Fun and Games
Choose Your Game!
Games are a good way to teach behaviors, or practice them, in a fun way. Here are some of the favorite games of some of the Dog Scout Members and Campers:
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.Musical Chairs:
Start with one less chair than you have players. Set boundaries 3 feet outside the row of chairs. If the chairs are in a circle or a square, draw another circle or square 3 feet outside the circle of chairs. If the chairs are in a straight line, alternating facing opposite directions, draw the line 3 feet out in front of each side. When the music plays, everyone tells their dog to heel and starts walking in a clockwise direction, with the dogs on the outside. When the music stops, the handlers must have their dogs lie down, then, try to find an available chair to sit in. If a dog pops up, the handler has to immediately give up his chair, go to the dog, and have him down again. No butts are allowed in chairs unless the dogs which belong with them have their elbows on the ground! This might make a chair available for someone who was a little slower, but finally got their dog to lie down and stay.
When everyone has a chair but one person, and no dogs are breaking the down-stay, do one of three things:
Sub-novice version: The person without a chair is "OUT", and one chair is removed, and the music and heeling begin again.
Regular version: The person without a chair tries to GET a chair by distracting the other dogs to see if any of them are not trained well enough to remain staying as their owners told them to do. If a dog falls for the act, and breaks the stay, the person can jump in that dog's person's vacant chair. This goes on for a few minutes, when the game leader starts the music again, and the standing person is out and one chair is removed. In the regular version, handlers are not allowed to use specific command words, like "come" or "sit" or "Okay!" They are also not allowed to use the dog's name to distract, they can not touch the dog, and they must not pull on the dog's leash or collar to try to get him to get up.
Advanced version: The person without a chair tries to get a chair by distracting the other dogs to see if any of them are not trained well enough to remain staying as their owners told them to do. If a dog falls for the act, and breaks the stay, the person can jump in that dog's person's vacant chair. This goes on for a few minutes, when the game leader starts the music again, and the standing person is out and one chair is removed. In the advanced version, handlers ARE allowed to use specific command words, like "come" or "sit" or "Okay!" They are also allowed to use the dog's name to distract, and they can pull gently on the dog's leash or collar to trick him into getting up. Treats, balls and toys are also allowed. They are still not allowed to touch the dogs (no bumping, pushing, pulling, tickling, belly rubs or other contact allowed).
This goes on until there is only one chair left, and two sets of handlers and dogs. The last ones out are usually pretty hard to get to break a stay, so it becomes more of a test of good reflexes, lightening fast downs, and a "battle of the butts."
"I like this game, because the dogs get to work on heeling, quick responses to the down command (emergency drop), and they get used to staying under all kinds of extreme new contexts (like people crawling on their bellies like a reptile, squawking like a chicken, acting hysterical, and generally making fools out of themselves). I also like it because it is as much fun to watch as it is to play!" -- Lonnie Olson
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.Tic-Tac-Toe:
Draw or tape out a large tic-tac-toe board (#) on the floor or pavement. You can use rope or spray paint (or chalk) if you are playing on the grass. Divide people up into two teams. One team is X's and one is the O's. X's go first so they have an advantage. They are the SITS. O's will be doing
Different versions: In one version, any dog who moves himself out of the position he was placed in (goes from a sit to a down, for example), is removed from the board, and that team has one less X (or O) out there.
In another version, if a dog changes positions, he STAYS in that position and becomes the other letter (from an X to an O), whereby he would be helping the other team. In a third version, handlers are allowed to cue their dogs to remain sitting, or to pop back up into a sit. They are not allowed to "correct", just to "cue." If they are going to try to fix the dog, they have to do it before the other team puts another dog out, or they lose the opportunity.
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.Copy C-A-T:
Split up the players into two equal teams (put the same amount of brilliant dogs and beginners on each team). The first team to go, chooses one of the players to demonstrate a trick, or behavior. The second team must try to find someone on their team who can make their dog perform that same behavior. If the second team can't meet the challenge, they get a letter "C" (like in the basketball game of HORSE). Each time a team fails to meet the challenge, they get another letter in the word, CAT. The teams take turns demonstrating behaviors and challenging the opposing team, until one team fails to meet the challenge three times (they would have spelled the word, CAT).
You can make the game more difficult for advanced players by allowing more complex behaviors, or a series of behaviors.
"This is one of my favorite games at camp, because the campers all enjoy it. The people get to choose what they do with their dog, and everyone's dog has some cute or unique trick which would be a challenge the opposing team." -- Joanne Weber
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.Fashion Race: (Also known as "Dress for Success.")
Split up into two equal teams (put the same amount of big dogs and small dogs on each team). In the center of the floor, place a pile of clothing consisting of about 20 different matching pairs of socks, 20 different shirts of various sizes, and 20 different hats. At the starting cue, a player from each team races out and tries to find clothes which will fit his dog. The shirt has to go on like you would wear a shirt, the socks have to go on the front feet, and the hat must go on the head. Then, the player rushes back to his side's starting line, so that the next dog can go. If anything falls off while the dog is walking back to the home team, the player has to stop and put it on again before crossing the line. The first team to get all of it's players dressed wins the game. Don't forget to leave them dressed up--everyone's going to want a picture!
I pick up the clothing at church sales and places that have those "everything you can stuff in your bag for a dollar" days (usually the last day of the rummage sale). I try to get baby hats, t-shirts and socks, to fit the toy sized dogs. For the larger dogs, I look for loose, v-neck, short-sleeved t-shirts or tank tops, so that they are easy to get onto the dog without stressing him. I try to find hats with ties, but since that is the hardest thing to find, I throw in some miscellaneous head gear, like scarves and ear muffs, just to make it interesting. I try to get socks with distinctive patterns, like holiday socks or ones with cartoon characters on them. They're easier to match up.
Thanks to Terry Ryan, author of "Games People Play with their Dogs," for this one.
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.The Tail Wagging Game
Two teams line up on opposite sides of the room with the people facing toward the middle, and their dogs facing them, with their tails toward the middle. Teams are asked to pick "Fruits" or "Vegetables". Whatever they pick, they must not utter any sounds, except the names of fruits or the names of vegetables. The object of the game is to get your dog the happiest with just the use of your voice. No REAL words are allowed, like "Cookie" or "Bye bye" or "Daddy" or "Good Puppy" or anything like that. You have to strictly get your dog excited by using names of vegetables and fruits. Which ever team has the best waggers, wins. Then, you can have a "wag-off" to see which dog is the overall wagging champion. Be sure there are an equal number of "tailless" dogs on each team. Dogs without tails wag their whole butts, so they can still play.
This game gets people in your obedience class to get over the embarrassment of talking "happy talk", or "ooh-dee-doos" to the dogs. It also helps them see how important tone of voice is in creating a good attitude in the dog.
Thanks to fellow NADOI member, Peg Prudden for this one.
