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Old-fashioned fun, playing hide and seek with your dog!
This is a fun activity for both person and dog, and is easy to teach. It’s also a great way to practice your dog’s ‘stay’ and ‘come’ cues. Here are some tips:
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Ask your dog to stay (or have another family member hold the dog), and choose a very easy hiding spot. Then call him to you, using little sound effects to help him if he’s having a hard time.
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As soon as he finds you, have a party! Praise, give treats, or toss a favorite toy – whatever appeals to your dog.
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When your dog is getting good at finding you, gradually increase the difficulty of your hiding places.
Aside from being a whole lot of fun, your dog may also learn how to use his nose to track your movements right to your hiding spot. That’s fancy!
Have you played this game? Give it a try and let us know!
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2 Replies
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I grew up in a family of search and rescue dog trainers. So Hide & Seek was a BIG THING. lol.
Informally, I would hide from the dogs when I got home from school. I would sneak away and stuff myself under clothing in the closet, then call them ONE TIME. I’d listen to them run around the house until they worked out the scent. There was always a big party and the dogs LOVED IT!
On training missions, I was told to “get lost” on the regular. I hid in bushes, up trees, in snow caves… anywhere I was told to. Great fun – and many fond memories of dogs who were SO HAPPY to find me. They usually got a reward (ball or stick) from their handler for their efforts.
Thanks for the memories!
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Lovely, @catherine !
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