Ramp Up the Fun with Puppy Care Games

A new puppy brings joy, laughter, and fond memories into a home and family. While the early months with a young puppy require training and discipline, one way to inject a bit of fun into the process is by integrating games into your puppy care and training program.

There are several different types of games you can play with your puppy. The most basic and well known is fetch and/or catch. Simply grab a stick, ball, Frisbee (your puppy isn抰 picky) and head out side to play. Your puppy will love the activity and interaction with you and it will be a learning process as well. Toss your ball and tell your puppy to 揻etch.?When he brings it back, reward him with a treat and praise. This simple game can lead into the more advanced game of 揷atch?where he catches the ball while it is still in the air. While this may all just seem like fun, this simple game is a good starting foundation for more advanced agility training as he gets older.

Another game that will both occupy your puppy and mentally stimulate him is one of 揾ide and seek.?The basic concept is to hide a ball or other small object under a container and let your dog work out how to uncover it. As your puppy becomes more proficient with uncovering the item, step up the difficulty by adding more containers so that he has to discover which container it is under (a basic shell game.) While you can do this with any container you have on hand, there are many dog puzzles and games on the market that can keep him occupied for hours.

There are several benefits to this type of game. If you have a very active puppy and he still has a lot of excess energy even after his daily walks, these games will keep him occupied during the hours he is indoors. The most common reason a dog becomes destructive is because he is bored. This is an easy way to direct his attention to more positive channels.

The first months of a young puppy抯 life and growth are the most crucial for bonding and socialization. Create a time of learning and enrichment by adding fun games and activities that the whole family can partake in.