at the shelter, even when Janet was only 9 weeks old.

“She didn’t nip at a lot of stuff like the other dogs did. She just came up to you and started cuddling up to you and licking you.”