Another game that is only limited by your creativity and the recycling or other novel objects you might have lying around your home. This, like Cardboard Chaos, is great for boosting Optimism and Confidence in both puppies and older dogs.
We're covering two games we like to play to boost Confidence and Optimism. What's even better is that these two games require nothing but whatever boxes and leftover (safe) recycling you have in your house.
Middle is such a great place to load value — not only is it a fun trick, but it quickly becomes a way to reliably recall your dog into proximity, but once you have them in “middle” you can easily hold onto their collar or harness in moments when you need to have your dog in a safe space.
Go Commando is all about giving your dog a Confidence and Optimism boost. And, bonus points because it involves good things happening close to you! Here we show a step-by-step with Bernie, age 14 weeks. We start out slowly and add difficulty as he progresses. The beauty of Go Commando is that you can adapt this to seated in a chair, or make things more challenging by getting on the floor yourself, if able. Remember to have fun with this one!
This is a great conversation starter to teach your dog. Paws Up or Two Paws On will help keep your pup "employed" in situations when you're out and about and need a quick way to get them to focus on you for any reason. It also is a nice boost for Optimism -- your dog will enjoy controlling putting their paws up on something and getting a yummy reward. Once you've mastered this game in a few different locations with the same object, try varying the object used and incorporate a release cue just like with Boundary Games.
We walk through the absoluteDogs Game FUNder with dogs at different ages and abilities. Funder is all about getting the energy level up and engaging with your dog. This game boosts proximity, confidence, and even recall. You'll see with the puppy the game is slower, as puppies take a little longer to locate food (and chew), whereas with Shadow, the GSP, the game is quick and only takes about 20-30 seconds. We recommend playing this in a smaller space first, and then layering in more distractions either by playing outside or when on a walk.
Nose Touch is a great way to teach basic targeting to your dog. We use food because, well, let’s face it, food has a smell, and if a dog smells food on a hand, not only does that help us teach them “putting their nose on our hand” is the behavior we’re looking to shape, but it has the added benefit of teaching a dog to focus and that hands are “good” things.
