Favorite Games And Activities For Dogs

Dogs are really energetic animals and this often means that they can entertain themselves with pretty much anything you give them. However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t also get bored. Today, you can find about some of the most favorite games and activities for dogs.

Favorite Games and Activities for Dogs

Pets, just like humans, can get bored of doing the same things all the time. So, if you want to keep your canine friend happy you need to shake it up a bit with new games and activities that can stimulate them both physically and mentally.

There are lots of different games and activities that dogs love to do. What you don’t know, is which ones are the ones that your dog likes the most.

Size, weight, and even breed are important for knowing what game would be best for them. Once you’ve taken them into account, it’s time to play!

Simple Activities

When talking about games and activities, it doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t even have to run to the pet shop to buy a new toy. It’s really easy to keep your dog entertained with everyday objects during your walks together.

So, the first thing is to have a field or park somewhere where they can run freely, but preferably where you can see them at all times. Once you’ve found the ideal spot, the only limitation is your (and his) imagination.

Playing with a Stick

Most dogs love to look for things that their owners have thrown, so they can find them and bring them back to their owner. With this simple activity, they can exercise and practice obedience at the same time.

Playing with a Frisbee

Just the same as the last activity, but with a frisbee. This requires a little more effort for the dog as they have to run faster and guess the trajectory in order to return it to their owner.

Before playing frisbee, you should consider the dog’s size. A larger dog will enjoy playing frisbee much more than a smaller one, and an athletic dog will enjoy it more than a much calmer breed.

Hiding Things

One very simple game is to test out your dog’s sense of smell. All you need to do is show them a treat, place it somewhere on the ground, and wait for them to find it and eat it. Repeat this game by making the treat more difficult to find each time.

The best way to do this is by distracting them with some other activity, like with a frisbee or a ball. Then hide the treat in some dry leaves, under your bag, or under other objects.

Playing with Other Dogs

If you think that your dog is well-behaved enough, this activity is perfect. They’ll be really enthusiastic about playing with a friend, as well as enjoy tiring themselves out.

This way you also help them socialise with other dogs. This will help them feel less stressed or anxious.

Practice Obedience Exercises

There many quite simple exercises that you can read about in any pet blog or magazine. You just need a bit of patience and to be clear when you give your dog a command. This way you won’t confuse them or intimidate them.

Complex or Dynamic Sports

There is a range of sports that you can do with your dog too challenge their senses and natural abilities. They can also put you as an owner to the test too and help you get some exercise yourself.

Dog Agility

Dog Agility is like an obstacle race where your dog has to jump over or crawl under things with speed and precision. Likewise, you can test your leadership and temper by seeing how well your dog can hear your commands.

There are many breeds that are perfect for this type of activity, such as the Border Collie or the Brittany Spaniel. If you really make an effort, you could even compete in national or international events. What do you think? Think you’re up to the challenge?

Mantrailing

This is a similar activity to hiding things. However, this time your dog has to find a person using their sense of smell. They do this by tracking the smell that comes from someone’s clothing. 

Likewise, you can do the same thing with objects, just like a dog would do at the airport to find suspicious or dangerous packages. Of course, in your case, they’ll be looking for more friendly objects!

Canicross

This is when you try to run your dog as far as you can. You can do this on your own, training for an event. There are canicross competitions all over the world for different modern breeds.