The Games People Play…With Dogs

How many times have you heard someone say, “You work with dogs…that must be fun to play with dogs all day.”  Most of us realize it’s not all fun and games, particularly if you are the owner of the facility.  But we SHOULD be having fun with the dogs. This week, we’ll provide you with some of our favorite games and resources for increasing the fun factor in your facility.

In an effort to keep dogs safe in off-leash play, we’ve found that some of the fun has been taken away.  The dogs barely interact before they are interrupted in an attempt to keep them from getting too out of control.

There is a need for supervision, and a need to keep arousal levels low, but  we need to find a balance between safety and fun!

There are some important reasons for making your facility fun for the dogs and the staff.

1. You’ll increase revenue because happy clients are returning clients.
2. You’ll increase promotional opportunities for your facility. Everyone loves to show photos of dogs having fun. You might even get the press to cover some of your fun activities!
3. You’ll have happier, healthier dogs.  Dogs who have more fun have less stress which means they are less likely to get sick while at your facility.
4. You’ll have happier employees…which means lower turnover! When the staff is having fun, they tend to stay at a job longer.

 And as if that isn’t enough…having fun will increase the bond between the dogs and the employees which makes working with the dogs easier and safer.

 Here are a few games that help to instill staff leadership with the dogs while letting everyone have some fun.

• The hula hoop game – the object of the game is to put a hula hoop on the ground and then keep the dogs out of it. You are not allowed to use your voice, or your hands.  All you can do is move your feet and body forward, sideways or backwards to get the dogs to move.  This is a great game to practice body blocking. See how many dogs you can keep out of the hoop…and for how long!
• Follow the leader – dogs love to follow people and this is a great way to establish your leadership in a non-threatening way.  Just walk around the room, over the play equipment, under tall jumps or anywhere…and encourage the dogs to follow you. It doesn’t matter if you’re not going anyplace….just encourage the dogs to follow!
• Obedience Cues. Start with just one dog and teach them all individually first.  Then do group behaviors such as a group sit and see how many dogs you can get to sit at the same time.  Can you beat your personal record?  Who can control the most dogs?  Here are some standard cues you can use to get started:
  • Come – dog stops what they are doing and comes to you
  • Sit – dog sits facing you
  • Wait – dog is to stop moving forward (often used at the gates)
• Freeze Tag – this is a great game to teach impulse control.  Get the dogs revved up and then say “FREEZE” and get them all to sit.  Start with a small group of dogs and add more as they master the game.  The idea here is that you are teaching them to settle down after a brief game that is exciting to them.
• Obstacles – Encourage dogs to go over and under things.  Use lots of praise as a dog is learning.  This is a great confidence building exercise for the dogs and helps create a bond between the dog and staff member.  This is a game that is best done when things are calm. If a dog is having difficulty, you might recommend some one-on-one instruction (which would be an added revenue stream).  Here are some easy obstacles you can use:
  • Puppy Playground equipment (be sure to tell them you are a member of The Dog Gurus to receive 10% off!)
  • Jumps made from a broom or mop handle
  • Tunnels from a kid’s toy store
  • Hula hoops to create a hoop to jump through (balance it in between chairs or hold it in your hand as the dog goes through)
  • Or you can get more fancy with easy to make agility equipment in a book called: Do it Yourself Agility Equipment
• Find the person – hide in the playroom and let the dog find you. This is a fun way to practice the come cue with the dogs.  You don’t have to be hard to find. The dogs just like the game of the find! Be sure to have a big celebration when they find you.

Looking for even more games to play with the dogs?  Here are more ideas that you can incorporate into special events and activates.

• Special games day events – these can be done as group games or just set up as time for each dog to participate on his own.  The game day events would be an additional charge on top of the normal daycare charge.
  • Bobbing for tennis balls
  • Swimming pool time
  • Mother’s day cards
  • Father’s day photos
  • Outdoor picnic
  • Pawprint photos or frames or anything with a dog’s pawprint on it
  • Easter egg hunt
  • Halloween costume dress up day
  • Birthday parties
  • Adoption day parties
  • Reading stories to the dogs
• Dog Sports for fun –  Consider special training to introduce dogs to some of the dog sports. For this option you may need the help  of a dog trainer who can do the teaching.. This could be done as a weeklong camp or as an add on to a normal day of daycare.  Be sure to take photos or videos to show what the dog did in camp!
  • Agilty
  • Nosework
  • Freestyle
  • Trieball
  • FitPaws equipment
• Tricks – offer an easy “trick of the month” or a special trick class to teach some basic parlor tricks such as rollover, beg, or play dead.
• Fun photo ops – here are some activities you can do that make great photo opportunities that you can share and help market your facility
  • Bubbles – blow specially formulated bubbles for dogs and let them catch them
  • Fetch – with a Frisbee, a ball, a special toy
  • Soccer – some dogs love to chase a soccer ball and you might even set up goals and create a game between two dogs
  • Tug – between a human and dog…or take photos when the dogs are playing tug with one another
  • Special decorations – anytime you decorate for a holiday, be sure to set up an area where you can take photos of dogs in front of the decorations