People who regularly play with
their dog develop understanding, respect and communication
with their dog.
Games are activities you do with your dog that require
the two of you to communicate and work together in
some way. While some would argue with me I also distinguish
games from sports.
Games may have a goal but they have no titles, no
placements, no ribbons. Games might even involve competition
- but it is competition of the moment.
Playing games with your dog is really
good for your relationship. Remember that while dogs
are not humans in fur suits they are social creatures
and playing is an important element in developing
social relationships. Playing games is a fundamental
way of "modeling" real life.
You can teach a dog to obey by playing
games that make following your instructions fun. Don't
believe me? Think about kids and how much they enjoy
"Follow the leader" and "Simon Says"
Think about all the games kids play that involve following
(or failing to follow) directions. Kids learn from
this and so do dogs. And handled properly the learning
is a very positive experience.
Here are some games and ideas
submitted from a variety of sources. For the most
part we've posted them without editing.
Follow the Leader
A really fun game I play with my dogs and my puppy
classes is follow the leader.
I set up lots of puppy obstacles and traffic cones
in no particular order and give each handler the opportunity
the chance to be leader. All you need are three dogs
and handlers. In the summer (actually most of the
year here in Florida) I include a shallow wading pool,
also some piles of balls or Frisbees. Well, you get
the idea.
Kim
Find the Treat
I put my dogs on a "down" stay then I put
treats in a variety of hiding places. They have to
wait until I'm all done hiding them. When I say "GO!"
the dog run around trying to each get the most treats.
Carol
Hide and Seek
I play hide and seek with my dog. I put him on a
sit or down wait. Then I hide. When I am ready I call
him. Watch out they sometimes peek. This is good for
teaching the dog to wait until called as well as fun
for you and your dog. Judy
My Dog Can Do That!
This is a game published with training tips written
by Dr. Ian Dunbar & Terry Ryan. It has cards with
tricks or performances of varying levels of difficulty.
The more difficult the performance the more points
for correctly performing it. The game is sold through
a wide variety of dog books and dog supply retailers.
