Top Activities For Chihuahuas

Introduction

If your Chihuahua is your beautiful baby, then you will love to spend precious time with your delightful pal. Playing games and activities is a great way to bond with your dog, but there are many other benefits too, as any activity that keeps a dog physically active will help you to keep them fit and healthy. Chihuahuas don’t necessarily need a lot exercise but as an intelligent breed they need to be kept mentally active. They love your attention and companionship, so quality time will really benefit their well being, as well as having a paw-sitive impact on their temperament.

Bubble Paw-p and Chase

Popular

0 Votes

Sunny Day

Cheap

Easy

20 min

Items needed

Bubbles

Activity description

Bubble paw-p and chase is a great game for your cheery Chi-chi. Now we all know that your cuddly Chi is on the small side, and for a dog of this size, you can be quite limited as to what toys can be bought. Most canine balls in a pet shop are too large or too heavy for your little buddy’s muzzle, so bubbles are the perfect alternative. They are cheap to buy, colorful and attractive, and really light so they won’t hurt or injure. You can have a lot of fun chasing and paw-pping bubbles, so why not make this an energetic and fun game? Games create the perfect opportunity for you and your four-legged friend to bond.

Step

1

Prepare for the game

This game is best played outside in the warmer weather. Rain and wind would spoil the bubbles as rain would pop them and wind would blow them away. Choose a suitable place and make sure you have plenty of space to play, so that your pooch doesn’t get injured when chasing or jumping for the bubbles.

Step

2

Paw-pping practise

When you complete an activity for the first time, you should always show your pup what to do and encourage them to join in, so they know it’s okay. Shout over your Chi and show them the bubbles. Blow the paddle so that your bubbles fly around and show your pooch how you would chase and paw-p these. Let your pooch see you’re having fun and start tapping your leg and interacting so that your best friend is confident that they paw-p the bubbles too!

Step

3

Have fun

Keep blowing the bubbles and chasing them. Encourage your canine by shouting instructions like ‘What’s this?’ and ‘Get them’ and ‘Come on” in a friendly, playful voice. Keep tapping your thigh with your hand or tap your foot. Remember to maintain eye contact when interacting, especially when you praise your pooch. It’s important for your dog to know that they are doing the right thing and you are happy with them.

Find the Treat

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Cheap

Hard

5 min

Items needed

Treats

3 Yogurt cups

Activity description

While this game is not physically challenging, the difficulty stems from your pooch’s intelligence and trainability. Chihuahuas are known to be clever and loyal, and this particular game requires their obedience and concentration. The game itself is easy to play and it’s a great activity if you don’t have a lot of time. Maybe you’ve just taken your Chi out for a brisk walk for 10 minutes and you want to finish off your bonding time with a 5-minute game that will treat them for their good behavior while challenging them mentally. Dogs of high intelligence need this type of stimulation, to ensure they don’t become bored.

Step

1

Prepare the equipment

Clean your yogurt cups – make sure you can’t see through them as this an important part of the game. It’s important for your tail-wagger to use their sense of smell rather than sight here. You need to make sure that the yogurt pots or cups are completely dry before use as nobody likes a soggy treat.

Step

2

Set up

Put a single treat down on the tray. Place one pot, upside down, over the top of the treat. Put the other two tubs face down too, but they will be empty. You may want to practice shuffling and swapping them around here, without exposing the treat. Call over your canine when you’re ready to play.

Step

3

Swap, shuffle, choose

Slide the tubs around, swapping them over several times. Ask your dog ‘which one’, ‘where is it’ or ‘find’, and then your dog needs to indicate which pot they choose. The aim of the game is to choose the tub that has the treat underneath. You may need to demonstrate this game a couple of times, and you may need to practice with your pooch. Once they get the hang of it, they’ll love it.

