What games do you play with your dog?

[onyxena]

THese are great games everyone! I am going to try some of them. Dasher likes to play "pig in a blanket" alot. I hold out a blanket and he charges into it and gets himself all wraped up. He snorts and grumbles and does it all over again. He is a very happy boy, but this is like the best thing ever for him! He loves the contact and silliness.
Sasha likes to play with my daughter who is 4. Sasha lets her put scarves and headbands on her. Then my daughter puts on her leash and takes her for a walk around the house. They have lots of fun together, and Sasha really seems to enjoy the company of a 4 yo girl obsessed with princesses! Lots of fun to watch.
I also like to go to a nice off leash park nearby. Usually if I go during the week around 9 or 10 we are the only ones there. We play hide and seek there alot. we do fetch and tugging games too.

[Chicagocanine]

I haven't play it with Bianca yet but a fun one is 101 things to do with a box. I used to play with my terrier but I always ended up finding a behavior I really liked right of the bat and focusing on it.


I also used to play hide-a-toy with my terrier. He had this vinyl squeaky ball he really liked (ok, he had a bunch of em) and I would rub the ball along the floor in a trail and then hide it underneath something and call him in the room. It was fun to see him pick up the trail on the ground and follow it to the hiding spot.
Tracking in general is good, it's mentally stimulating and physically active. I have a book called Fun Nosework for Dogs which has games you can play using tracking.

You can also find some 'scent games' here:
http://www.sscnj.org/SheltieWise_Sept2006_B.pdf
(you have to go to page 8)


101 Things to Do with a Box:
http://www.canineuniversity.com/arti.../train_28.html

[Riley's Mom]

Originally Posted By: Jax08ball....in the house.... do not throw kongs!!! They bounce...high...

so do balls ........ LOL!

[Riley's Mom]

Originally Posted By: Chicagocanine101 Things to Do with a Box:
http://www.canineuniversity.com/arti.../train_28.html

I'm sure this is a case of "oh boy do I feel dumb for asking" but I really don't understand this one ... my dogs would sniff an empty box and walk away ... enlighten me, please?

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted By: Riley's Mom

I'm sure this is a case of "oh boy do I feel dumb for asking" but I really don't understand this one ... my dogs would sniff an empty box and walk away ... enlighten me, please?

Usually there's no particular end goal, you see what the dog will do. If your dogs will approach the box, click and treat that. If your dogs sniff the box, click and treat that a few times, and then see if they do anything else. If they do, stop clicking and treating the sniff and only mark and reward the new behavior. And so on and so on....

If you do this game before a meal when they're hungry and you have really great treats, do you think they'd still walk away, or might they choose to stick around and interact with the box some more? Never know till you try!

Shaping behavior with the clicker starts out by marking and rewarding very small increments towards that final goal, or you can start with no goal in mind and see where it goes. Here's a great explanation of exactly how you would go about shaping a specific behavior: http://www.behaviorlogic.com/id23.html