A

• Actions

  Discrete, uncoupled units of movement or response, often context-specific and spontaneous. Actions are the building blocks of skills.

• 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.

• 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 Attunement Aligning 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?

• Challenge-Skill Matching

  Adjusting tasks to align with the dog’s abilities, ensuring they remain engaged without becoming overwhelmed.

• 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.