Easy and Engaging Puppy Games!

Puppies need an incredible amount of stimulation and engagement from you. If you notice that your dog is asking this from you but you’re not sure how to fill that need, I have some great suggestions!

This first game is called “it’s your choice” . This game does not use a verbal cue. Start by grabbing a treat you know your puppy finds valuable. For some this can be kibble. Other pups might engage better with a high value treat. To play this with your puppy, ask for a sit and make sure they're sitting in front of you. You can be on the floor or a chair whatever is more comfortable for you. Put a treat in each of your hands, show your pup that the treats are there by having them on the flat palm then closing them into a fist. You just want to bring attention to the fact that you have them in your hand. With both hands in a fist bring them closer to your pups face, they will most likely nose at your hand, maybe mouth a bit and use their paws.

The goal of this game is for your puppy to make the choice on their own to stop mouthing, pawing whatever they’re doing to try and get to the treat. You want them to sit back down and wait patiently for you to present the treat to them. It’s in that moment where they decide to wait instead of continuing pursuing your hand that they've made the choice themselves! As soon as this happens give them an excited “yes!” mark and of course give them the treat. After playing a few rounds of this they will most likely start to catch on and it’ll be too easy for them haha

At this point I recommend adding in a little more of a challenge. What I usually do is once they’ve sat calmly I’ll make these little sounds like (insert sounds) and I’m now looking for eye contact. Even the slightest look in your direction you want to capture that moment and give them a yes mark then the treat. You wanna make sure you’re not directly asking for something with a cue. A cue would be “look” “stay” “leave it” something along those lines. But this game is more of a challenge in the sense that they have to deduce what's expected of them at that moment by trial and error. The guidance of a cue isn't there so it takes a bit more of their attention and understanding. After a few rounds of waiting for eye contact, they’ll once again start to catch on and it’ll become easier. This is when you add duration!

Duration will apply to all of these games so let's talk about what this means: Duration in dog training is pretty simple. It’s the action of adding more time to the behavior, task, or trick you’re asking for. An example is the game I just mentioned.

Duration is just adding more time to the behavior you’re asking of your dog. This is a method to build their patience over time. Setting your dog up for success when it comes to duration looks like setting realistic levels for how much time you add. If your puppy is at the beginning of their training and has a tendency to get distracted, asking them to be in a sit stay for 2 minutes is unrealistic and will only cause frustration. So start slowly and add time when you feel they are ready for it!

Our next game is called zen sits. For this you’ll want to get a treat or some kibble. Ask or lure your pup into a sitting position and hold the treat between your index and middle fingers. You’ll want part of the treat sticking out so they can see it with your palm facing them. Bring your hand up about head level with you, then slowly push it forward and down towards your puppy. How slow you move towards them depends on how much duration you’ve practiced with them. The first few times you may need to move a little quicker to keep their focus! Now, once you’ve reached a few inches from your pups face, flip your palm so it's facing up and mark yes as you’re doing this. This will be their mark that it's okay to eat the treat now. This game requires lots of focus, body stillness and patience from your puppy and it's very mentally enriching! Each time you play this, add a few seconds of duration by going just a little slower when bringing the treat towards them.

Okay, our last game is hide and seek! This is a fantastic bonding game and will be a fun challenge for your puppy! It’s pretty much how it sounds haha. For this it will help a lot to have someone else playing with you. One person will be in the living room for example, distracting the puppy with food or affection while you go off and find a hiding place. Once you’re tucked away and ready to be found, call out your puppies name! Try first only doing this once and see how long it takes for them to catch on to your scent and find you. If you picked the best hiding spot ever or they are just having a hard time, call out for them a second time. Once your puppy finds you, give them lots of excited snuggles and treats if you have them! This game is a lot of fun for everyone and you can do a few rounds of it with multiple people.

That’s all the games I have for today, I hope you try some of these and have lots of fun!

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you learned something knew or were reminded of something important! if you want to follow me on other outlets, it’s pawsitivepupspdx on Instagram I have all of my other links in my bio there. I am currently in the process of developing an online puppy school that will be available in February 2023! Stay tuned, and I look forward to hopefully having you back here next week!