[Sawyer]

Well, I've been lurking here for several months and finally signed up to join in the fun!

Three weeks ago we brought home a beautiful gsd mix from our local hs and so far so good. We have two small children ages 1 and 4 and we are interested in some good ideas for constructive play for our 4 yr old and 4 mos old puppy. My son is getting a bit burned out on fetch and we won't allow him to play tug-o-war with the pup so what is a boy to do? We've tried hide and seek but it doesn't seem to interest our puppy. Any ideas? BTW, our son has the same short attention span as our puppy so the easier the game the better - although any good game you have is much appreciated for myself or for my son in the future. Oh, and maybe I'm just not introducing hide and seek properly? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[opokki]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new pup!

I was going to suggest hide and seek. Have you tried having your son hide somewhere fairly easy and nearby the pup, like behind a chair? Maybe having your son make puppy-like whines or squeaking a squeaky toy while hiding would get the pup interested?

[Curbside Prophet]

Hmmmm...how about having your son set up a mini dog agility/obstacle course. Have your son lead the dog through the course doing simpe tasks like jumping over a broom stick that's say propped up by pillows, or crawling under a dinner table chair or through a cardboard box with the bottom cut out, or grabbing a treat from underneath a towel...or from inside a towel that's tied in a not if he is very clever. I'm sure there ar more agilities and or obstacle we can think of, but this is what I've got for the moment. I see this happening either by teaching each part of the obstable individually and then putting it all together as a timed event...if that's motivating at all. Sorry, I'm kinda going off the cuff here, but I hope it helps. And welcome to our forum!

[Sawyer]

Well, I've read hide & seek is a great game for dogs so I'll give it another go - maybe with Sidney on a leash? The toy is a good idea too - or even a treat.

I didn't think of an obstacle course! My son could have a great time with that. I'll let you know how it goes.