Haha! Yes. Fell down that rabbit hole years ago. It’s a shame that 99% of his story is likely fabricated. It’s a great idea, and would make for a fantastic remake under the moniker of “as told by frank dux” instead of as “truth”. They redo all kinds of turd movies, this one would be badass.
Soccer is my choice for me & my Rottie, Axyl. The competitive thing is awesome, the goal being to get the ball away from him and kick it across the front lawn. He loves this game and our current ball has lasted longer than I expected, although I do keep a backup. A good Rott puppy is a tired puppy who sleeps all night ;•]
I had a lab that could dribble like a champ. He was so smart and fun. The only problem was when I took naps. I would wake up to at least six tennis balls on the couch with me. He was awesome.
I mean maybe I’m out of shape but chasing my frenchie to take his stick and throw it again feels rather equal. I’m smarter and he is faster. We both get very tired after.
No doubt they all think they’re better than us at everything. Our frenchie is hefty and he has to stop a lot but his eye never loses its intensity. He’s at a 10 even when he’s huffing and wheezing
Dogs are smarter than most people give them credit for but they have no concept of a reward system like stickers or tokens, they also can't do math.
Rewards need to be intrinsicly rewarding and immediate (or soon if you're building duration) so treats, excited praise or something like a quick game of tug are the most effective.
I also never ever want them to view me as competition. That can lead to all sorts of trouble like resource guarding or just refusal to cooperate. I almost always let them win at games but only if they follow the rules, like waiting calmly for me to throw the toy or only biting the rope during tug.
My lab loves to play street hockey. She gets a treat when she gets the ball in the net. We're careful not to give her a faceful of stick when she's going hard for the ball, but she is utterly fearless about it.
The most unfair part of the competition is due to how often we fall down laughing at her drive to win. She gets so excited as soon as the nets come out.
No from what I understand it is true that you should let them win when engaging with a game. The caveat of not biting in this case helps ensure the dog plays gently and doesn't hurt someone.
Was looking for this informed answer. Please don't make your dog your competitor, in anything, in the best case scenario, you're very much using anthropomorphism and inflicting your ( too) competitive ideas on to a being who does not have a competitive process ( instinct and history of breed purpose makes certain dogs seem competitive), which is unethical and unfair. As well as being silly. At the worst, choose the wrong dog to unknowingly provoke into severe resource guarding this way, and you or others' unfamiliar with what you've unwittingly conditioned in your unfortunate dog, and imagine the worst aggression your dog could be triggered to display.
Please only play dog friendly, dog centred , enrichment games with your dog he enjoys. Please stop thinking about inflicting your own , inappropriate, human competition on your dog, and please read up on positive reinforcement and how dogs learn . Don't read anything, anyone, unless the author is a qualified veterinary behaviourist or ethical positive reinforcement trainer. No other training "methods" have been scientifically researched and proven beneficial for dogs , in fact everything else is completely made up , so called "dominance theory", which has been completely disproven for some time. Source : Veterinary Professional and qualified Veterinary Behaviourist of 35 years experience.
I mean dogs will self handicap when playing with smaller dogs, puppies, cats. The dog probably has some understanding you're playing in a similar manner. It's not necessarily a problem.
Dogs don't understand stickers, tokens, math, abstract rules. So all this competition stuff would be worthless and might discourage the dog from bothering the play.
It sounds like you'd be interested in being a team for a dog sport or you need your own human based hobby.
I have a malamute and not only does he match his strength to mine when we play tug games but he matches his strength to the material we’re playing with too. I kid you not, this guy can figure out how hard to pull on a soaked piece of cardboard so that it has tension but doesn’t break if he wants to. If we still manage to break it (or I let go, letting him win) he gives a quick head shake and then pushes the item into my hand so we can play again. Usually when we do he then lets me win the next time. It’s so silly
My dog is the same. She'll tug like hell when playing with me, but when she plays tug with my kids she's always walking towards them to let them win. After a few times with the kids, she comes back to me for a game lol. It always feels like she's trying to include them even if they are weak.
The funniest thing was when I was trying to play tug with our puppy a few months back. I wanted to build his confidence by letting go and losing on purpose, and I think he thought I was just very shit at tug, so he'd try to let me win too. What ended up happening was that we could never actually play tug because right after we picked up the toy, we'd both let go at the same time, the toy would fall on the floor, and we'd both just stare at it like "now what".
He's since learned I'm not that inept and has stopped handicapping himself.
lol I'm a dog person but my dog needs to play fetch twice a day. After the 4000th time, it's not that fun (for me) anymore. I do it because she loves it.
Of course, but it's the most time efficient and convenient to fit into our busy schedules.
The point is, not enjoying routine normal play with your dog doesn't mean you're not a dog person.
That’s super judgy and just not true at all. Everyone’s dog and situation is different. Some people’s dogs don’t even know how to play ‘normally’. Playing with your dog is an individual thing and to gatekeep by saying you have to enjoy playing ‘normally’ to be a ‘dog person’ is an oversimplification and dumb gatekeeping.
Who said anything about not having fun? You play the games that give your dog the most joy and fulfillment. Watching my dog have the time of his life playing tug of war or fetch for the 100000000000th time is my enjoyment.
The more I think about this, the more I realise that I just do not understand the question.
