Five Games to Save a Rainy Day

The endless rain in our local forecast over the past week inspired me to dig deep into my bag of tricks for keeping my own two hounds entertained and reasonably exercised without us all getting a daily soaking. While the routine that follows isn’t a truly adequate replacement for our daily hike, it’s better than leaving the dogs to design their own entertainment (a bored dog is a “bad” dog) and a whole lot less expensive than a day at an indoor dog daycare where they could run and play with other dogs. 

Here are my five games to make a rainy day with the family dog a walk in the park. Be sure to measure out your dog’s food for the day and divide it up among all of the activities to avoid over-feeding.

The Breakfast Scramble

Who says a dog needs to eat out of a dish? It was Dr. Ian Dunbar, a leading expert in the world of positive reinforcement-based dog training, who first convinced me that a piece of kibble in a dish for “free” is a waste of resources, and less fulfilling to a dog than a piece of kibble that the dog worked for. This game gets your dog active and moving while giving you the opportunity to reinforce known obedience cues in the framework of fun and bonding—oh, and it gets breakfast into the dog, too. 

Make the game super-fun for your dog by starting out easy. Show her a small hand-full of kibble, and then scatter it on the floor to get her in the mood for “hunting.” She won’t be able to believe her good fortune! (If she doesn’t enthusiastically eat her food even when it’s offered in this exciting manner, it may be time to find a brand she likes better!)

Now that you have her attention, begin to toss just one or two pieces in one direction and as soon as she’s cleaned them up, toss a couple more bits in the other direction. Once she’s hooked on this version of the game, try calling her back to you and even having her wait for permission to chase the kibble. This allows you to reinforce your “come” and “stay” cues in the framework of fun. If you want the game to last longer, toss just one piece of kibble per repetition. To speed it up, toss more.

Mid-morning Snack from a Puzzle Toy

You probably can’t devote the entire day to playing with your dog, even if it is your day off, so this might be the perfect time to fish out one of your dog’s favorite puzzle toys. This will allow you to keep your dog self-entertained with a busy-work project that doesn’t involve the dissection of your favorite shoes. Check out my Weekly Tip on canine puzzle toys, “.” There are always ways to make any given puzzle more or less difficult in order to suit your dog’s skill level. The idea is to keep her self-entertained. If it’s too easy, she’ll be back in your hair in no time flat. If it’s too difficult, she may become frustrated and have a temper tantrum or just give up and seek out her own entertainment.

Dog Lunch Scavenger Hunt

Here’s another fun food activity to get your dog using her brain and her nose. Start with your dog in a stay or tethered with a leash. Show her a piece of her food and set it down on the floor in plain sight. Release her to go eat it. For the next round, show her the food and then hide it around the corner of a piece of furniture, just barely out of sight. Release her to go get it. Keep playing this game, making it gradually more of a challenge to find the prize. Get creative with your hiding places. Have fun!

Doggy Calisthenics–Work Out for Your Dinner

I like to use doggy calisthenics as an attention drill in my dog training classes, helping a dog to really recognize the difference between various cues while also having fun. Think of this as a random number of known cues given in a random order for a single reward. Start with something easy like, “Come, sit, paw.” Then perhaps, “Down, stay, come, watch me.” You can add cues to the string each time your dog is successful and you can also include any fun tricks they know, but remember to go back to easier sequences as needed. Also be sure not to give the same cues in the same order more than once. The main purpose of using this game on a rainy day is to channel your dog’s energy into a fun, educational game while preventing it from being used to de-gut your sofa cushions, so keep the activity light and cheery.

Ping-Pong Dog (Becomes Hide and Seek)

Have a friend or family member help you tire your dog out by playing ping-pong dog. Start by standing just a few feet apart and calling your dog back and forth between you as she earns her evening snack, tiny kibble by tiny kibble. When this is easy, stand further apart. When you can stand at least ten feet apart, move to a doorway between two rooms, with you standing in one room and your partner standing across the threshold in the other. As your dog gets better at this game, start to hide out of sight before calling the dog to you. Each time she finds you, she earns a treat and gets a chance to go search for your partner. Hide in more and more creative and challenging spots as your dog becomes ready for the additional challenge.

With these new tricks up your sleeve, no longer will you be chanting, “rain, rain, go away…” I expect to hear you practically challenging it to stick around for a while!