Mary Allen
Dog owners have many responsibilities. In addition to choosing the right four-legged friend, a high-quality and species-appropriate diet must also be chosen. Furthermore, it is not only important to choose the right dog basket, but also to select care products and, above all, dog toys.
The dog needs much more than just stroking and the daily walk. A dog also wants to play alone or, even better, with the owner.
So that it doesn’t get boring while playing, owners should ensure that there is enough variety. In this article, you will find numerous ideas for playing with food and the most popular dog toys to keep man’s best friend busy both physically and mentally.
Dog games with food
Especially for dogs that are lazy to play, the food is ideal for encouraging the four-legged friends to play. So you should take some of the daily food ration and use it to play a few games with your darling. Of course, various snacks are also suitable for playing, but you should be careful here, as dogs quickly become overweight from too many treats. You can find out which food games are the best and most useful in the following:
Let your nose do the work
Dogs smell a lot better than humans. So why not use it? Small pieces of food, which you spread on the ground, can be discovered by the dogs both with their eyes and their nose. Since this is a fairly simple task for the animals, this method is particularly suitable as an introduction and can even be carried out with puppies. As soon as the animal has understood the principle and has discovered how much it enjoys this feeding game, you can also place pieces of food on a high carpet or on lawn, stones or grass.
gravel or sand. These would be much more difficult to find now, so you can keep increasing the level of difficulty. With these surfaces, the dog now has to rely completely on its nose, which gives it additional training. Last but not least, small amounts of feed can also be hidden in piles of leaves or undergrowth, which makes the whole thing a real challenge. It is important that these games are always played with a specific food, otherwise the animal will quickly be looking for food. In addition, you should always find rituals before and upon completion of this game. So your dog knows when the game starts and when he has found all the food.
Fodder balls – the perfect challenge
Food balls are very popular with many dog owners. They require skill and perseverance, so these can become a real challenge for the animals. The various food balls or treat balls are now available in numerous designs and can be bought both online and in various specialist shops. The balls are initially filled with some food. The dog now has to roll it back and forth so that the small pieces of food fall out. However, always choose a ball that is sized to fit your dog. The bigger your darling is, the bigger his new toy should be.
Unpacking games – the tension is rising
Pack the treats for your dog. In order to get to this, your four-legged friend not only has to use his nose, but also his paws and teeth. There are many different things to pack, but again, it’s best to start simple to get started. Newspaper is best for this.
You can then increase the level of difficulty for your dog again. Take a solid box, for example. Here it is much more difficult to get the snacks. Egg cartons, Camembert containers or toilet and kitchen rolls, which are taped at the ends, are also suitable for medium-heavy tasks. The dog now has to dismantle it completely in order to reach its destination. Again, make sure the dog knows exactly when play starts and when it ends. Otherwise, it can quickly happen that he breaks other boxes because he thinks that something great is waiting for him inside.
The Kong – very popular with everyone
If you would like to do the feeding games with wet food, Kong is the right address. A Kong is made of hard rubber and has a cavity that can be filled with food. Not only your dog’s wet food is suitable for this. You can also use other treats, such as cottage cheese, bananas or pieces of sausage, as well as eggs and noodles. You can also pack dry food in the Kong. There are no limits to the imagination here, so that you can always provide variety. The dog now gets the treats by chewing on the kong. To increase the level of difficulty here, you can also throw in some cheese and put the Kong in the microwave beforehand.
This creates a tough mass that makes emptying difficult. In summer you can also put the Kong in the freezer so that your darling can cool off in between. In addition, of course, a Kong has the advantage that your dog can play with it completely on its own, so it is a toy that you can use when you are not around. Incidentally, Kongs come in many different shapes and designs, so you can vary in that regard as well.
Diving games for water lovers among the dogs
Many dogs love the element of water. You can use this passion in the food games. Use a large container, fill it with water and put the food inside. You can either use food that floats or food that sinks. Some dogs will fish out treats with their paws, others with their snouts. Of course, it can also happen that your dog simply tips over the bowl to get the snack. For this reason, it is advisable to play these games outdoors in particular. They are also very suitable for giving the animals a little cooling off in summer.
Thinking games – also mentally exercise the dog
Brain teasers are also very important and ensure that your dog is also mentally engaged. They are perfect against boredom and especially ideal for the slightly warmer days because your dog does not have to exert himself physically. There are now numerous intelligence games available that put the dog to the test with different levels of difficulty. If you would like to be creative yourself, you can use a roll of kitchen paper, for example. This is now cut on the side so that a strip of paper is pushed through. A piece of food is now placed on this, which the dog can only get if it pulls out the cardboard strip. If you want to increase the level of difficulty, you can add more cardboard strips.
The game with the feeding fist
Playing with the snack in your fist is also very popular. This game is especially ideal for getting started in the world of intelligence toys. To do this, simply take a piece of dry food in one hand, show it to your dog and clench your hand into a fist. Then close your second hand and hold out both closed fists to your dog. The dog will now probably pounce on the food fist and deal with it.
If your dog accidentally comes to the empty fast, open the feeding fist so that your play partner can take the snack and eat it. You can now repeat this until your darling has understood the principle. Then you no longer need to show the dog which hand has the food in it. So he first has to find out which is the feeding hand and then still turn to the empty fist to get the small snack. Eat faint-smelling snacks too. So this game becomes a real mental exercise for the four-legged friend.
Hide and seek with food
Of course, you can also hide the food so that your dog has to look for it first. Hide it behind flower pots, plant rolls or under towels. Hiding in a cuddly blanket is also a good idea, because the dog has to think about how to get the food once it has found it.
The shell game is also a very popular hide and seek game. With this, the food is hidden under one of several cones or cups, which are then swapped with each other. Your dog now has the option of either following the food cone with its eyes or then sniffing out the right thing with its nose.
Now consider beforehand how your animal should specify the correct cone. Whether he taps it with his nose or his paw. The level of difficulty can be increased as the number of cones increases. It is best to start with two cones until your dog has understood the principle and only increase the number very slowly. Otherwise, after several failed attempts, it can quickly happen that your four-legged friend loses motivation and thus the desire to play.
Balance and catching games with food
Most dogs won’t really get into this type of food play at first. However, it is worth investing some time in this playing technique. Throw food to your dog and let him catch it. Your dog will gradually become more skilled, so you can increase the level of difficulty here as well.
Balance games are also ideal. One way is to balance the food on the snout. It is important that you make the first attempts with a calm dog that does not feel the need to play ball or run around in the situation. You can also hold your dog’s snout from underneath, but not all animals like that. After a short time you give him the command that he may eat it. Many dogs quickly learn how to throw the treat up and then catch it.
Conclusion
While throwing the ball or playing hide-and-seek with the dogs are common games, you can use the food to expand the games. Because the food is a reward, the animals don’t usually lose the fun of it and stay motivated and focused from start to finish. With food, you can exercise your dog both physically and mentally, so that boredom does not occur. In addition, the level of difficulty can be increased for all games. Since every dog is different, you should decide for yourself and consider which feeding games are the right ones for your darling. While some animals are not particularly patient and are more likely to jump into the quick games, the patience games, such as balancing the food, are also very suitable for very calm animals. Creativity knows no bounds, so you and your dog can have a lot of fun.