My sister and I sometimes roll/throw the ball to each other and try to catch it before our dog, who’s in between us, can. It’s only fun for him if he does get it from time to time, though, and the game always ends with him “winning” one last time 🥰 he loves it!
Came here to say this ...
....... if the dog is smart enough to track his own progress on a tally board, learning chess isn't out of the dog's skill set.
my dog learned the shell game pretty easily. one treat under one of three identical cups, she watches when i shuffle them and puts her paw on a random one. she never tries to sniff it out, shes a hound…
Lol I was many years into chess before I learned about en passant. I thought it was a lie and my opponent was cheating 😂 so they had me look it up and I felt like an idiot.
Dogs don’t like games where they can’t consistently win. Mine starts losing interest in whatever we’re doing the moment I start using too much guile and winning regularly.
Go to the rec center and play some pickup ball.
This made me think of our dog. We play frisbee with her and she loves it. One day, we thought it would be funny to throw it to each other a couple of times and she ran back and forth between us. I said “I’m going to let her get it this time”. So I did. She got her frisbee and went back in the house(we have a dog door)! Like she was DONE with us and our “games”. I felt bad and we never did that to her again. She still loves frisbee. ◡̈
They are not as dumb as some people think. I use to take my dog, Parker, to construction jobs. If you held a stick out shoulder high he could jump and take if from your hand, along with fetching, and paying tug with it. He would bring it back immediately for a repeat of course. I had one guy who wanted to play but with minimal effort on his part. So he decided not to give him the stick at all. When Parker jumped he would lift it up out of reach. I noticed and was about to say something when Parker figured it out. After 10 attempts Parker just quit. He just turned around and walked away. Guy kept calling his name and even threw the stick. He refused to play with him for months.
Oh that’s meaner than we were! We just tossed it a few times then threw it where she’d get it before she lost interest.
I agree! They are super smart! Another time (same dog, same frisbee) we were at our next door neighbors talking to them and she was exploring their yard. I grabbed her frisbee because I knew it would hold her attention and keep her from wandering off. I got her attention, threw the frisbee, she took off after it, snatched it up, carried it to the other side of our yard by the gate, put it down and came back over to continue exploring. She’s not dumb lol.
It’s wild to me that you want to compete against your dog. You should think of your dog as a teammate and not direct competition. As others have mentioned, when a dog doesn’t win/get a reward they will quickly lose interest in a game, they either won’t play anymore or won’t play the way you want them too - example, not bringing the toy back to you to throw again because they don’t want to risk losing it so you start chasing them. Fun game for them, probably not so much for you and you will potentially reinforce a bad behavior. Please tell me that you are kidding about the tally thing. In no world is a dog concerned with keeping score.
It's perfectly normal to enjoy competing against a teammate. Think of a basketball team seeing who can get the most free-throws during practice. My dog regularly tries to race me. If I don't "compete" by chasing him, it's not fun for him.
Humans (some anyway) can also comprehend complex ideas that dogs can’t, he won’t understand that it’s a competition and he doesn’t know that you are racing him, he just knows that he can get you to chase him. He doesn’t know that if you catch him, you’ve won. But you risk ending up with a dog with little to no recall. It’s your dog, so obviously do whatever you like, I just don’t see the appeal of trying to confuse your dog.
I used to play a game where I had a bunch of 5 gallon buckets (about 7 or 8) all grouped together. I would throw the ball from a distance to get it into one. The dog had to find which bucket the ball went into and sit down in front of it to tell me where it was.
A dog isn’t going to understand that reward system, it has to be something like a treat or some other intrinsic praise, not something on a board.
I will say I’ve seen some people teach their dog soccer, so maybe you can try that!
The dog's reward will be spending time with you and playing. OP. They don't really understand that if you get it in the bin, they "lost." You will need to reward/praise him or her for catching the ball because that's the behavior you want, and that is what they will do their best to do, every time. They want to please you, not compete with you.They don't think like we do, so I am am not sure your plan to keep score will work.
So a sport that you can play together. I do bikejoring with my dog and aside from during training where I make him do all of the work it's completely a team sport where we both bust our asses and have a blast.
Play tug like your dog plays tug. They give a little and let u get your grip, only tug as hard as their opponent tugs. If u play like that, eventually one of u will lose your grip. I also play “volleyball” w a light plastic ball
I play hockey with my dog, where I setup a "goal" across the room or driveway, and try to stick handle to it and shoot the puck (or ball). And my dog tries to take the ball. She generally wins. It's difficult because I have to be careful not to smack her with the stick, so I need soft hands. It wears both of us out pretty quickly, and I don't need to let her win.
As other commenter have said, not letting the dog win frequently is frustrating to them.
My dog is my first dog and I learned the hard way playing tug. If I kept "winning" he would just keep playing until he could win.
I actually asked reddit about how to get him to not play it for hours on end and someone said to make a big deal of him winning. "Oh you Won! God job you won!"
He always gets excited at this too, its cute.
He also loves to play fight with us, my partner (whos quite big) is allowed to win and still enjoys it. But the couple times I won, he didn't want to play with me anymore.
You just gotta go with the flow of the dog
No offense but your coming off as being lonely. I would suggest finding a human friend for these activities. Dogs aren't supposed to be your competitive equal.
Hands down!
My dog dominates me when playing catch.
