Content
- Games to avoid stress
- The Endless Possibilities of a Cardboard Box
- Play hide and seek with your sense of smell
- holding the toy
- Can I borrow your toy?
- Music game to relax
Dogs are the pets par excellence, although companion animals are increasingly varied (which allows a better adaptation to each person's lifestyle), the assertion that the dog is man's best friend is based on the great emotional bond that we can create with dogs and how this fact can enrich our lives in an extraordinary way.
For this reason, dogs deserve our best attention, aimed not only at preventing the disease, but also at covering all their needs and allowing them to have a great quality of life.
In this article by PeritoAnimal we'll give you some ideas to be able to interact more with your pet and seek its complete well-being, and we'll do that by showing you 5 games to play with your dog at home.
Games to avoid stress
Although at first we like to believe, dogs are very susceptible to stress as they are very sensitive animals. Stress in dogs can be caused by several factors, such as lack of play, lack of physical exercise, loneliness, lack of interaction with other animals or lack of sufficient attention by the human family.
If your dog suffers from stress, it will manifest as follows:
- You get nervous and startle easily at the slightest external stimulus.
- Their behavior manifests important changes, they may be shy and reserved or they may develop aggressive behavior towards other animals or people.
- You cannot relax and your sleep hours decrease.
- It may fail to relate to its owners and show lethargy.
- It is possible to defecate and urinate indoors as a manifestation of your nervous state.
If your puppy shows these symptoms, we recommend that you go to the veterinarian, however we also indicate that to prevent and treat this situation you should adequately stimulate your pet, and one of the best methods to achieve this is dog games.
A game that works very well for reducing stress and separation anxiety is the use of kong, a toy that rewards the dog's intelligence.
The Endless Possibilities of a Cardboard Box
To get started with the first dog game options we'll just need one cardboard box, it should be a clean box, rigid and large enough for your dog to fit inside.
You can place the box in a large place in your house, if possible where there aren't many objects that can interact with the dog as obstacles, and then the fun begins, since a simple cardboard box has countless game possibilities.
Next we show you some examples:
- Putting a treat in prize mode inside the box will make your dog discover it and get inside it, discovering that this can be a great hiding place. Plus, you'll be able to exercise it physically.
- Another way to get our dog to interact with the box is by showing him a toy he's attached to, which we then hide inside the box.
- We can also hide the toys in the opposite way, that is, put the toys inside the box and allow your dog to play with them, then hide them in a corner of your house and let him look for them.
A really fun option for the cardboard box is that it's big enough so that we can also enter, in this way we are playing completely with our dog, and this will motivate him. Using positive reinforcement with dog treats, clickers or hugs will make our pet enjoy it even more.
Play hide and seek with your sense of smell
A dog's sense of smell is extraordinary, in fact, it is the sense that deteriorates the least over time, so this game is exceptional for continuing to stimulate older dogs. We should take advantage of the fact that the dog's muzzle has millions of olfactory receptors to stimulate its cognition.
To start this game we should only have air fresheners, fruits or any smelling object (always watching so that the dog does not ingest any substance that could be toxic), the ideal is to use smells that are unknown to our dog.
First, we let the dog sniff the object for a while, then we've hidden it in some corner and he should look for it, while you are on this quest, you will be stimulating your nervous system.
You can also spread food on the ground for the dog to pick up and relax. While it is preferable to do this outdoors, you can also do it indoors with puppies or elderly dogs.
holding the toy
This game is a lot of fun and the most important thing is that it allows the dog exercise physically and stay active. It's perfect for rainy days.
All you need is a toy that is attractive to your pet, a stick, a rope that is at least one meter long.
The game runs as follows:
- We tie the rope to one end of the stick and at the end of the rope we must attack the toy.
- We hold the stick and hide it behind a wall or door, leaving the toy tied to the rope on the ground.
- We started to move the toy slightly on the ground to get our pet's attention.
- Once our pet has decided to explore the toy, then we can move the stick in different ways and intensify the movement, so that the dog is very excited and entertained.
Finally, a nice reward for our friend it will be to detach the toy and give you all the freedom to play with it.
Can I borrow your toy?
This game will allow our pet to stay alert and maintain a good physical condition. We just need a toy that is attractive to him and, above all, that is of soft touch, as it is important that at no time you run the risk of hurting the animal's teeth.
Allow the dog to play freely until you decide to take the toy away from him, of course he won't let you and here begins a fun pull and grab game, in which we can incorporate various movements to allow our pet a greater physical exercise. If you have several dogs, believe that this game will work very well.
Music game to relax
Playing with our dog doesn't just have to stimulate or excite him, but it can also be an excellent way to relax him.
You effects of music therapy there are several, positive and already demonstrated. So you can relax your dog through music following these steps:
- Find a surface where your dog can lie down comfortably and relax.
- Stay by his side, as he calms down you can give him caresses.
- Put on music, puppies may like music that incorporates wolf howls or other wild animal sounds, this will stimulate their brain while keeping it relaxed.
After five minutes you can see how your puppy has changed and is completely calm. Also find out how to practice yoga with your dog in this article.
