Five Fun Games to Play with Your Dog

A bored dog is a naughty dog, so it’s important to keep your dog entertained and engaged at least some of the time. Fortunately, playing games with your dog is a really fun activity. Here are my five favorite games to play with a dog.

1) Train dog tricks. I love training dog tricks, and because of the treats involved, it’s fun for both of us. Plus, it keeps his brain super active and engaged which has the added benefit of wearing him out a bit ;-). So, a 15 minute trick training session means he’s a lot less likely to get up to mischief when left alone. Some fun dog tricks: spin, roll over, play dead, get the mail, get my slippers, bow, shake, speak, and crawl.

2) Play “What Can You Do with a Box?” In this dog game, you need a box and a bunch of treats. Then, every time your dog comes up with something new to do with the box, you give a treat. It’s fun to see what your dog will come up with as he starts to learn you’re looking for variety. For instance, my dog put his tennis ball in the box, he chewed the box, he carried the box over to his bed, and he put his foot in the box–and each time, he got a treat. The trick to playing this game with a dog is to make sure it’s something new each time–that’s how you encourage your dog to get really creative.

3) Play Frisbee. If you’ve taught your dog to fetch, it’s time to teach him how to play with a Frisbee. Start by just having your dog learn to chase the Frisbee and pick it up–both are trickier than playing fetch with a ball. Then, start positioning your dog to catch the Frisbee.

4) Play “Find the Cookie.” With a collection of treat toys, put a treat in just one of the toys. Then, put all the toys back in the toybox and instruct your dog to “Find the cookie!” This one’s great fun to watch because your dog will be really excited about finding the cookie as quickly as possible. Once your dog has gotten the hang of the game, put all the dog toys in the box on top of the toys with the treat (so, any stuffed animals or other toys, go on the top). Sure, playing this game with a dog is messy, but it’s also really entertaining and you can play it again and again.

5) Play, “Put away your toys.” Once your dog’s made a mess with his toys, teach him to put them all back in the box and pick up after himself. This is a fun game to play with a dog because it means less pick up time for you. You may find your dog (like mine) putting the toys back in the box, taking the cookie, and promptly taking the toy out of the box again, so be patient as you’re playing this game with a dog–it’ll take time before he learns he only gets a cookie for putting the toy *in* the box, not for taking it out again.

What great games do you play with a dog? Of these five, which one are you most looking forward to trying? I’d love to hear from you about the dog games you play!