Tidy Toys

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Free

Normal

15 min

Items needed

Toys

Activity description

We teach our children to tidy up, right? So, why not teach our fur-babies? The truth is, your little tinker will really enjoy tidying, because to them, it’s a game. By getting them to put their toys away and then rewarding them by petting, tickles or kisses, you are giving your pooch everything they need. Chihuahuas love to have your time and attention, so this game is ideal for them. They seek your approval and love; constantly and quite simply, they want your companionship. Often, all they want to do is snuggle up to their owner and especially as they get older, they can be difficult to motivate. This game tricks them. It’s not an overly energetic game, but there are rewards for good behavior and it’s a great way to provide mental stimulation, with light exercise. You may choose to treat your pooch to a delicious doggie treat, or they may be quite happy just being recognized in a paw-sitive way. This choice is yours, but remember that although an occasional treat is great, this breed is not always overly energetic, so be careful not to overfeed.

Step

1

Game demonstration

If you have never done this before you might want to start with just one toy, and you might need to put it close to its tidy destination. Chihuahuas are intelligent, so you should demonstrate what you want your dog to do, and encourage your pooch by saying things like ‘get this’ or ‘fetch this’ and pointing to the place you want the toy putting and say ‘in there’. Ensure you make a fuss and praise them for this.

Step

2

Setting up the game

Scatter several toys around. The good thing about this game is that it’s versatile and can be played both inside the house or out. At first, make the game simple and build up the difficulty level by making the finding task more difficult. Start off with them in sight and then build up to hiding the toys further away, or in a harder to reach spot, so maybe your dog has to jump to retrieve it. This way, you are developing the physical element of the game too and this can help your dog to become more interested in play and exercise, which has obvious health benefits.

Step

3

Instruct and praise your pal

When giving instructions, use a clear voice with a low tone. Change the tone when praising so your little buddy knows just how pleased you are with their actions. If you choose to reward your pooch, then do this while you praise. You can increase the difficulty again here, to challenge your dog mentally. Try spending some time teaching your furry friend the name of each item, like ‘Teddy’, ‘Ball’ and ‘Frisbee’. This will really challenge intelligence. You can also make instructions more difficult. Rather than ‘get this’ you would say, ‘get Teddy, and put him away’. It’s important to still praise and fuss over your best pal so they know what they are doing is paw-sitive.

More Fun Ideas...

Teddy Bear Fetch

Rather than throwing a ball for your Chi-chi, why not throw their favorite teddy bear? Throw the teddy and then tell your poochie pal to fetch. Once they pick up the teddy, encourage them to come back over to you by saying ‘come’, ‘here’ or ‘come on’. The final stage is to encourage your little buddy to drop their teddy, so you can praise them. Once that’s happened, you can repeat the game. The further you throw, the more physically challenging the game is.

‘Simon Says’ Alternative Walking Game

Why not mix up a boring walk by adding a task that challenges mental ability? This is a ‘Simon Says’ type of game, so when on your daily walk, just shout instructions to your pooch. When you shout ‘run’ then you both run. If you shout ‘walk’ you change back to walking. When your sporty canine has the hang of this and is mirroring you, add other instructions like ‘stop’, ‘fast walk’, ‘sit’, ‘jump’ and ‘spin’. Turn this into a fun game while walking your pooch. Changing the speed of your walk, increases heart rate which is good for the heart.

Sit and Stay Challenge

You can play this game at home and the aim is to instill obedience. Call over your pet and instruct them to sit. Say facing them and take a step backwards, while saying ‘stay’. Keep moving back and repeating the words stay in a low, authoritative tone. If your pup moves, then you need to say no and take them back to their original spot to sit again – then try again. Once you move a few steps back, then call your buddy over. Praise, fuss and offer a treat. To increase difficulty, move further back.

Conclusion

Spending quality time with your pal has so many benefits. By keeping your Chi active, both mentally and physically, you are making them feel loved and secure. Your dog can sense this and it will motivate them in a paw-sitive way which will improve their social skills. If you do feel your pooch would benefit by improving their socialization skills further, you can develop the activities in this guide to include more than one fur-ball. Arrange meet-ups with furry friends or groups as this will certainly help your pooch get along with others. Ensuring that your pooch is trained and treated paw-sitively will help to develop their obedience and agility which will ultimately keep your dog happy, as well as healthy.

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