[Canyx]

My shelter does a summer camp for kids around 7-11 (different camps, different age groups). The focus is animal care and training, sheltering, etc. In the past there have been guests like wildlife rehab centers, a person who does bomb detection with her dog, and other fun stuff.

In the last two years I've always done one or two 1 hour sessions with Soro. We've done agility, which involves watching Sor. run a longish course, timing the kids as they run the course, then letting the kids run Sor through 3-4 easy obstacles (ex. hoop, tunnel, jump).

We've also done nosework+tricks, which involves the kids working in groups of 4 to hide odor in the classroom for Soro to find, then a trick demo (usually me asking the kids what they want to see Soro do). Maybe some group tricks (ex. Soro going through all the kids' legs at once, or each kid takes turns putting kibble on his nose as he balances the treats)

But Soro's getting older and I am noticing him slow down significantly this last year. He CAN still do those things, but perhaps not as fast or well. Or I just don't want him to (ex. tearing through an agility course repeatedly). My boss keeps reminding me the kids are young, ie their expectations for performance and precision are low.

Still, I am looking to see if I can develop any 30-60 minute interactive sessions using Soro. I have considered using Brae. And Brae has surpassed Soro in all but the number of tricks he knows. But Soro is easier to spend a work day with compared to Brae (I haven't tried in months, so I might be wrong), and I'd rather use Sor for a number of reasons. Anyways, just posting to see if anyone's got creative ideas!

 

[gingerkid]

Tracking would be kind of fun - you could turn it into a game of hide and seek, where a kid hides, and then Soro finds them.

ETA: Or what about a clicker training session for the kids? Where they either get to click each other or they can take turns getting the instructor to do a behaviour (uh, maybe have a list they can pick from?) using only clicks as information?

 

[Lillith]

Yeah, "find it" games or tracking are fun. My niece likes to play "find it" with Ralphie. She just chooses and object, shows it to Ralphie using "see", hides it (not very well, lol), and then Ralphie goes and finds the thing. We cycle through tons of different objects in the house. Easy peasy, but the kid gets a kick out of it. They also like to play a game where she hides treats under buckets, we all move them around with Ralphie watching, and then he has to figure out which bucket the treat is under.

 

[DaySleepers]

Can Soro track people? Maybe if they're holding the scent? A game of hide-and-seek might be a lot of fun and not too strenuous for Soro.

 

[Canyx]

Thanks all! These are neat suggestions. Soro doesn't track; it's one of the few things I've never worked on with him.

I like the game ideas, but am looking for something multiple kids can do at a time. As you can imagine, it's hard for 10+ kids to stay still while one or two are doing something prolonged.

 

[hanksimon]

How about some very simple games ... for Soro.
1. Have the kids stand in a circle, call Soro one at a time, ask him to Sit, and then underhand toss him a small piece of kibble. The go to the next kid.
2. Same thing, but you tell Soro to go to each child, apparently by name [but you point or indicate each child], and perform 2 - 3 tricks as above.
3. Same thing as above, but with 4 - 5 kids well separated, and each kid calls Soro [across diagonal?], and performs 2 - 3 tricks as above.
4. Similar as above, but if Soro can learn names quickly, give him a ball or toy, and have one kid send Soro to another kid, who asks for 2 - 3 tricks, also?
5. Stacking game - Give each kid a ring, and direct Soro to fetch each ring, put it on the peg, then go to the next kid in succession.