Activities For Small, Easy To Train Dogs
Introduction
Want to play some games with your small, easy to train, dog? Do you find that simply throwing a ball for them to retrieve just isn’t satisfying your canine pal? If you’re stuck for ideas, never fear – read here! There are many activities suitable for your smaller breed. It’s just a mutt-er of thinking outside of the box. Just because your doggie pal is small, doesn’t mean they aren’t active. If your little pooch is easy to train, it is likely that they are extremely intelligent, so they need to be challenged both mentally and physically. This will keep them happy and healthy, as your furry friend needs to feel challenged. Agility is a great way to challenge a well-behaved pooch both mentally and physically, so the agility course is perfect for your little buddy!
Agility Course
You can pick dog agility items up pretty cheaply. For this activity, it’s recommended that you have a hurdle (adjustable if possible), and a mat for your dog to sit and stay on as required. A tunnel and hoop are also appropriate items, as are three balls and bucket, so that your pooch can pick up a ball, and put it into the bucket. The great thing about agility courses is that they challenge your dog both physically as well as mentally. They are also flexible, so you can increase the difficulty level and you can also change the activities around. They are certainly great for ensuring that your canine is both happy and healthy.
Poochie Power Walk
Keeping your buddy fit and healthy is important for their health and well-being. If your pooch is small, they will only have little legs, so taking them for a run could be too much, but power walking is the next best thing. Power walking is great cardio exercise for both you and your pet. The good thing is that you can increase or decrease the difficulty by walking for longer or shorter periods, or by introducing banks or hills into your walk. Your four-legged friend will mirror your pace and it will help both of you maintain a healthy heart. You can power walk in any kind of weather and it’s free; plus, it can be a howl!
Sit, Stay, Lay, Paw Game
Basic agility training is great if you want to eventually teach your pooch to do tricks. Everyone expects their doggie pal to be able to sit, stay, lay down and give their paw. These are popular skills and are often used as a basis for other more challenging maneuvers and tricks. This is what is so great about this activity. If your dog learns these skills quickly, then you can begin to teach them extra skills like rolling and twirling. Eventually, if they learn all of these skills, they will soon become a champion of the agility course. You can practice these every day, and make a game of it. Don’t forget that as your canine develops, you can increase the difficulty.
More Fun Ideas...
Hide the Treat
For this game you need a treat hiding ball. Show your companion the ball and get them excited about it. Let them sniff it. Then instruct your little buddy to stay, before going to hide the ball. Shout when they can come and find the treat by saying ‘come on’, ‘go’, or ‘fetch’. You may have to coach them through this a few times before your pet gets used to this game. It can be played both inside and outside of the game. Once they locate the treat, they then need to spend time, getting it out of the ball.
Bubble Chase
It can be difficult to get the right size ball for a smaller dog and balls can be too heavy. The smaller dog can be quite delicate so bubbles are ideal. Blow bubbles for your pooch and have them chase and pop the bubbles. This is a great game; you can join in and it’s also great if you have multiple dogs. On a windy day your bubbles will travel further, but there’s nothing to stop you running around with your bubbles on a tranquil day to ensure that your canine is tired out and has had a good work out.
Conclusion
There are many games you can play with your small, easy to train, dog, without getting too hot under the collar. Although your pooch trains easily, they may not be trained in certain things, so we encourage you to teach your canine the basics before developing their skills further. If your four-legged friend is trained easily then it shows that they have high intelligence. This means they need to be tested both mentally and physically, which is why agility should be challenged as well as physicality. Activities like the agility courses in particular will really help your tail-wagger to keep their tails held high, as this type of activity helps to maintain their health and well-being due to the physical element, but will also satisfy their mental needs too.