Dog Games

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 I include a shallow wading pool, also some piles of balls or Frisbees. Well, you get the idea.

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

Go Find

"Go Find" is a more advanced version of the "Find the Treat" game. My very active dog Turbo needed to learn some self control and focus. This game helped him in a fun way. I started with an ordinary game of fetch . As a separate exercise I introduced "stay". Then I put them together. Instead of throwing the ball I would tell him "stay" and I'd drop the ball. If he stayed I told him "Yes" (my "clicker word") and tossed or kicked the ball to make it move and let him get the ball. If he grabbed the ball without permission I would just turn my back for a few seconds and ignore him. Soon he was waiting for the "yes" then diving for the ball. I started tossing the ball a little bit further each time. The toss was gentle and intended to be not exciting ... at least at first.

Over a period of weeks I gradually increased the distance until he was able to wait while I threw the ball as far as I could. Next I would tell him "stay" and instead of throwing the ball I would walk ten or fifteen feet, then drop the ball, and then "yes" release him to get it. Working this to a long distance didn't take long.

Next I dropped the ball behind a log, when he waited for the release "yes" I added the cue "Go Find". Soon I was walking 50 feet or so before dropping the ball behind a log and releasing him and saying "Go Find".

Next I played a trick on him. I only pretended to drop the ball. Instead I walked another ten feet and let the ball drop behind the log when he couldn't see the ball leave my hand. He got to the place he thought I dropped it, didn't find it, but only had to search a little to find it. Sometimes I would actually drop the ball, sometimes I would walk a bit before dropping the ball. Soon he got the idea that he had to actually look for the ball. I walked three, four or five different places either pretending to drop the ball or actually dropping the ball. Since he knew some were a trick he learned to check all the places.

The next stage involved leaving him confined out of sight while I put the balls behind the logs. Then I started putting the balls in a variety of places, not just behind the logs but in the fence next to the log, in a bush, or under a cone. This game has developed much more than these quick instructions.

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

Fun with Toys

Toys can be used to reduce boredom, exercise the dog, control behavior, and enhance your relationship with your dog. The article "Toys for Bored Dogs" takes a closer look at all of these benefits. It reviews treat dispensing toys, active toys, and traditional interactive games using a toy such as Tug and Fetch.

You Don't Say!, "The Word-Free Teaching and Training Game reveals the art and power of clicker training, and how it feels to be our dogs, in a clever table-top game played between two people."

Tricks (Performance Art) - most dogs think that doing tricks is a kind of game. And if you use clicker training often the dog thinks he's training you. "Let's see ..... if I do this .... I can make her give me a treat!"

Clicker Training
Clicker training is great for teaching tricks as well as agility, obedience and much more