What is your dog’s favourite game? Play every day, doing whatever your dog loves. Hide and seek, tug, fetch (in moderation) -whatever pushes your dog’s buttons. Playing builds a strong bond between you. And it’s fun!
Playing doggy games
Gus and I have just been playing his favourite game. I hide a toy or some food and he runs off happily to find it. We also play this game every night for his night-time biscuits. Trouble is, he’s so good at the game it’s getting harder and harder to find places to hide things where he doesn’t find them too quickly!
Dogs enjoy play. Unusually in the animal kingdom, adult dogs retain a love of playing throughout their lives.
Playing with your dog builds the bond
Play every day, doing whatever your dog loves. Hide and seek, tug, fetch (in moderation) -whatever pushes your dog’s buttons. Playing builds a strong bond between you.
And it’s fun! Get down on the floor, or in my case a low stool that means I can still get up again, and have some fun.
The best two games are tug and hide and seek in my humble and correct opinion.
Fancy a game of tug?
Tug is a fun, interactive game. Keep the toy low and just provide counter-pressure to your dog’s head shaking and yanking. You don’t need to move the toy around – let your dog decide how to do that – especially for young puppies, where you might damage those tiny shark teeth if you pull or shake the toy too much.
What? Your dog doesn’t play tug? Well, teach them! But not by dangling a toy in their face – that’ll turn them off the game quicker than them seeing a squirrel run accords the garden.
To encourage tug, have the toy at floor level and move it about in jerky, quick movements away from your dog, teasing them by playing “keep away” with the toy, enticing tug by having it just out of reach. As soon as they show any interest and pounce at it, allow them to grab it and gently provide some counter-pressure, praising all the time. Allow them to win sometime, sometimes you can pull the toy away as they try to adjust their grip. Keep it fun!
Hide and seek anyone?
What about hide and seek? Make it easy at first, by letting your dog see you only partially hiding one favourite toy or dog biscuit. Then encourage your dog to “find it”. Gradually make it harder by hiding the item completely, then hiding it when your dog can’t see you do so.
Then there’s the “mouse game,” a great game for dogs that love to chase things but kinder to joints than fetch. Here’s how to play it: Place a treat on the floor and ask your dog to “leave it”. Then flick the treat off across the carpet for your dog to chase and eat. Sometimes ask him to “leave it” as you flick it too – which is good self-control practice. You can play this with a rolled up ball of paper or any safe object, too.
Gus has a ridiculous number of toys – with more to come this Christmas. There are so many different toys out there you’ll be able to find one your dog loves to play with.
They key is play WITH YOU. Dogs rarely play much on their own with toys, although some gun dogs love to carry soft toys around with them. In our past Talking Tips, still available on the website, I also explain how to make your own home-made toys and talk about how different breeds prefer different types of toys.
What are you buying your dog this Christmas? What are your dog’s favourite games?
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
