Walking our dogs is great for their exercise (as well as our own) but it can also be a great mental stimulus and needless to say can be super fun for both parties. Although going for walks in different places can be good for the mental stimulus, there\u2019s nothing like playing games with our dogs. Here are our top 10 games to play on a walk (in no particular order):<\/p>\n
\n- Hide-and-Seek: It\u2019s a simple one really but also fun and gets our dog working and using his\/her mind. When your dog is distracted by investigating something, you can quickly hide behind a tree, squat behind a bush etc. (you get the idea), wait a moment and then call their name. Call again if they are finding it hard to find you. When they discover you be ready to praise them for their cleverness with a toy or treat reward and lots and lots of praise. Top tip: when hiding, remember to keep your dog in your view in case they need your guidance or become a little panicked.<\/li>\n
- Follow the leader: This game can be played either on a long lead or off the lead completely; all you need is your dog\u2019s full attention. With your dog by your side or behind you, and an element of unpredictability, you can vary your speed and make prompt changes of direction. You can try zigzagging, circling, retracing your footsteps a little before going forward again, the options are endless!<\/li>\n
- Treasure hunt: Another easy game, but make sure you have lots of tasty treats with you! As you\u2019re on your walk, sporadically throw a treat on the ground around you while your dog is off investigating and then tell your dog to \u2018find it\u2019. Your dog can investigate and sniff around to find the treat. To add a different level, you can get your dog to sit\/stay whilst you lay a treat trail, let your dog see you do it but sometimes bend down and touch the floor but don\u2019t put a treat down. Once the trail is laid, call your dog and they will follow their nose to retrieve the treats. Top tip: if it\u2019s too tempting for your dog, ask a friend to hold him\/her whilst you lay the trail. You can make it more exciting by zigzagging rather than just being in a straight line.<\/li>\n
- Obstacle courses: Why not switch up your regular walks by using your imagination to create challenges and obstacles courses. You can use anything with this game, and not only use objects as obstacles (jumps, climbing upstairs etc.) but you can use your dog\u2019s training along with it. For example, if there\u2019s a large log\/fallen tree get your dog to jump over it initially, when your dog\u2019s got the knack, make it more difficult by adding a sit and wait, then call your dog to jump over it. You can do this with stairs; get your dog to wait at the top or bottom of the stairs, you go down or up them and then recall your dog to you. Your obstacle course is as big and fun as your imagination, but don\u2019t forget your treats.<\/li>\n
- Stop! Start!: Use your \u2018stop\u2019 and \u2018go\u2019 commands (wherever yours may be; sit, wait, red, go, ok etc.) to play the stop, start game you may of played as a child. You can use your stop command and then when your dog successfully stops, use your go command. When your dog does both command, give lots of praise and rewards. You can use the stop, start commands at various times throughout your walk.<\/li>\n
- Homemade Flyball: This game is for those walks with a friend, in a park or wooded areas that have fallen small trees or logs that can be used as hurdles. Once you\u2019ve spread out the logs as your hurdles, you can get your dog to sit and stay whilst your friend is at the other end of the hurdles with a tennis ball. On your command, your dog can jump over the hurdles, your friend can throw the ball for your dog to catch and then your dog has to run back over the hurdles to you to collect its tasty reward. This game is great for exercise but also good for your dog\u2019s eye-paw and eye-mouth coordination.<\/li>\n
- Change your pace: This game does what it says on the tin! The idea is to make your walk interesting by changing your pace; switching between walking, jogging and slowing it right down. You can add in commands to the speed that you\u2019re doing (fast, walk and slow) as well as reward your dog when he\/she changes their paces and eventually when they change their paces on the word command.<\/li>\n
- Toy Time: All you need for this game is one of your dog\u2019s favourite toys (and maybe some treats); but be aware that if it\u2019s wet\/muddy, toys may get wet and muddy themselves! It\u2019s a basic game of fetch with your dog\u2019s toy, you can start with just throwing the toy and getting your dog to fetch it and bring it back. Once your dog\u2019s got the idea of the game, you can make it more interesting with adding a \u2018wait\u2019 or \u2018stay\u2019 before throwing the toy and then a command to fetch it. Always reward your dog when they bring back their toy to you.<\/li>\n
- Homemade agility: Agility is a great form of exercise for your dog but it\u2019s also a great way for your dog to engage its brain and for you to continue building a relationship between you and your dog. You don\u2019t need an agility course to enjoy this game; it\u2019s all about improvising with what you come across during your walk. Using objects to jump over as hurdles, using your legs for your dog to weave in and out of, using benches for your dog to jump up and sit on. You can add in your dog\u2019s known commands to make it more challenging and lots of those yummy treats for rewards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Walking our dogs is great for their exercise (as well as our own) but it can also be a great mental stimulus and needless to say can be super fun for both parties. Although going for walks in different places… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":976,"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions\/976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friendsforpets.co.uk\/dog-walking-blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}