Hide and seek is a great game to play with your pup. Not only is it fun for both of you, but it is great exercise and gives your pup a lot of mental stimulation. Hide and seek requires your dog to use their brain in a way that they don’t often do. They have to think critically and also learn to use their nose. This helps tire them out on a day to day basis and also helps with their development as they grow.
To start playing hide and seek you will either need to teach your pup a rock solid sit stay or have a helper to hold them while you hide. Either option is fine. It is important to start easy so that they can build up their confidence. Start by going one room away and standing in the middle of the room. When ready simply encourage your dog to find you by saying a phrase that you will repeat each time you play. We like to say the dogs name and then “come and get me”! When he finds you shower him with praise for a job well done.
Each time you play you can hide in a harder and harder place. Pretty soon you will be hiding on a different floor of the house in some pretty sneaky places. Some of our favorites are closets and showers with the curtains shut. Anytime your dog seems to be stumped you should call out their name along with “come and get me!” This keeps the game fun as they are learning. As you increase the challenge your pup will start to use their nose more and more which is great for their brain.
If you master this game in your home to can even start to play in the yard or at the dog park. This is one of our favorite games to play with puppies and we hope that you enjoy it too!