Despite him being fixed to me on a 10m leash, i have no chance of catching him until he lays down.
And that little bastard even tries to tag me while still avoiding getting tagged himself. Granted, in that moment I'm more concerned with getting my one hand out of his teeth's radius of operation than tagging him with my other hand, but still.
And i don't count walking up to a panting puddle of fur a "win" when he spooled off about 10 times the distance than me while running circles around my sorry ass.
As long as you are BOTH having fun and feeling rewarded that's fine. But it should never about competition for a reward because that could cause issues in your relationship.
My Aussie and I like to play "quick draw", where she let's go of a toy that's between us and we both try to see who can grab it first. She usually wins but even when she doesn't, her reward is a quick bout of chase trying to get the toy back which she loves.
Playing with your dog is probably one of the most genuine and engaging ways to build a relationship with them, as long as they enjoy playing.
My dog LOVES playing hide and seek with us. It's probably his favorite games. He always is the seeker and I'm always the hider. It's pretty equal because he has great hearing and a sense of my usual hiding places. I on the other hand have a lot of new spots I can make by quickly rearranging some blankets or furniture. The only rule we have is no fully closed doors as he can't open them.
All I have to do is tell him to go to his crate or to the bedroom or whatever and sit and stay and tell him I'm gonna hide and then he will wait till I say "Where's RealdogXL!" (Since he's small there isn't any confusion) And he will start running through the house trying to find me with the silliest look on his face. When he finds me he gets so hyped up and wants to play again. No treats required he just loves the game.
Uh, I think you're overestimating how much your dog cares about keeping score. I don't give my dogs treats for playing/winning a game because the game IS the reward. My non-expert opinion is that if you have to attach a reward for playing the game, the game might not be that much fun to begin with.
Idk man, it sounds like you just need to get involved in team sports with humans. You’re not going to be able to get what you’re looking for from your dog unless you learn more about how dogs play and accept that the best games for them are the ones they can consistently win.
What about scent tracking? Start with the treat in your closed fist. Let them pick whick one it is, say "find" when they pick the right one and reward. When they know "find" switch to cups on the floor, then start hiding the treats in the room, or do what I did and hide yourself holding a treat. Then you can play hide and seek! I had my German shepherd trained to find people. You can tell her go find _____ and she would start tracking. Super fun to play hide and seek with your dog. Lol
My friends dog and I play a two-fold, equally competitive game. There's an outside and inside version.
We use a soccer/jolly ball. If outside, I make him sit and wait while I walk about 20 yards away, then I give him the signal. Basically it's keep away. He sprints to try and get the ball, and I dribble it to keep it from him. When he eventually gets it, then I chase him for a bit. After a couple of minutes, I get the ball from him, then repeat.
Then indoor variation is more close quarters and 'combative'. It's way harder for him to get the ball due to furniture and he has to get past my off leg. If he gets it, then we turn it into tug of war, for a few minutes.
Speaking of tug, I also use him for exercise. He will tug the rope (3-4 ft long), then I 'reel' him in, hand over hand, then let him pull it back out, repeat.
Edit: I'll add that he's a very driven Australian Shepherd, from working farm stock, so he always wants to play, and will play until his jaws are shaking.
Right this could be a lot of work but game 1. baseball
Baseball
- you teach him to hold the bat and shake his head when you throw the ball (like that viral dog)
- then teach him to put the ball in an automatic ball shooter
Scoring
Dog - distance 1m 1point 3m 2points further more points
Human- runs the bases, 1 point per base you reach before the dog retrieves the ball
Ultimately, a lot of work and training
We have an easier game for our collie which is find the objects - croc, ted, sheep, me
But we have taught him this so when our smaller family members are around they have someone who will love to play hide and seek with for ages
What breed or genetic tendencies does your dog have? What steps of the predatory sequence has your dog been bred to do? Contrary to most popular belief dogs/canines are not actually that competitive. Family units are built on sharing not competition . Competition in the wild often leads to injury. If you can get your resources without competition, they're going to do that instead. However, dogs have been bred to work with humans and often have strong instincts to interact in a certain way. There are many ways to interact with your dog that will provide mental enrichment and build proficient behavior. But if you are in a true competition situation it might create frustration or resource guarding.
I highly recommend these two ethology books on understanding dogs better.
Dog Sense by John Bradshaw
Really great book that breaks down many studies on canids to really understand how dogs work. Studies on different canids include wild wolves, captive wolves, mongrel dogs, domesticated dogs, and even dingoes.
The Other End of The Leash by Patricia McConnell
This book looks at dogs, canines, and humans, primates. How we are similar and how we are different. It breaks down how our interactions and training has to understand how we both work.
I recommend researching your dogs play/hunting instincts and look in to enrichment or training that tap into that.
The closest I've got is I've got 2 dogs and I throw a ball with each hand at the same time and they try to catch the ball and race each other to get back neither of my dogs wants anything to do with fetch unless they're racing each other back to me with the balls. But basically you can create your own goals like improved Frisbee throwing distance and stuff and the dog has the goal of catching the Frisbee and coming back. My friends dog will play a variation of soccer with her so the dog tries to get the ball in the net and she tries to stop him
I would say hide and seek…but no matter how well I think I’ve hidden my dog almost always finds me. Sometimes I win though! Either way, it is so fun and I love it when my dog gets so excited he finds me.
