Dogs and kids seem like the perfect combination of fun, but
their play together can very quickly get out of control and things can go
south. How can you encourage your
children to play appropriate games with the dog? By modeling appropriate games and play. If you model wild and crazy games involving a
lot of running, chasing, jumping and mouthing, that is how your children will
want to play with the dog too, and that is how the dog will expect to be played
with. This can lead to injuries and hurt feelings, because dogs play with a
much rougher play style than most children.
Here are some fun and safe games that children can play with dogs while
being supervised by a responsible adult.
The shell game: Use
empty flower pots or yogurt cups with a hole in the bottom. With several pots, hold the dog while the
child places a treat under one of the upside down pots. She can move them around to mix them up a
bit, and then have the child give the dog the find it cue as you release the
dog. It won’t take long for your dog to
learn to enjoy this game!
Find it: This is a
progression of the shell game. The child
can progress to hiding the treat in new and easy places around the room for
your dog to find. It might be helpful for
you to give the child suggestions of easy places, then medium, and finally
harder places to hide the treat. Hold the
dog until the child gives the find it cue.
Hide and seek: Hold
your dog and give the child a plastic cup with some dog treats in it. Have the child get the dog’s attention by
rattling the treats inside the cup a bit, then moving quickly to an easy hiding
place. As soon as the child gets hidden,
release the dog and tell him to “find Lucy” (or whatever name you choose). Because your dog saw the child hide and knows
there are treats involved, he will probably hurry to find the child. The child can then praise the dog and feed
him treats with the cup. Using a cup is
helpful to keep small fingers away from the dog’s mouth while he’s eating
treats, so they don’t accidentally get nipped.
Dogs can easily lick treats from the cup, or the child can dump the
treats out of the cup onto the floor for the dog to eat. With practice, the child’s hiding spots can
get harder and harder.
Tricks: Older
children can help you teach the dog some tricks and will delight in showing off
the tricks to anyone who will watch.
This can be a great activity for children and dogs to do together, but
again, be nearby and supervising. It is
easy for a dog to get confused, or for a child to get frustrated, and you may
need to intervene and call for a short break for them both to regroup.
Obstacle course: You
can create an obstacle course with objects you have around the house. Construct low things to jump over, or crawl
through. Cardboard boxes can be cut and
taped into just about any shape. Use
different things for the dog to safely walk over, around and through. Make sure your dog is comfortable doing all
the obstacles with you first, before you add the child into the picture. Then turn this into a game of follow the
leader. The child can carry a cup of dog
treats to lead the dog through the obstacles – over, around and through. You can make it a game where you hold a
clicker or a small bell and when the child hears that sound, she should stop
and offer the dog a few treats either from the cup or tossed to the floor. This will allow you to pinpoint good behavior
from the dog as a bonus (not jumping, doing an obstacle correctly, etc.) and
will keep the dog focused on following the child because he knows he will be
getting treats along the way! You can
even take turns and hold the dog while the child does the obstacles first, to “show
the dog how to do them,” and then have the dog follow the child through.
An important rule is to always supervise children and dogs
when they are together. If you need to leave
the room, take one or the other of them with you. Children move fast, dogs move fast, and they
don’t speak the same language. It is
very easy for one of them to misinterpret something the other one does. It is when these misunderstandings happen,
that one or the other can get hurt.
Neither the dog nor the children can be expected to be able to make
appropriate judgment calls. That is a
responsible adult’s job. With
appropriate supervision, a dog and child can become best friends. I hope you find that together they can enjoy
some of these games safely!
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