Dog Obedience Training ' Good Games and Bad Games

We can use dog obedience training techniques and shaping to teach our dogs all sorts of games but sometimes the good games can become bad games.

The following games are a small selection of games that are either good games or bad games.

"Tug of war" game ' can be a really good game but only when the game is played on your terms.

This game should only ever start and stop when you say so. You must fetch the toy and present it to the dog and you tell the dog to release the tug toy.

It is a good game as a leadership training exercise which is why you have to win the game. If you allow the dog to win it is very empowering for the dog.

It is very stimulating for the dog and so is a really good exercise to play just before running a dog in an agility trial.

"Throw the Ball" game - a bad game if you allow the dog to drop the ball only to have him grab it and run off as soon as you make a move to pick it up.

A good game if you have taught the dog to bring the ball right to you and deposit the ball into your hand.
If you have a barking or digging dog this is a great game you can use to tire him out just before the dog is to be left at home alone.

"Catch me if you can" game ' This is not a good game. Here your dog runs away from you every time you try and grab him. It teaches the dog that running away from you makes you run more. If he also picks up something in his mouth, such as a shoe, or a ball, then this becomes another bad game as you try and get the object back, all the time teaching the dog that he does not need to come back to you.

'Fetch" game ' Using this game to teach some dog obedience training exercises such as sit, wait, give and get it is a good game. Tell the dog to sit and wait. Throw the ball a short distance and hold off sending the dog to fetch. Extend the time the dog has to sit and wait.

You must stop the game before the dog gets tired of playing.

"Wrestling" game - A really bad game. Encourages jumping up, mouthing and chasing and pits the dog's strength against you. You are showing the dog that he can win and he can be pack leader.

"Hide and Seek" game - Here is a good game. You sneak off and hide and call your dog. This teaches the dog to come when called and to use his sense of smell to sniff out your hiding place.

As well as hiding yourself, you can hide a toy or a treat and encourage the dog to find it.

We can use dog obedience training, shaping and the click and treat system to teach the dog lots of tricks such as shake hands, high five, roll over, beg, crawl, play dead, spin left, spin right and so on. Using Shaping to train your dog turns the dog into a thinking dog.

These 'tricks' are good to teach our dogs as they teach interaction and build relationships with our dogs.

Nev Allen is a dog trainer with 30 years of experience and he is now sharing this experience to help you make your puppy a good, happy and well trained obedient dog. Visit my blog for more detailed dog obedience training and clicker training articles.

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