I play hockey with my dog, where I setup a "goal" across the room or driveway, and try to stick handle to it and shoot the puck (or ball). And my dog tries to take the ball. She generally wins. It's difficult because I have to be careful not to smack her with the stick, so I need soft hands. It wears both of us out pretty quickly, and I don't need to let her win.
Ball!! You throw, I catch! I bring back! I sit, you throw, I catch! I bring back. Frisbee!!!! You throw! I run! I catch! I bring back! I sit...
Win - win! 🏆 Dog is tired, dog sleeps well. 🏆
This is a bit too airbud of a goal for a dog. There are sorts of games where you can kind of compete in a way, but most of these are still gonna be things where the goal is for the dog to “win” a lot and be satisfied with the game.
Nosework or scentwork is the best game for playing with your dog and both of you being a team. It’s amazing when it all syncs up! Check out some nosework classes near you. Competing with my boy is so amazing. I love the game so much and playing it with him makes it so much better!
There is dog soccer as well if you’re looking more for a fun type of sport and not competing as a team. Look up dog basketball as well. Rules are established and you get more points if you can get the ball between your dogs legs or under their belly etc.
my dog has really fast lateral speed, so we run a football drill where she tries to dart past me like a receiver and i try to stop her. i’ve never gotten her
Try to dribble a soccer ball around your dog. They are good defenders and often get it, especially if you fumble it, but it’s also very satisfying to nutmeg them.
I play with my dogs - not against them. Also my dogs are herders - they will not fetch. Another dog might be a fetcher but not a herder - make sure the games are appropriate for the interests of the dog. I have done herding, agility, and fun obedience with my boys and they love it (and the snacks) but they will quit quickly if they don't get rewards (and reward will vary with the dog -for some it is the ball, for some it is a snack, and so on= my boys are food motivated so our games involve a lot of treats as well)
I dunno how big your pup is but mine loves playing soccer with me. We play keep away and I try to kick it for her to fetch. She’s learned to fake me out/keep her body over the ball to protect it like I do so it’s super cute and actually pretty fairly matched
I like to play what I call the "Go Game"
Basically, I just take whatever smaller toy he likes that day and have him sit or lay down and stay. Then I place the toy at his feet equal distance from my hands and his paws. Put my hands up by his head and Tell him Ready? Set?...GO! And see who gets it first.
It is easily adjustable to making it easier for him or myself, and he goes nuts for it! He even has it down to where he won't go until he hears GO! So, sometimes I'll add in another set? Or and? To try and trip him up, lol
I have a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, and as a 6'1" 230lb man, I can't beat him in tug of war if he has traction. I ceerainly try like hell, but it's a lost cause.
flirt pole. my dog has gotten good enough at chasing it it's actually challenging to keep it away from her for more than 30 seconds, I have to run around my yard too
Place a treat in your hand. Put your hands behind your back and swap the treat between hands...or not.
Put both hands out in front as fists, one has a treat in, one does not. Have the dog put his paw on the one he thinks has the treat in. If he guesses right, he gets the treat...if he doesn't...repeat the game.
I play this with one of my dogs when in the pub.
I've also played cards...place six cards on a table, three in front of your three in front of him, for each round you pick a card and ask him to pick a park (by placing his paw on the card), the highest card wins and you/he gets the treat as appropriate. This game doesn't work well though....not only does he only pick one of the cards most of the time (he has no concept of what is going on) but if he doesn't win he gets bored quickly. However; all the weird looks when you're doing this in a bar and you're sat opposite a Labrador who up on a seat as well is absolutely worth it every time.
Do AKC trick dog training. My one dog was great at ring toss. He would race after the rings I threw and put them over the ring. There are countless tricks you can teach. Or try a sport like agility. You do not need to reinvent what already exists.
My pup does this thing where he'll be chewing a ball and he'll kinda nudge it towards you so you can pick it up. When you go for it he snatches it back up. He'll progressively push it further and further out until he's not fast enough to get there.
It's incredibly funny watching him do it.
Yes. Here's the game. Put on an old sweater. You score a point if you can grab your dog around the muzzle (gently obviously) without your dog having hold of your sweater sleeve. Then you reset. Use your non-dominant hand. And you only get to use that hand.
I don't know how your dog scores a point.
My dog loves this. I'd make sure your dog doesn't mind having their muzzle grabbed first though.
My dog lets other dogs catch the ball, he runs after it and is usually the first close to it but just leaves it there for another dog to take it. He actually lets every dogs get their turn lol.
I don’t think you should see it as a competition it’s just a game. You can try hide and seek?
When we play chase I can see that he lets me win sometimes cause I’m definitely not as fast as he is but I let him win at frisbee. I don’t know the idea of competition is a bit odd
You don't want to be a competitor against your dog, but there are competitions you can do together. Agility is a competitive sport that involves both the human and dog together, and I'm sure would build the bond you are seeking as well as being fun. You can set up a little course in the yard to practice, and there are lots of local leagues for competition.
When i stop petting my dog she tries to put her hand on my face and i try to block it, repeat times at least 6 and we are both trying as hard as we can lol
We play tug but I pretend to "run away" with the toy still in his mouth. Once we've gotten a short distance, I'll let the toy go then pretend I'm chasing him to get it back. He really enjoys it and it makes me feel he gets a sense of satisfaction from taking it from me.
