Three Games You Can Play With A Young Child
I’ve recently been looking after Strudel, a 5 month old wire haired dachshund, who Georgia instantly fell in love with. In true toddler fashion, Georgia has wanted to help in all areas of Strudel’s care and training, which resulted in some interesting conversations, both in how I explained training techniques to a two year old, and then listening as she instructed Grandma on the correct way to implement these techniques!!
These are the three games Georgia has been helping me with this week:
#1. Lets Go On An Adventure!
Georgia loves nothing more than taking charge of the leash when we go for a walk, but I have yet to meet a puppy who want’s to go in the same direction as a toddler. Solution? “Lets go on an adventure!” The rules to this game are very simple, Georgia takes the leash, and then follows everywhere Strudel wants to goes.
It turns out puppies and toddlers have very similar interests. We checked out the bushes where the rabbits like to hang out, the huge mountain of dirt in the yard, and the long grass under the apple trees.
Strudel was happy to follow her nose, and explore all the new areas, and Georgia was happy that she got to “walk the puppy”.
Note: This wouldn’t be a good game if you have a dog that pulls, or if you’re walking near a road or in a busy area…for obvious reasons.
#2. Sit On Your Bottom
One of our golden rules at home is that you don’t approach a dog, you let them come to you. The best way for me to enforce this rule with Georgia is to get her to sit on her bottom. This way she can invite the puppy to come and play, without chasing after it, or grabbing.
Along with “Sit on your bottom” we also practice touching with only one hand (because dogs really do NOT like being hugged), and allowing the puppy to say no if they don’t want to come close, or if they’re ready to leave.
Note: Again, this game isn’t safe for everyone. You don’t want to be putting a child at risk of being jumped on, or pushed over by an excited pup, and any dog and child interactions should always be closely supervised by an adult.
#3. Chase The Cookies
This was one of Georgia’s favourite games to play with Strudel. It involved rolling kibble across the floor, allowing Strudel to chase after, and eat everything she caught. This was also extremely useful because Strudel wouldn’t eat out of her bowl while she was with us, and I couldn’t leave her food out without Jasper stealing it. Playing “chase the cookie” meant that Strudel was getting regular meals, and exercise, while also entertaining a two year old.
Note: This game can also be played with a barrier, or baby gate, between puppy and child, which will add an extra level of safety if you have a dog that’s excited by food, or a child that’s nervous around animals.
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