What games do you play with your dogs?

[blaue_augen]

The barking thread got me thinking about how I play with Suki. She will fetch a little and likes to play tug sometimes. She loves walks. But I don't know a lot of "games" to play with her. The only one we really play is hide and go seek. I tell her to sit and wait. And then I go off and hide in another room. Then I call her to come and find me. It's VERY funny. And when she finally finds me (sometimes she needs hints) she goes lots of praise and scratches.

So what games do you guys play with your dogs?

 

[Carole Macomber]

You can also hide treats or a favorite toy and have her find it. Make it really easy at first and then over time you can make the hiding spots more challenging. Sometimes wearing the brain out is just as good as a physical workout.
Sometimes I'll use a muffin tin, fil the cups with little treats or kibble, then cover the top of the cups with objects that need to be shoved, lifted or rolled off. Then let her figure out how to get all the treats.

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

Hmmmmm I make up obedience games to play with Elvis while he's sleeping.

Elvis! Play dead! Good boy!
Lay really still! GOOD BOY!
Snore! Alright!! You're the best!

We also see how far he'll go to get a carrot without actually getting up. We'll get a handful of baby carrots and place them further and further away, just to see how far he'll crawl before standing up.

When you share your home with the King of Lethargy, you take what you can get!

 

[Tracy]

A dozen goldfish in a kiddie pool. They will eat them, play with them, or just watch. See what your dog does. Have video camera ready.
Tracy

 

[Straylight]

Live goldfish? Or the crackers

 

[NinaA]

Good grief. I hope it's the crackers.

 

[Tracy]

No, the crackers have no drama
Live feeder gold fish, we do this to train underwater retrieve. It's also just fun for the dogs.
Tracy

 

[Murphy]

A dozen goldfish in a kiddie pool. They will eat them, play with them, or just watch. See what your dog does. Have video camera ready.
Tracy

EWWWWWW :darn:

 

[lmfoltyn]

Oh...poor fish...but it would be funny to see the dogs play with them...not sure I could watch them eat them though!

 

[blaue_augen]

Oh I love the goldfish idea, but there would be tears at my house! But really, it's not any different than feeding raw, except the goldfish get to live longer! Suki sometimes will play with a bug. You can tell she wants to play because she will playbow the poor broken fly who is going in circles on the ground... Then she'll nudge it with her nose ... Until it's dead.

I love the Elvis games! Play dead ... Lol. Suki certainly has some of those tendencies when I call her over and she practically says, 'no, why don't you come over here?!'

I think I will have to try hiding treats as well as myself!

 

[good0dog]

I used to break a Beggin strip into three parts, let Maggie smell them then crate Maggie. I would hide the pieces around the apartment. Once released Maggie would sniff the rooms like a pro. If she got stuck, i would point to areas and she would work the area again.

 

[chumleysma]

I like to play head games with Chumley by cozying up to Cheeto and showering him with luvin'. Chum can't stand this. He wedges himself in between us and he's never gentle about it...makes me laugh every time.

 

[Cutiemus Maximus]

Admiral is incredibly playful, but her favorite game is training. Right now we do a lot of dry water training in the living room since it's too hot to go outside. She'll see me pull out her equipment and go crazy, most of the time she doesn't even need training treats since she sees play as a reward. I guess she's a worker, through and through!