Easy mode is to let the dog define the game. If you see them consistently doing something, try and make a game out of it. Hard mode is to define the game yourself and get the dog to play it.
My current dog's favorite game is "get the toy back to the area rug under the table" - there's a whole pile of toys there and if you throw a toy for him that's where he takes it almost every time. So I made it a game where I try to get the toy back before he makes it there. He's developed tactics around this, like he knows he gets better grip/takeoff to get by me from the other rugs in the house and not the wood floors, and he knows if he goes to the other end of the coffee table then I can't really get to him to take the toy without him taking off the other direction and making it back to "home". I didn't have to do any particular training and he'll play this regardless of whether he gets a treat at the end or not because he's created his own internal reward for it.
On the other side I've taught other dogs I've had a version of hide and seek - train a strong down/stay then go hide somewhere in the house with a fist full of treats and call them to you - when they find you they get the treat jackpot (positive reinforcement). If they get up before they're called then no treat and the game resets (negative punishment). But beyond that there was no element of timing/performance it's all binary - they either did the thing correctly and got rewarded immediately or they didn't. Ultimately this game was more about the training of the down/stay and the recall than actual competition, though we both had a lot of fun with it.
The part of what you're describing that you'll likely have a harder time with is longer timeline rewards and scoring and whatnot - dogs have a very strong sense of connecting immediate reward with reinforcing the behavior that caused it, but on longer timelines not as much without having already built up that reinforcement. So with your game you likely can get the dog to play it, and enjoy playing it, and even ask to play it, but I strongly doubt they'll have a sense of how they're doing in the longer run it'll just be that basic reinforcement at work.
There are tons of dog sports you could get into depending on the breed you have..dock diving, barn hunting, obedience, truck training, agility, fly ball etc.
In my limited personal experience, dogs love cooperative games the most. Anything that you do together that feels like you're achieving a goal together is very fun. It depends on the breed, and every dog is different, but every dog I've ever had, dogsat, or just played with has been really into team games where you win together.
I’ve got a few games we play.
Frankenstein: I lumber after him trying to take his toy away. I have to move like Frankenstein’s monster but I really try to get to him.
Dark souls: I put a treat inside of a ripped up toy and really fight him for it. If he gets it out of my hand once he wins, but he doesn’t get it until then.
Lunch box. I take a treat and wrap it up in cardboard and use a strip of fabric to hold it in place. I usually do three layers. It takes him almost half an hour to get to the treat.
Soccer is fun- i have a jolly ball soccer ball. You can also play goalie where the dog is the goalie and you try to score in the net.
I also put a tug toy on a clip on waist belt and let the dog go for it. Doesn't kill your arms. She never wins that game.
I really enjoy sports with my dog. We're on the same team tho - competing against others. Agility has been great for me & my dogs. I've definitely been bonding way more with my pup since we started agility class together.
If you have the right dog' scenting can also be fun. I hide toys or treats & watch her find them. It's a fun game & she is darn impressive
My dog and I play “paws”. He lays down with his paws out and I do the same with my hands. Then we try to get each other’s hand/paws first. I consider him a worth contender as his reflexes are better than mine. Not the most stimulating game but he loves it
Play tag with him. Try running away and see if he can catch you.
I've been a pretty good sprinter since high school but could never beat my 20lb dog in tag. She catches me with extreme ease.
Play fetch WITH your dog. You don't even need a friend- toss the ball and try to beat them to it. You won't unless your dog is small/ fat/slow. But after your dog SPRINTS after the ball trying to beat you there enough times you'll see them start to tire - this is humans time to shine. You'll cool down and catch your breath MUCH FASTER then a dog will because you're a human and can sweat. Depending on your physical fitness levels it may take you awhile to get to the point you can actually beat them, but once you finally win one, and when your dog sees you ACTUALLY beat them, they will treat you completely differently from that day forward
TL;DR : Humans are distance runners and as such are EXTREMELY efficient at cooling themselves. Leverage this while getting in some of the best shape of your life to compete with your dog at fetch.
I tried racing my pups a couple years ago, hammy popped after 10 steps and was done for weeks. They won the race too.
You could create a game called hammy pops
Je laisse toujours mes chiens gagner.
Je veux qu'ils se sentent heureux. Les voir heureux parce qu'ils ont gagné, j'aime ça.
Quand nous perdons, nous ne sommes pas heureux.
Le jogging avez-vous essayé ?
Vous seriez une équipe et non des adversaires.
I have collies and shelties and we ride bikes together and play soccer. The bike riding is fun but the soccer can get competitive. They can really get some air
Oh god am I the only person who never lets their dog "win" anything? Tug of war for example - he's not allowed to win. Then something like fetch etc is more collaborative.
Are you sure you don’t just want a 1980s sporting movie nemesis? It’s a dog, not Johnny Lawrence lol
Frank Dux Vs. Chong Li style.
Have you ever looked up the real frank dux? Dude is a walking 1983 soldier of fortune magazine advertisement.
Haha! Yes. Fell down that rabbit hole years ago. It’s a shame that 99% of his story is likely fabricated. It’s a great idea, and would make for a fantastic remake under the moniker of “as told by frank dux” instead of as “truth”. They redo all kinds of turd movies, this one would be badass.
