5 Games To Help Your Dog Gain Some Confidence!

Is your dog nervous and shy? Here are some fun games you can use to build their confidence!

Shaping

Free shaping refers to the process of encouraging certain wanted behaviors through slow and steady steps. This involves teaching new behavior without correction, instead encouraging bravery with no consequences.

One great shaping game idea involves a box. Take a box and leave it on the ground, no cues or treats or toys. Then, let your dog investigate it and figure out what they would like to do with it. It doesn’t have to be a box, though – any safe item will do! Praise your dog no matter what they wind up doing with it.

Finding Treats

A sort of hide-and-seek, find-the-treat games encourage a dog to use their nose to locate yummy hidden treasures. Play in your own home: hide treats and work with your dog to find them. Start easy and increase the difficulty as your dog becomes more brave.

If you need to, let them watch you hide the treat the first time, waiting in “stay”, then come back and tell them to find the treats!

Targeting

Targeting means letting your dog touch different objects, usually with their nose. Start by showing your dog your hand full of treats, then close your fist and encourage them to touch it. Licks, sniffs, and touches all count, and they get praise and the treats. Then, start adding the “touch” cue beforehand so it becomes a command.

Once your dog understands the cue, start having them touch the hands of other people, or other items, all with hidden treats!

Interactive Games

These games strengthen your bond, teach manners and training, and boost physical activity – and they’re all easy and fun! Fetch, Frisbee, tug-of-war, and other similar games are all interactive. Make sure you enforce ground rules for each!

Trick Training

Teach your dog to do all sorts of unique and special tricks, like opening doors, turning lights on and off, or putting their toys away. These tricks build your dog’s confidence by making them interact with the world around them.

Feature Image Source: Pixabay