Playing Hide-and-Seek With Your Dog

I don’t know about your dog, but my dogs love to play hide-and-seek with me all day long. Dogs love to find things especially treats and toys. If you don’t have any other pets (dog or cat) around the house, they will want to play it with you.

Hide-and-seek is one of my favorite dog games. Not only it stimulates their minds (mental endurance), it also enhances their physical well being. I highly recommend this zero cost game especially for puppies and young dogs. Both you and your dog will reap great rewards during their senior years—they are less clingy towards you and they are more alert.

Prerequisite: Sit and Stay Command

Tool: A squeaky toy (optional) or your voice.

Do not introduce this game outdoor until your dog has mastered the game in a home setting.

Steps to Teach your Dog to Play Hide-and-Seek

• Tell your dog to sit-stay.
• Find a great hiding place—behind a sofa, under a bed, inside a closet.
• Use a squeaky toy or call (high pitch voice) your dog from your hiding place.
• Time how long it takes him to find you.
• Give him a treat and praise lavishly in an exciting tone.
• Repeat step 1- 3 using the same hideout. Check if the time taken is much shorter. If so, proceed to another hideout.
• Do not introduce more than 3 locations on day one.
• On Day two. Start with the same hiding places before introducing a new hideout. Then jumble up the locations sequence.

Note: Some dogs are so smart that they get bored easily with the same hideouts, so watch out those signs and introduce another hideout place.

Once you have exhausted all the locations at home, you may want to try playing hide-and-seek in your yard or a quiet park that you dog are familiar with. Make sure the park isn’t patronized by other animals—squirrels. This will take his attention away from you.

Can I be the Seeker instead of the ‘Hider’?

Dogs also love to be found, maybe some dogs. This can be quite challenging when you try to hide him effectively while you seek =P, unless you have another friend or family member with you. I don’t usually seek them out even with the help from T because my dogs are not loud barkers and their barking is inconsistent. Tracing their sound is almost impossible, or maybe I need hearing aids. =|