5 Enrichment Games To Play With Your Puppy

Training is a very important part of your new puppy’s life and bonding with them is just as important. And while a game of fetch is a good way to get that energy out, it doesn’t exercise their brains. On the other hand, enrichment games are fun, energy releasing, confidence and trust building, and stimulate your dog’s mental development.

Here are a few games to get you started:

Treasure Hunt

Treasure Hunt is kind of like hide and seek, but instead of finding you, the dog is on the search for either treats or their favorite toy. This is a great game for your pup to exercise his senses.

Start off easy by giving your dog the sit and stay commands and let them watch you as you hide the treasure somewhere obvious and tell them to “find it”. After your dog gets a hang of the game, start making it more difficult by hiding the treasure in trickier places, like a flower pot or inside their toy box. This game is great because you can increase difficulty as often as needed by adding more obstacles like boxes or even increasing the play area. You can also play this game indoors and outdoors so no matter the weather you have something to keep them entertained!

The Shell Game

I guarantee your puppy will love this game for the simple reason of TREATS! This game requires a lot of concentration and visual tracking so don’t be frustrated if your pup doesn’t catch on quickly.

Get two opaque cups and place them upside down. As your dog watches, place a treat under one of the cups and give your dog the command to pick a cup. If your dog chooses the correct cup, reward them with the treat. However, if they choose the wrong one show them the treat but don’t give it to them. Repeat this a few times for your dog to understand the game and once they get it ramp up the difficulty. You can do so by swapping the cups from left to right after you’ve placed the treat. And to make it even more difficult, you can add a third cup into the mix.

Puzzle Toys

From the basic Kong to the Bob-A-Lot, interactive toys are a great way to improve memory and focus. Below are some of the most popular puzzle toys:

• The Kong Classic Dog Toy
• Outward Hound Hide a squirrel
• Bob-A-Lot Treat Dispenser
• Snuffle Mats

And of course, there’s always DIY interactive dog toys!

New Tricks

Dogs love to learn! So don’t stop at the basics. Teach your pup some cool party tricks. You can use a frisbee or a skateboard, the sky is the limit. Learning new commands will boost your dog’s confidence and challenge their brain.

You can start with some easy tricks like “rollover” and “speak” before moving on to harder tricks like “open the door” or skateboarding. You can even let your dog come up with a trick on their own. Start off by holding a treat and wait for your dog to do a trick. Once they do, reward them with the treat. Do the same, this time saying “new trick” and wait for your dog to perform. Remember to only reward new tricks, if they repeat a trick don’t give them a treat. This will have your pup doing all kinds of tricks and using his creativity to come up with new ones!

Socializing

Don’t forget that dogs are pack animals, this means it’s in their nature to be social. Play dates are fun and also help your pups develop their social skills. Starting from a young age is the best way to have a dog that is friendly with other animals and humans.

Call up some friends and set up a playdate, check local areas for dog gatherings, or even go on pack walks. For a happy puppy, try to get in 20-30 mins of socialization a day.

Get out there and have some fun!