Following our previous blog “6 Ways to mentally stimulate your dog (part 1)” we had a good response asking what else can we do We also had some great ideas come to our inbox ideas@petsnooze.co.uk.
So here goes…..
- Teach your dog the names of toys
The premise of this game is similar to “Where it gone, where it go?” the exciting food game where your dog hunts around the room for several treats, but with a twist. First you must teach your dog the name of toys an example of this would be “Tug Rope”, “Ball”, “Teddy”.
This can be done by showing your dog the toy and placing it near them and asking them to retrieve the toy whilst pointing at. When your dog grabs the toy which may take a small amount of time, ensure you have a treat on standby to reward your pooch. Repetition and patience is the name of the game remain confident and consistent. Once your pooch can recall the toy names then this is where the fun starts.
First familiarise the recall name of the toy so your dog knows which item you are going to be hiding, this might be something like “Tug Rop” whilst the tug rope is next to you on the floor. As soon as they grab the tug rope make sure you give them plenty of praise; now the warmup is complete we can move on to the fun. Let your dog out of the room for 60 seconds and hide the toy somewhere easy to find. Let them back in and say Go find then the name of the toy “Tug Rope”, it may take a few attempts so don’t be disheartened, but eventually they will understand the game.
Once you have made this more difficult you can add a second toy such as a ball, this is where its gets interesting. Keep experimenting and above all have fun and go slowly with your pet.
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Thanks the Petsnooze team.