Puppy training games online

After some practice your dog will start using their natural sniffing abilities rather than visual cues to find all those treats. Once your dog is a pro you can even start working on it in more challenging and distracting environments such as the yard.

Hide and seek is another one of my favorite puppy training games. If you have a friend around you can also enlist their help to hold your dog while you hide. To avoid frustration remember to keep it simple for your dog by hiding in some easy spots at first. After they get the hang of it then you can move onto hiding in some harder to find areas.

When it comes to puppy training games tug is one of my favorites. And contrary to what people say tug of war will not make your dog aggressive, nor will letting them win will not make them dominant. Letting your dog win actually makes the game more fun for your dog, and it will encourage them to keep on playing. Research has even found that dogs who play tug of war with their owners tend to be more obedient and exhibit higher confidence.

Now when it comes to playing tug with your puppy there is one basic rule to keep in mind — the game stops if their teeth touch your hand. Now depending on your puppy it might take awhile for them to get the hang of this. What sort of games do you like to play with puppies? Once you are hidden, call your puppy's name and wait for him to come find you. Reward him with a treat when he does. Catch is similar to Fetch, with the obvious difference being that the puppy has to catch the ball before it hits the ground.

Some puppies will take to this game naturally, and some will show absolutely no promise of ever being able to catch a ball. Make sure you use a ball that fits well in your puppy's mouth, which means not so large that he can't pick it up, but not so small he can swallow it. Hollow, flexible balls are best. This is a great game to provide a bit of extra mental stimulation for your puppy. As the name suggests, it's a variation of Fetch where you throw two balls instead of one.

Try throwing both balls at the same time, or one after the other, and notice how your puppy reacts. This can tell you a lot about your puppy's personality. For instance, does your puppy go after both balls at once? Does he pick up one then go back for the other?

Does he only focus on one? Does he chase when and then change his mind and go after the other one? This is great for getting to know your pup and it's also another great puppy training game. This is a game I came up with inspired by an old sleight-of-hand magic trick. All you need is three identical cups that your puppy can't see through, some treats, and your puppy's attention. Place the treat under one of the cups and let your puppy see it go under.

Then quickly mix up the order of the cups. When your puppy touches a cup with his nose, lift it up. If the treat is underneath, praise your puppy and feed him the treat.

If it's the wrong cup, put it aside and continue until your puppy chooses the right cup. Use smelly treats to make it easier for your pup. This game is excellent for mental stimulation. This is a great game to bring out when you need to distract your puppy for some quiet time. Buy a chew toy with a hollow space in the center, and fill it up with peanut butter or another food for your pup to chew on.

Start by simply hiding behind a door or in another room make it easy , then call your dog. When she eventually finds you, give her a huge reward with treats or toys.

Gradually build up the difficulty of where you hide around the house. You can eventually play this game outdoors as a really fun way to build up speed and joy when you call your dog to you. Then you can have the person hide with treats or toys and reward your dog for finding them. Teach your dog to go find a specific toy. This game works especially well with dogs that love playing with toys. This game is a great mental and physical puzzle for dogs that love toys. This is one of my all-time favorite games to play with my dog.

This is a great way to teach your dog to listen to you in distracting environments. I love nosework. Nosework is a great way to exhaust your dog. It takes a lot of work to find hidden treats with your nose! Hunting for food with their nose is incredibly natural for them, and this game does wonders for calming stressed-out dogs.

This is really all you need to do to get started in nosework. This technique was developed by Grisha Stewart. It teaches the dog to yield to small amounts of pressure on the leash. Start inside, in a boring room, and have some treats ready. Clip the leash on the collar, and wait until things are calm.

Apply a slight pressure on the leash to one side, and wait for your pup to yield a bit to that pressure. Your pup might actually move towards the leash pressure, or just shift his weight a bit.

Take whatever you get! Mark the moment, and give a treat. Wash, rinse, and repeat until you can see the dog respond readily to very slight leash pressure while inside, then start working on it in a familiar place outside.

Gradually increase the distractions while playing this game to teach your dog to follow you with feather-light leash pressure all around town. Kayla grew up in northern Wisconsin and studied ecology and animal behavior at Colorado College. She founded Journey Dog Training in to provide high-quality and affordable dog behavior advice. Aside from running Journey Dog Training, Kayla also runs the nonprofit K9 Conservationists , where she and the dogs work as conservation detection dog teams.

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