Here at Brilliant Family Dog we hear so often about the woeful things dogs have got up to.
It’s all about the dreadful things they’ve dreamed up and the bad things they’ve done. They’ve chewed things up, they’ve managed to escape, they’ve re-arranged your flowerbeds …
Perversely, I’m pleased to hear these stories.
Why?
Because it shows that the dog is exercising his imagination!
In the absence of being given interesting things to do, he’s making up his own entertainment.
This shows that he is resourceful, enterprising, thoughtful, and eminently teachable!
What can I teach him to do instead?
Let’s have a look at a really simple, basic, but highly amusing “toy”: a cardboard box. Get one big enough for your dog to clamber into - at least get his front paws in. Check it over for sharp staples.
Now let’s see what he can do with it! Some of this will need your input, some you can happily let your dog discover.
front paws in
front paws on
all paws in
all paws on
whole body in (box collapsed yet?)
find hidden toys in it
find toy amongst masses of screwed-up paper
find toy amongst loads of empty plastic bottles, or smaller boxes
hide food in cardboard tubes or small boxes - to be found and shredded
put toy in
take toy out
hide a toy in a smaller box
put smaller box into large box
crawl through a cut-out “door”
teach scent by hiding something in one of many boxes
push it
curl up in it
drag it
chew it up . . .
For your older, bored, dog, this is going to be heaven!
For your young puppy it’s an essential stage of getting her used to strange surfaces, wobbly things, things that slip and slide, noisy things, crunchy things, rattly things. I call this Puppy Gym and it’s a vital part of my puppy classes and the Brilliant Family Dog Academy
Some older dogs, especially those who’ve been used to being told what to do, will be perplexed by this box. You’ll need to spice it up a bit to pique their interest - perhaps toss a few treats in to get them interacting with it.
And please don’t worry about mess! Mess is a by-product of living, and this is going to be a controlled mess, of your choosing.
Isn’t that far better than the mess you find when your bored dog entertains himself by chewing your computer cables, or loving your slippers to death?
Let me know in the comments how you got on with this possibly new game!
