Advanced Games
ADVANCED GAMES
Tug-of-War
Tug can be a great game that releases a lot of energy w/o a lot of space, but it must be played WITH RULES. Without rules tug can lead to trouble from an over stimulated out of control dog. RULES: the human starts the game. The tug toy only
comes out when the human starts the game. Your pup must enhance his calm b/4 the game can begin—-out of control bouncing, barking, maniac behavior makes the tug toy go back on top of the fridge. Doggy can only grab the tug toy when invited “get it” “pull” “tug” “yours” If your over-zelous dog grabs the toy b/4 the invitation drop the toy & stomp off in a huff (going to another room & shutting the door works well) tug doesn’t work too good w/o 2 parties so what fun is the toy w/o someone to tug with? (2min timeout) then come out, ignoring the dog & you retrieving the toy. When pup enhances his calm you can give the invitation to play. We want to control the arousal level by interrupting the game every so often. Give your dog the “give” or
“mine” command we practiced in week 1. Give a cookie to trade for the toy if your pup is still learning—Once we are all calm again invite your pup to tug again. Your pup also learns that “give” doesn’t mean that the game is over ☺ The human starts the
game & the human ends the game, 1ce the game is over the tug toy goes back on top of the fridge. Should you EVER feel teeth GAME OVER!!!! Tug is also not a game for small children to play, depending on the size of your dog children should be 12-18 years old to play tug.
Rose’s Advanced Fetch n’ Seek
This is a game designed for the daredevil dog—not for fradie-cats. This game works well for indoor shenanigans when the weather keeps us inside. The game starts w/ a seemingly normal fetch game (refer to Fetch) but as your pup is off fetching the ball the ball thrower hides!!! As the pup seeks out the ball thrower, as the pup gets close to the hiding place the thrower leaps out @ the pup Ta-Da & a street party ensues!! Then the ball is tossed & another fetch commences! For shyer dogs who wouldn’t appreciate the “surprise” as you jump out of hiding you could adapt this to they get cookies when they find you—lots of cookies & no jumping out to surprise them.
© Big Moose Dog Training–Kristin Sandstede – permission to reprint