Free Dog Games

Free Game ideas for Dogs — Make meal times into puzzles!

Is your dog still eating out of a bowl? Try these free games for dogs! Great ideas to extend feeding time, which mentally exhausts your dog–this is a good thing!

Make Feeding Time a Puzzle

Sprinkle your dog’s kibble along a shag 3′ X 5′ rug. Now your dog must sniff and search for each individual kibble! Your dog will have tons of fun searching while you’re getting ready for work in the morning and preparing dinner for the family in the evening. What a great way to incorporate mental stimulation into every activity.

Hide your dog’s kibble in a large box filled with newspapers or old towels. This works great for terriers, which are natural diggers. Want to make it even harder? Choose a large box and remove the top. At the bottom of the box, cut a hole big enough for your terrier to enter and leave the box. Now fill the box with old newspapers and towels, sprinkle treats and kibble throughout the layers of paper, and watch your dog have a blast!

Hide a handful of kibble behind furniture (inside) or logs/outdoor furniture (outdoors). Bring your dog inside, so your dog doesn’t watch you hide his food. When done hiding food, let your dog outdoors to find treats. If your dog does not understand the game, bring him to a few spots where kibble is hidden, so he understands to search. 🙂 Add a cue, such as “Find,” to cue your dog to begin searching.

Find additional puzzle ideas here and here.

VIDEO: Free Games for Dogs

Share your doggie game ideas here. We would love to hear from you!

Best Dog Training Books For Beginners

October 22, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dog Training Books

Written for dog trainers with less than 2 years of experience.

If you’re a dog trainer, regardless of experience level, it’s so important to continue learning. While attending conferences and seminars are a huge plus, reading dog training books provides an in-depth look into specific topics as well as references when you encounter obstacles. As a dog trainer, I highly recommend this reading list with the assumption that beginner dog trainers have an understanding of basic classroom setup, management and curriculum.

Best Puppy Training Book

“Puppy Start Right – Foundation Training for the Companion Dog”
by Kenneth Martin and Debbie Martin

If you’re looking for the ultimate puppy training book, then you must read this book! Dr. Kenneth Martin and Debbie Martin provide information left out of most books about teaching body handling and muzzle training. Plus, they include a good refresher on clicker training and step-by-step information on shaping behaviors, which is a challenging skill for beginner dog trainers. Reading and referencing this book will certainly prepare you to offer the most current information in puppy classes!

Best Learning Theory Book

“Don’t Shoot the Dog” and “Reaching the Animal Mind”
by Karen Pryor

If you have not read these books yet, then run and purchase them right away! Karen explains a beautiful dog learning theory, variable schedules of reinforcement and how animals learn. A tip: highlight and bookmark your “ah ha moments” so when you’re feeling burned out, take a peek and understand why you fell in love with dog training in the first place! 🙂

Best Canine Body Language Book

“Canine Behavior: A Photo Illustrated Handbook”
by Barbara Handelman

An important skill to learn, as a dog trainer, is how to read and interpret canine body language. Barbara’s book not only explains body language, but the reference pictures are also amazing! This book is HUGE and packed full of pictures with detailed explanations. Tip: when viewing each picture, think through solutions to prevent this behavior from happening. This will teach you to react quickly, especially to an “agnostic pucker”!

Best Teaching Pet Parents Book

“Ebook: The Human Half of Dog Training – Collaborating with Clients to Get Results”
by Risë VanFleet
&
“It’s Not the Dogs, It’s the People!”
by Nicole Wilde

Oh, but teaching dogs are only half of it and it’s so important to understand how to interact, teach and provide feedback to pet parents. In my opinion, this is the hard part! Not only do you need to interpret human body language, you need to also understand how to tactfully explain instructions, several times if needed, to ensure the pet parent understands specific concepts. Well, here ya go — the two best books out there! Don’t skimp by purchasing only one book (it’s so important to read several points of view).

So you’ve noticed, a few topics are missing, such as dog aggression, anxiety and fearfulness. Beginner dog trainers must have a full understanding of the above topics before diving into the deep end, meaning aggression. For my full thought process on this topic, check out these dog behavior articles.

What is your favorite dog training book?

Kong Dog Toy Review

October 20, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Kong Dog Toys

Kongs make the best dog game ever. I love Kong dog toys and my dogs love Kongs—all dogs must have a Kong! Seriously, they’re that wonderful. Learn all about the Kong as well as my favorite Kong dog toy recipe below!

What is a Kong?

Kong dog toys are made of non-toxic rubber, so they bounce, making them fun for your dog. The best part of the Kong toy is the hole on the inside, which can be stuffed with dog food, such as canned dog food, peanut butter, cream cheese or other luscious treats! When your dog is done, pop Kongs on the top rack of your dishwasher and they’re clean!

Pro tip: Freeze a food stuffed Kong overnight, so it lasts longer.

When Should I Give My Dog a Kong?

Anytime! This is the ONLY dog toy I leave with my dogs when I’m not home. They know when I open the freezer, they run into their crates, as it’s Kong time! You can give your dog a Kong dog toy:

During group dog training class if your dog is a barker
During car rides, so he learns road trips are really fun
On rainy days
During mealtimes

My Favorite Kong Dog Toy Recipe

While I’ve experimented with many Kong recipes, my dogs love this one the most!