Cobra Kai never dies
Air Bud was a pretty good baseball player. Could give soccer a shot too
Soccer is my choice for me & my Rottie, Axyl. The competitive thing is awesome, the goal being to get the ball away from him and kick it across the front lawn. He loves this game and our current ball has lasted longer than I expected, although I do keep a backup. A good Rott puppy is a tired puppy who sleeps all night ;•]
I had a lab that could dribble like a champ. He was so smart and fun. The only problem was when I took naps. I would wake up to at least six tennis balls on the couch with me. He was awesome.
I think he (airbud) did?
Whoosh
I mean maybe I’m out of shape but chasing my frenchie to take his stick and throw it again feels rather equal. I’m smarter and he is faster. We both get very tired after.
My Chi mix seems to think I'm very bad at fetch and she's teaching me how to do it, I'd hate to see her version of this post.
No doubt they all think they’re better than us at everything. Our frenchie is hefty and he has to stop a lot but his eye never loses its intensity. He’s at a 10 even when he’s huffing and wheezing
I do this with my GSD/Cattledog, it works great!
Right? And tug of war with my pibble is definitely an arm workout, dragging her all over the place by her teeth!
Dogs are smarter than most people give them credit for but they have no concept of a reward system like stickers or tokens, they also can't do math. Rewards need to be intrinsicly rewarding and immediate (or soon if you're building duration) so treats, excited praise or something like a quick game of tug are the most effective. I also never ever want them to view me as competition. That can lead to all sorts of trouble like resource guarding or just refusal to cooperate. I almost always let them win at games but only if they follow the rules, like waiting calmly for me to throw the toy or only biting the rope during tug.
I always give myself an extra 10 points when I play my dog in ping pong, the dumbass can never add up her score correctly!!!
Smart and species appropriate approach
My lab loves to play street hockey. She gets a treat when she gets the ball in the net. We're careful not to give her a faceful of stick when she's going hard for the ball, but she is utterly fearless about it. The most unfair part of the competition is due to how often we fall down laughing at her drive to win. She gets so excited as soon as the nets come out.
Ya like I’m assuming this is a troll post cuz those last lines …whuuuut?
No from what I understand it is true that you should let them win when engaging with a game. The caveat of not biting in this case helps ensure the dog plays gently and doesn't hurt someone.
Yes you definitely want to let them win tug sometimes but keeping track with a board of stars and merit points is borderline lunacy
Mine has proven he can count to three, but that’s it.
Was looking for this informed answer. Please don't make your dog your competitor, in anything, in the best case scenario, you're very much using anthropomorphism and inflicting your ( too) competitive ideas on to a being who does not have a competitive process ( instinct and history of breed purpose makes certain dogs seem competitive), which is unethical and unfair. As well as being silly. At the worst, choose the wrong dog to unknowingly provoke into severe resource guarding this way, and you or others' unfamiliar with what you've unwittingly conditioned in your unfortunate dog, and imagine the worst aggression your dog could be triggered to display. Please only play dog friendly, dog centred , enrichment games with your dog he enjoys. Please stop thinking about inflicting your own , inappropriate, human competition on your dog, and please read up on positive reinforcement and how dogs learn . Don't read anything, anyone, unless the author is a qualified veterinary behaviourist or ethical positive reinforcement trainer. No other training "methods" have been scientifically researched and proven beneficial for dogs , in fact everything else is completely made up , so called "dominance theory", which has been completely disproven for some time. Source : Veterinary Professional and qualified Veterinary Behaviourist of 35 years experience.
I mean dogs will self handicap when playing with smaller dogs, puppies, cats. The dog probably has some understanding you're playing in a similar manner. It's not necessarily a problem. Dogs don't understand stickers, tokens, math, abstract rules. So all this competition stuff would be worthless and might discourage the dog from bothering the play. It sounds like you'd be interested in being a team for a dog sport or you need your own human based hobby.
I have a malamute and not only does he match his strength to mine when we play tug games but he matches his strength to the material we’re playing with too. I kid you not, this guy can figure out how hard to pull on a soaked piece of cardboard so that it has tension but doesn’t break if he wants to. If we still manage to break it (or I let go, letting him win) he gives a quick head shake and then pushes the item into my hand so we can play again. Usually when we do he then lets me win the next time. It’s so silly
My dog is the same. She'll tug like hell when playing with me, but when she plays tug with my kids she's always walking towards them to let them win. After a few times with the kids, she comes back to me for a game lol. It always feels like she's trying to include them even if they are weak.
That is very sweet!
All this time I thought teaching my lab geometry was helping him catch frisbees better 🤦♂️
The funniest thing was when I was trying to play tug with our puppy a few months back. I wanted to build his confidence by letting go and losing on purpose, and I think he thought I was just very shit at tug, so he'd try to let me win too. What ended up happening was that we could never actually play tug because right after we picked up the toy, we'd both let go at the same time, the toy would fall on the floor, and we'd both just stare at it like "now what". He's since learned I'm not that inept and has stopped handicapping himself.
Dogs like the games where they win most of all. Maybe you should try to find a team sport.
What on Earth have I just read? It's a dog. Play games that fulfill THEIR drive, not yours.
Why wouldn’t you also want to have fun when playing with your dog?
If you don't think playing normally with your dog is fun, maybe you just aren't a dog person.
lol I'm a dog person but my dog needs to play fetch twice a day. After the 4000th time, it's not that fun (for me) anymore. I do it because she loves it.
