When getting a new puppy it is a good idea to begin training as soon as possible. This ill help build a strong bond between you and your dog and give them the structure they need to behave. However, I do recommend waiting a week after getting the puppy so they can get use to their new environment and you.
Puppy classes are a great way to socialize your puppy and get them into training and working with distractions. But in between those classes or if money is tight and you can’t afford classes right away there are ways to begin training at home.
My number one rule of all my puppy classes is to Have Fun!
Puppies learn the best when they are having fun. They are young and silly and learn best in positive ways. This does not mean we don’t correct them when they present the wrong cue or do not do what we ask of them. Puppies attention spans are limited. So we want to keep the games short and sweet and stop before the get bored or lose interest.
Below you will find 5 Easy Games to play with your Puppies that I have proven in all my puppy classes and client sessions to be useful to introduce them to training.
Pass The Puppy /Come here game
Recall is the one of the top problems I get from almost all my clients of all dog ages. They have told me their dog has escaped out the front and they were not able to call them back and had to chase them down the street. This will become a game to your dog.
DO NOT CHASE YOUR DOG!
How to Play the Come Here Game :
- Sit on the ground with a few treats or a toy
- Tell your pup to “come here”
- When they reach you praise them like crazy and give them the treat/toy
- Wait for your dog to walk off and repeat steps 1-3 (you can move spots/change rewards to keep it interesting)
Lesson : Good things happen when they “Come Here”. This will help not only with recall but having a strong focus as well.
How to Play the Pass the Puppy Game:
- Have a couple of people sit around the room or yard with treats/toys in hand
- Have one person at a time call your puppy with “come here” command
- When your pup reaches them have the person praise your pup like crazy and give them a treat/toy
- Repeat steps 1-3 with a different person calling your puppy
Lesson : Reinforce Recall/ Come. Also it helps with socialization as this game requires more than one person to play. Try to use different types and ages of people to help.
Which Hand Game
This is a great way to introduce your dog to Nose work as well as instilling some basic manners when it comes to dealing with treats.
How to Play the Which Hand Game:
- Place a treat in one of your hands.
- Close your fists and hold them out in front of your dog.
- Let the dog choose which hand it’s in.
- When your dog sniffs or paws the correct hand open it up and give them the treat. (You choose what signal works for you, if your dog roughly paws I would look for a sniff)
Lesson: Teaches impulse control to be gentle when dealing with treats.
Find the Treats Game
This is also a great way to build on Nose Work Fundamentals as well as stimulate your dogs mind to help them hone in on their natural abilities. Now when you’re first starting out you’ll want to make it easy on your dog until they start to get the hang of it.
How to Play Find the Treats Game:
- Grab some treats and have your dog sit in the stay position
- While your dog is sitting put a few treats on the ground around them
- Release your dog and tell them to “find the treats”
- Encourage them as they start picking up the treats
- Practice a few times until your dog understands what “find the treats” means
- Start placing the treats further away and repeat steps 3 & 4
- Start placing the treats in more challenging places that are out of sight such as under a rug or on a chair and repeat steps 3 & 4
Lesson: Teaches them to hone in on their natural ability to seek out things with smell.
Hide & Seek
One of the favorites among my clients, this game helps to mentally stimulate your dog, practice recall and stay command. Keep hiding spots simple and easy to start do not set your dog up to fail.
How to Play Hide and Seek Game:
- Have your dog sit in a stay position (or have a friend hold onto your dog)
- Find a hiding spot
- Call your dog
- Praise your dog like crazy when they find you
Lesson: Interactive game that teaches your dog to use their natural abilities in a fun and stimulating way.
Tug of War
Great for physical exercise, mental stimulation and teaching your puppy some basic impulse control and manners. It also does not require a lot of space to play.
It will not make your dog aggressive!
There isn’t really instructions on how to play, but I do have some basic rules I advise you follow.
Basic Rules of Tug of War
- Game stops if their teeth touch your hand. Stop the game for 30 seconds and try again.
- Give your dog a few chances to learn once teeth hit skin the game is over before completely stopping.
- Do not encourage growling or riled up behavior when playing, start slow and calm.
Thank you for reading dog lovers!
Make sure to check back weekly for Training Tuesdays and Thursday Thoughts!
Next week on Training Tuesday we discuss: Dog to Dog Aggression and how to manage it.
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