Ingredients

1 large can of yams
2 cups oatmeal (soaked in water overnight)
1/4 cup of blackstrap molasses

Directions

Mash the yams into small chunks in a large bowl.
Mix soaked oatmeal and 1/4 cup of blackstrap molasses into the yam mixture.
Now, using a large spout funnel, fill each Kong until full. (Personally, I use my fingers, but my hubby swears by the funnel method.) If some mixture leaks out, add peanut butter to the bottom and top hole (think of this as glue).
Freeze overnight.

Molasses is rich in minerals plus oatmeal and yams are vitamin powerhouses, making this the perfect meal! If your dog is on the chunky side, decrease molasses to 1/2 teaspoon and his waist will thank YOU!

Don’t forget to decrease your dog’s regular meals to keep him nice and slim!

WATCH: How to Use a Kong Dog Toy

What is your favorite Kong dog toy recipe? Comment below! I want to hear from you!

Calming A Hyper Dog With A Thundershirt

October 6, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Thundershirt for Hyper Dogs — I need a Thundershirt!

Thundershirt for Dogs

Does your dog have tons of energy? You know what I mean: he bounces off the walls and sometimes off you too! Well, we recommend a product that can calm your hyper dog. Meet the Thundershirt.

Thundershirts for Excited Dogs, Really?

Yes! While Thundershirts for dogs do a great job at calming dogs afraid of storms, they’re fabulous for easily excited or hyper dogs as well. When wrapped correctly, Thundershirts press on acupressure points, which promotes calmness and soothes excited dogs. Think of a swaddled baby when crying. If you swaddle him correctly, it’s very soothing and he usually stops crying and falls asleep.

Of course, Thundershirts for dogs shouldn’t replace daily walks, food puzzles and family interactions. They’re simply a tool that teaches your dog how to calm himself down. It’s fun when adrenaline is pushing through your body, so it’s pretty important to teach our dogs how to bring themselves down and self-soothe.

WATCH: Thundershirt for Dogs

Teaching Your Dog to Wear a Thundershirt

Give your dog yummy treats as he sniffs the Thundershirt.
As you’re putting on the shirt, give him a finger full of peanut butter, as you know it takes awhile for dogs to remove peanut butter from the roof of their mouths.
Give your dog a yummy food stuffed toy when he’s wearing his Thundershirt, so he learns Thundershirt equals yummy food toy.
Follow the fitting instructions correctly. You don’t want it too loose or too tight.

If You’re New to Thundershirts

There seems to be many opinions about the effectiveness of Thundershirts for dogs. As a professional dog trainer of 22 years, they work. As with anything, they must:

Be introduced to the dog positively, so he enjoys wearing them
Fit properly

Now, nothing works 100% for all dogs, but in my classes, we have an 80% success rate with Thundershirts. Once your dog understands the process, you can keep the Thundershirt around for stressful events, such as traveling, visiting the vet, guests visiting or moving to a new home.

Lastly, I wish they made Thundershirts for people. I’d buy one!

What are your thoughts on Thundershirts for dogs? Comment in the section below!

Indoor Games for Dogs

October 3, 2014 by Fanna Easter

The Perfect Dog Chew

It’s raining buckets outside and your excited puppy is bored. What should you do? Provide him with the perfect dog chew, which provides hours of indoor fun during a rainy day — it’s the ultimate game for dogs! 🙂

With all the interactive food puzzles on the market, we’ve forgotten one of the basic games: a good long-lasting dog chew. Don’t be fooled. It takes lots of energy, concentration and exercise to chew on something for hours. Plus, dogs crave chewing, especially puppies — it’s a natural behavior. Also, giving your dog a chew teaches him to happily remain in one spot, which most puppies and adolescent dogs need to learn.

Perfect Dog Chew Size

It’s vital to find the perfect chew size for your dog or puppy. As a general rule, if a chew fits in a dog’s mouth, meaning when he closes his mouth, you can’t see it. It’s too small. When in doubt, choose a larger size. There’s nothing worse when a dog swallows the entire chew toy — yikes!

My Favorite Dog Chews

There are a bunch out there and my dogs have tried them all. When I worked as a vet tech, I assisted in many surgeries to remove large knots of rawhide stuck in the intestinal tract. We called it the zipper surgery (that was scary stuff).

I have three requirements for dog chews:

Easy to digest, will not break into large pieces (will not get caught in the intestinal tract), and dogs must love them.

Before I tell you my fav dog chew, you must understand, my dogs are power chewers. This means they are furry termites and could chew through dry wall if allowed. 🙂

Fanna’s Favorite Chew: Bully Sticks

Yes, those stinky bully sticks are my fav chews for dogs! My dogs love them. They pass through the stomach and intestinal tract with minimal issues (maybe a bit of gas here and there), usually will not cause diarrhea and the stick remains intact even with power chewers. While many rawhides are compressed in stick form, large chunks can be chewed off and swallowed. A bully stick is whole, meaning it’s not compressed and nature made it this way. If you want to know what bully sticks are made of, then Google “What are bully sticks made of?” I won’t discuss that here, as we’re a G-rated blog!

I know there are vegetable-based chews out there, which work the same way as bully sticks. You’re more than welcome to try them. My dogs don’t love them so we stick to bully sticks. 🙂

Don’t forget to always supervise your dog when he’s chewing any type of chew.

In this video, I explain what chew supervision looks like:

I want to hear from you! What’s your dog’s favorite chew toy or indoor game for dogs?

Free Games for Dogs