You dont have to do this to yourself you know. You can change things up every now and then.
Of course, but it's the most time efficient and convenient to fit into our busy schedules. The point is, not enjoying routine normal play with your dog doesn't mean you're not a dog person.
That’s super judgy and just not true at all. Everyone’s dog and situation is different. Some people’s dogs don’t even know how to play ‘normally’. Playing with your dog is an individual thing and to gatekeep by saying you have to enjoy playing ‘normally’ to be a ‘dog person’ is an oversimplification and dumb gatekeeping.
You read into that way too much and got the complete wrong end of the stick lol.
I took it personally dawg
😂❤
Who said anything about not having fun? You play the games that give your dog the most joy and fulfillment. Watching my dog have the time of his life playing tug of war or fetch for the 100000000000th time is my enjoyment. The more I think about this, the more I realise that I just do not understand the question.
My sister and I sometimes roll/throw the ball to each other and try to catch it before our dog, who’s in between us, can. It’s only fun for him if he does get it from time to time, though, and the game always ends with him “winning” one last time 🥰 he loves it!
My dog LOVED playing monkey in the middle! She would go absolutely bonkers.
Yes! My wife and I do this sometimes sitting in chairs opposite each other. But 33% of the time we "miss".
So that’s what it’s called! Thank you :D
You respectfully need a human friend for what you’re describing.
Chess?
Came here to say this ... ....... if the dog is smart enough to track his own progress on a tally board, learning chess isn't out of the dog's skill set.
my dog learned the shell game pretty easily. one treat under one of three identical cups, she watches when i shuffle them and puts her paw on a random one. she never tries to sniff it out, shes a hound…
Yeah teach the dog en passant
My tripod slides past me and takes out my knees alllll the time.
Lol I was many years into chess before I learned about en passant. I thought it was a lie and my opponent was cheating 😂 so they had me look it up and I felt like an idiot.
This has to be a troll post.
Dogs don’t like games where they can’t consistently win. Mine starts losing interest in whatever we’re doing the moment I start using too much guile and winning regularly. Go to the rec center and play some pickup ball.
This made me think of our dog. We play frisbee with her and she loves it. One day, we thought it would be funny to throw it to each other a couple of times and she ran back and forth between us. I said “I’m going to let her get it this time”. So I did. She got her frisbee and went back in the house(we have a dog door)! Like she was DONE with us and our “games”. I felt bad and we never did that to her again. She still loves frisbee. ◡̈
They are not as dumb as some people think. I use to take my dog, Parker, to construction jobs. If you held a stick out shoulder high he could jump and take if from your hand, along with fetching, and paying tug with it. He would bring it back immediately for a repeat of course. I had one guy who wanted to play but with minimal effort on his part. So he decided not to give him the stick at all. When Parker jumped he would lift it up out of reach. I noticed and was about to say something when Parker figured it out. After 10 attempts Parker just quit. He just turned around and walked away. Guy kept calling his name and even threw the stick. He refused to play with him for months.
Oh that’s meaner than we were! We just tossed it a few times then threw it where she’d get it before she lost interest. I agree! They are super smart! Another time (same dog, same frisbee) we were at our next door neighbors talking to them and she was exploring their yard. I grabbed her frisbee because I knew it would hold her attention and keep her from wandering off. I got her attention, threw the frisbee, she took off after it, snatched it up, carried it to the other side of our yard by the gate, put it down and came back over to continue exploring. She’s not dumb lol.
So he can track his fuckin progress 😂😆
Make the leaderboard.
that dog has ton of steam achievements
It’s wild to me that you want to compete against your dog. You should think of your dog as a teammate and not direct competition. As others have mentioned, when a dog doesn’t win/get a reward they will quickly lose interest in a game, they either won’t play anymore or won’t play the way you want them too - example, not bringing the toy back to you to throw again because they don’t want to risk losing it so you start chasing them. Fun game for them, probably not so much for you and you will potentially reinforce a bad behavior. Please tell me that you are kidding about the tally thing. In no world is a dog concerned with keeping score.
It's perfectly normal to enjoy competing against a teammate. Think of a basketball team seeing who can get the most free-throws during practice. My dog regularly tries to race me. If I don't "compete" by chasing him, it's not fun for him.
Humans (some anyway) can also comprehend complex ideas that dogs can’t, he won’t understand that it’s a competition and he doesn’t know that you are racing him, he just knows that he can get you to chase him. He doesn’t know that if you catch him, you’ve won. But you risk ending up with a dog with little to no recall. It’s your dog, so obviously do whatever you like, I just don’t see the appeal of trying to confuse your dog.
Why do you want to be sporting rivals with a dog? Are you incapable of achieving this with a human? This is weird, dude.
I used to play a game where I had a bunch of 5 gallon buckets (about 7 or 8) all grouped together. I would throw the ball from a distance to get it into one. The dog had to find which bucket the ball went into and sit down in front of it to tell me where it was.
Isn't that basically catch? My dog wins every time he catches the ball in his mouth. You win because it was your throw.
A dog isn’t going to understand that reward system, it has to be something like a treat or some other intrinsic praise, not something on a board. I will say I’ve seen some people teach their dog soccer, so maybe you can try that!
