Essential Dog Games and Training
Training and playing games can be fun for you and for your dog. Training and games will also strengthen the bond between you, thus helping to develop a long and rewarding relationship. Finally, training and games stimulate and strengthen both the dog's mind and body, as well as help keep it occupied and out of trouble. There are a lot of games you can play with your dog, and some popular and beneficial ones are listed below. Training and rules that go along with these games will also be touched upon.
Almost every dog loves chase games. You can have your dog chase you, or more commonly have it chase a toy or other object. Sticks, balls, stuffed toys (especially ones that squeak), old
knotted socks, or anything that is safe for the dog to play with are great. Balls should be small enough for the dog to pick up comfortably but not so small they can be easily swallowed.
A great variation and expansion of the
usual chase game is soccer. Start the game by gently kicking the ball
along the ground toward your dog and encouraging it to get it. The ball
will be too big for the dog to pick up with its teeth, and usually
after a few minutes it will learn to push the ball with its nose or bat
at it with its paws. Give your dog lots of praise as it begins to catch
on. As it gets better at the game, you can include more people in the
game.
Dogs love "hide and seek" too. Because it
requires concentration, this game is a great exercise for an overactive
dog. Hide and seek has endless variations, and can be played inside or
out. You can teach your dog to find almost anything, but it's usually
easiest to start with a treat, something the dog really likes. Start
out slow and easy at first. Have your dog sit and stay, or have someone
else gently hold it in position. Show it the treat, then let your dog
watch you put it behind a door or a chair, or even under a towel laid
out on the floor. Then tell it to go "Find it!" When your dog finds it,
give it lots of praise ("Good dog!") and of course let it have the
treat.
After a couple easy finds, add some
difficulty. Hide the treat in another room, just behind a chair or a
door, or somewhere relatively obvious in the room. Call your dog from
the other room and have it "find" you, and then see if it finds the
treat in the room too. Make a happy fuss when it does and give it the
treat. As your dog gets better and better, make the game even more
difficult by putting the treat in unusual places like the bathroom
sink. With practice, you can teach it to recognize and find almost
anything. To do this, start substituting various objects for the toy
and using the object's name in the command: "Find the ball!", "Find the
shoe!", "Find the keys!", etc..
 Tug-of-war
with a chew toy or other training chew is another great game. Begin
each game with a command such as "Wanna tug?", and give or throw the
toy to the dog. Then teach your dog to release the toy on command. You
can teach this command ("Drop" or "Give") with praise and a treat, and
then give the toy back to your dog to repeat. Do this until it learns
the command. Your dog will learn that when it drops the toy, it gets to
chase it again. This game is not easy for most dogs and will need
patience from both of you. However, it is a very beneficial game that
lets the dog understand its place within the human pack. The dominance
relationship with the dog can be reinforced through games of strength
and will power such as tug-of-war, by ensuring that owners win most of
the games and can remove the toy from the dog.
Even a dog that is not easily made to play,
or one that has not had much socialization or attention, can be taught
how to play and have fun. Dogs invite each other to play using body
language. You can try this with your dog: get down on your hands and
knees or as close to its level as you can, bend your elbows and lower
your head, then bark. Your dog will probably tip its head and look at
you as though you are nuts. Bounce up and down on your elbows a little
and bark some more. Make it a "happy" bark, not a gruff one. After a
minute or two, it might start to bark back. Now you should run a few
steps away, turn back toward your dog, get down, and bark, inviting it
to play again. Even the most socially deprived dog will respond
eventually!
Finally, keep in mind that dogs can play
rough. For proper discipline and safety, there should be some
boundaries for training and for playing. Below are three basic but
important concepts to follow:
- No teeth on your skin. If your dog's
teeth touch your skin, whether on purpose or by mistake, stop the game
and walk away. Do not tease your dog by wiggling your fingers in front
of its face. Some mouthing can teach a dog to have a soft mouth.
Monitor the mouthing pressure and when it gets to be too much, yell
"ouch" and stop the game.
- Games and training begin and end when
you say they do. For example, in tug-of-war, your dog needs to learn
that it can only grab the designated object when it is invited to and
that it must let go on command. If your dog absolutely refuses to drop
a toy, for instance, simply hold its collar with your non-throwing
hand, and place your other hand on the item in its mouth. Then wait. Do
not try to pull the item out and do not tug on the collar, just wait.
Your dog will get bored quickly. When it drops the toy, say "Good dog",
then throw it again. Your dog will learn that when it drops the toy, it
gets to chase it again. Another way to think of this rule is, games
begin when a toy is brought out and end when it is put away. For
example, for tug-of-war you should not continue the game by pulling on
clothing or fingers, and you should avoid letting your dog to do this
when it is not game time.
- Supervise all play between dogs of
different sizes, and between dogs and children. No matter how friendly
the dogs are toward each other, a big dog can hurt a little one without
meaning to. Dogs can sometimes treat young children as littermates, and
play more roughly with them than they should. Watch them closely and
make sure the child does not pull the tail or the ears of the dog, and
nor should anyone else.
Keep in mind that you can get your dog to
do what you want when you want it to by using rewards such as treats
and praise. Use a stern command if your dog is biting or chewing
something it should not be. When your dog does something that you want
it to do, heap praise on it. Give your dog a treat if it did a
particularly good trick, played a game very well, or if you want to
reward any sort of behavior that needs to be encouraged. Even games
themselves can be used as a reward. For example, if your dog comes when
it is called, it can be rewarded with a short game.
If you have any more questions regarding
dog games and dog training or discipline, just ask us and we will help
you any way we can.
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