Puppy games - what to try with GR

[SnoopDougyDoug]

Hello, my lovely boy came home with us on Sunday and he's just a dream. Of course he's sleeping most of the time and when hes awake he's surprisingly chilled out. Toilet training is going well so far. I'm doing a little bit of training with him every day - sit, the stage one recall exercise from 'Total Recall', and starting to introduce place. That's all lovely and i think is going ok. I'm wondering what games to play with him outside of that. He's got chew toys which he likes, and today I gave him some toilet roll tubes with kibble inside which he loved investigating. He also loves a frozen kibble 'ice lolly'. Any other ideas for age appropriate toys/games to play with inside the home, for puppy who can't go on walks yet?

What an angel😇

Id do name games and follow games and on your bed type rewards if i had my time again with mine

I think the toilet roll thing is great too. Any confidence giving, investigating, sniffing fun

You might already be doing it but some things Ive learnt along the way some the hard way haha

carry them so they can see other people dogs etc without going close sitting in shops/park benches

practicing the lead indoors
auto sit at doors/don’t go out until you do

down and getting them to hold a down

if you are using a marker word ‘yes’ or a clicker then getting them used to that sound

and how to do nothing get them used to being ‘bored’ then they will hopefully learn to settle quicker and not be pestering for attention

play the doorbell noise a lot to get them used to that as just a normal sound YouTube is good for sounds fireworks as well

a snuffle mat and treat ball filled with kibble doesn’t have to be treats

not games as such but it’s different stuff that will also help puppy to bond with you

Thank you! How do you train to hold 'down' or stay in the sit position?

We've taken him out for a look around every day (in a carrier). So far have been to the busy nearby road, local park and our nearest shop. I'm also very good at leaving him to do his own thing in the playpen or under the table while I work! So far he's been fine unless hes overtired, then he gets a bit bitey and bouncy. We're keeping him in the kitchen for the moment so he can't get himself into much trouble.

ask down sit etc and then mark reward more than once as long as they haven’t moved so you keep feeding they will soon learn that if they stay they get more treats kibble etc

you will eventually increase the gap between treats

then have a command that means they can do what they want free, break etc are popular ones
so you would say that but don’t reward with treats when they do move them being free to do what they want is the reward if that makes sense

with down I find it easier to chuck it on the floor where there paws lie as they tend to pop there head up to reach the treat otherwise where there so little

another good thing to teach is luring which is following the food and then Google centre or middle some people call it

it’s the dog coming to sit or lie under ur legs when ur standing feet apart

very handy for recall as it puts them in a safe place where you could use your body to block or grab collar etc

I’d stick to training, socialising, taking him in the car, and teaching him to settle (I.e not needing attention just because you’re there).

Goldies can be an absolute nightmare between about 10-16 weeks with teething, over-stimulation and generally being little nobs. So early training is key, get them to listen to you and to know that you = rewards and food. This is the prime time to build a bond - so avoid leaving him to find food elsewhere. You = food. Majority of meals = rewards for training.

So: Down, extended down, sit, extended sit, recall, getting him used to having ears cleaned, teeth cleaned, paws examined, groomed, balls held etc. Teach hand sifnals to go with those vocal commands.

You can teach extended down or sit by walking a step away and increasing this over time.

No need to go bonkers on the food rewards nor on food based toys. Goldies were bred to work, so things like squeaky today are just as good at stimulating them as any food based rewards. Better tbh, as it works with their instincts (theres a reason squeaky toys don’t last long around them).

Most useful commands we taught were Wait - for holding off just grabbing food or toy, leave/drop - for giving up toy/wanted item, Touch - for coming back and touching my hand when we absolutely need him to (he’s cloth-eared and doesn’t like it all the time when I ask come or here!) and ‘Pretty’ - daughter taught him classic sit on back legs with front paws in the air purely for cuteness🥰