Is it pouring outside and there is no promise of good weather for the next few days. Or have your dog had an injury and has to stay in and take it easy? Spending time indoors can be quite challenging for pet parents who have active dogs. However, with a little creativity, you can come up with games that will keep your furry friend entertained and engaged. Whatever the reason we offer you some fun activities with your dog at home and ideas for dog games.
Hide&Seek
If your dog already knows command “sit&stay” ask him to perform the command. (If your dog is not there yet, teach it with the help of Dogo App). Show a treat and while your dog sits&waits go around the room, touching a few places and actually hiding the treat somewhere. Then release your dog from the position and let it search for the treat. Encourage your dog and support them by praising once they find the treat.
*For the more advanced.
Your dog sits&waits in one room and you hide a treat in another. Be creative hide it in a cupboard, drawer, pot, etc. But do not make it too hard, so your dog does not get bored.
Once your dog masters the basics of the hide and seek game, you can make it more challenging by hiding multiple treats in different locations throughout your home. You can also hide your dog’s toys and encourage them to find them. This game not only helps to keep your dog entertained but also helps to build a stronger bond between you and your furry friend. Additionally, you can make the game more challenging by introducing obstacles that your dog must navigate, such as chairs or tables. This will further test your dog’s problem-solving skills and keep them mentally stimulated.
Command “Come”
To perfect the command “Come”, play it at home. You need to be at least two people, but can be a whole family. Fill your pockets with treats, sit on the different sides of the room. One calls the command “Come”, dog runs to the caller and gets a treat. Immediately another person calls “Come” and the dog darts to the other corner. People can also sit in different rooms or even floors.
Teach toy names
There is a wonderful book by John W. Pilley Jr. and Hilary Hinzmann ‘Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words’. It is about teaching methods and learning process of a brilliant border collie named Chaser. Probably not a thousand but a few words or commands your dog knows already. Enrich their vocabulary by teaching the names of your dog’s toys.
Start with your dog’s favorite toy. Hold the toy in your hand repeating its name, e.g. “carrot”, “Roger”. Once your dog touches the toy, enthusiastically praise them or let them play with the toy. Once the dog learns the name of one toy, then teach a second one.
Once your dog masters the names of a few toys, you can take the game to the next level by asking them to bring you a specific toy by name. This game helps to build your dog’s vocabulary and improve their cognitive abilities. Additionally, you can create a toy basket with different compartments and ask your dog to retrieve specific toys from each compartment. This game will challenge your dog’s memory and problem-solving skills. Remember to keep the training sessions short and fun to avoid overwhelming your furry friend. With patience and consistency, your dog will soon master the names of all their toys.
Toilet paper
To better understand the game download Dogo App and see the videos with instructions.
Your dog sits&waits, you put the toilet papers on a side and hide in each in the middle a treat. Release your dog from the command and encourage it to examine the toilet rolls.
Then put the roles on a bottom and throw a treat in the middle of each roll. Repeat a game. A third version is you put toilet roles on a side and on top of each other like a pyramid, hide treats in each rolls and let your dog search them.
Cupcake tin and tennis balls
Another great dog game. Take a cupcake form, in each of the cupcake forms place a treat and cover it with a tennis ball. Let your friend fish the treats out.
Have fun with Dogo!
The Dogo app is a great helping tool when training your dog. But keep in mind, your dog needs socialization with other animals and people.