How do I play with my dog?

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

We've just adopted a rescue dog, he was surrendered from the original owners and is brilliant. He's an 18 month black lab x. He loves his walks and is really bouncy when we're out, but at home all he wants to do is sleep. A trainer we're thinking of using for classes asked 'how often do you play with your dog' and it got me thinking that I actually don't know how to play with him. I'm a total novice dog owner. I do throw a ball for him a couple of times a day, but he's ball obsessed so we need to not be doing it all the time - how do you play with a dog?

Please be kind - I've never had a dog before and while I feel he's settling well and we're getting everything else right, I just don't know how to play

This book is great - lots of ideals

A simple easy way to play with your dog is a game of tuggy. Get a fleece plait and just whirl it around in front of him low to the ground and when he grabs it pull and tug.

Let him win sometimes by letting go and telling him hoe clever he is and they grab the tug and play some more

Brilliant Not - how did you guess I'm the kind of person who'd like a book on it? Thanks win too

When I was a teen my mum used to board guide dog puppies and they generally do love to play with you!

A good game of tug of war is always good fun with them, my labrador loves it, she's very strong so while it's important to let them win too, she puts up a good fight and genuinely wins at times haha!

I also like playing hide and seek with them, with some of our pet labs a ball is good because they love a ball but other times a toy they like is good, or the odd treat. Depending on how obedient your dog is you can tell them to wait/stay or show them the toy, then put them out of the room and let them find it, help them if they can't but if you sound excited they generally want to keep trying to find it, however I do find with treats no additional help required, they'll find them (we used to use bits of their food so they weren't getting way too many treats with this game), tell them how clever they are for finding their toy. It sometimes takes a little while for them to 'get' but I find once they do they love it.

Some dogs also like those agility tunnels and things in the garden or in the house if you have space, I had one puppy who would just tire themselves out running through it on her own for an afternoon, then fall asleep in the middle of it.

I hope I've given you some ideas, congratulations on your new addition!

We have a new rescue and we play with her by

• throwing a ball (indoors and outside)
• hiding treats and telling her 'find it'
• doing agility training (through my daughters legs, through a hoop and over a small hurdle).

My daughter is now an excellent hurdler too :)