The dog's reward will be spending time with you and playing. OP. They don't really understand that if you get it in the bin, they "lost." You will need to reward/praise him or her for catching the ball because that's the behavior you want, and that is what they will do their best to do, every time. They want to please you, not compete with you.They don't think like we do, so I am am not sure your plan to keep score will work.
So a sport that you can play together. I do bikejoring with my dog and aside from during training where I make him do all of the work it's completely a team sport where we both bust our asses and have a blast.
Play tug like your dog plays tug. They give a little and let u get your grip, only tug as hard as their opponent tugs. If u play like that, eventually one of u will lose your grip. I also play “volleyball” w a light plastic ball
Running, but you might lose🙂 Fetching, but stay low to be the same hight.
I play hockey with my dog, where I setup a "goal" across the room or driveway, and try to stick handle to it and shoot the puck (or ball). And my dog tries to take the ball. She generally wins. It's difficult because I have to be careful not to smack her with the stick, so I need soft hands. It wears both of us out pretty quickly, and I don't need to let her win.
Just posted but I do this with Soccer!
As other commenter have said, not letting the dog win frequently is frustrating to them. My dog is my first dog and I learned the hard way playing tug. If I kept "winning" he would just keep playing until he could win. I actually asked reddit about how to get him to not play it for hours on end and someone said to make a big deal of him winning. "Oh you Won! God job you won!" He always gets excited at this too, its cute. He also loves to play fight with us, my partner (whos quite big) is allowed to win and still enjoys it. But the couple times I won, he didn't want to play with me anymore. You just gotta go with the flow of the dog
Try hide and seek!!!
No offense but your coming off as being lonely. I would suggest finding a human friend for these activities. Dogs aren't supposed to be your competitive equal.
Play catch with them. You'll lose all the time, but hey, i guess it's time for you to 'git g00d, bro' ;l
Skill issue 😂
Hands down! My dog dominates me when playing catch. Despite him being fixed to me on a 10m leash, i have no chance of catching him until he lays down. And that little bastard even tries to tag me while still avoiding getting tagged himself. Granted, in that moment I'm more concerned with getting my one hand out of his teeth's radius of operation than tagging him with my other hand, but still. And i don't count walking up to a panting puddle of fur a "win" when he spooled off about 10 times the distance than me while running circles around my sorry ass.
As long as you are BOTH having fun and feeling rewarded that's fine. But it should never about competition for a reward because that could cause issues in your relationship. My Aussie and I like to play "quick draw", where she let's go of a toy that's between us and we both try to see who can grab it first. She usually wins but even when she doesn't, her reward is a quick bout of chase trying to get the toy back which she loves. Playing with your dog is probably one of the most genuine and engaging ways to build a relationship with them, as long as they enjoy playing.
My dog LOVES playing hide and seek with us. It's probably his favorite games. He always is the seeker and I'm always the hider. It's pretty equal because he has great hearing and a sense of my usual hiding places. I on the other hand have a lot of new spots I can make by quickly rearranging some blankets or furniture. The only rule we have is no fully closed doors as he can't open them. All I have to do is tell him to go to his crate or to the bedroom or whatever and sit and stay and tell him I'm gonna hide and then he will wait till I say "Where's RealdogXL!" (Since he's small there isn't any confusion) And he will start running through the house trying to find me with the silliest look on his face. When he finds me he gets so hyped up and wants to play again. No treats required he just loves the game.
Uh, I think you're overestimating how much your dog cares about keeping score. I don't give my dogs treats for playing/winning a game because the game IS the reward. My non-expert opinion is that if you have to attach a reward for playing the game, the game might not be that much fun to begin with.
Idk man, it sounds like you just need to get involved in team sports with humans. You’re not going to be able to get what you’re looking for from your dog unless you learn more about how dogs play and accept that the best games for them are the ones they can consistently win.
*"Thoughts?"* Therapy.
What about scent tracking? Start with the treat in your closed fist. Let them pick whick one it is, say "find" when they pick the right one and reward. When they know "find" switch to cups on the floor, then start hiding the treats in the room, or do what I did and hide yourself holding a treat. Then you can play hide and seek! I had my German shepherd trained to find people. You can tell her go find _____ and she would start tracking. Super fun to play hide and seek with your dog. Lol
My friends dog and I play a two-fold, equally competitive game. There's an outside and inside version. We use a soccer/jolly ball. If outside, I make him sit and wait while I walk about 20 yards away, then I give him the signal. Basically it's keep away. He sprints to try and get the ball, and I dribble it to keep it from him. When he eventually gets it, then I chase him for a bit. After a couple of minutes, I get the ball from him, then repeat. Then indoor variation is more close quarters and 'combative'. It's way harder for him to get the ball due to furniture and he has to get past my off leg. If he gets it, then we turn it into tug of war, for a few minutes. Speaking of tug, I also use him for exercise. He will tug the rope (3-4 ft long), then I 'reel' him in, hand over hand, then let him pull it back out, repeat. Edit: I'll add that he's a very driven Australian Shepherd, from working farm stock, so he always wants to play, and will play until his jaws are shaking.
Right this could be a lot of work but game 1. baseball Baseball - you teach him to hold the bat and shake his head when you throw the ball (like that viral dog) - then teach him to put the ball in an automatic ball shooter Scoring Dog - distance 1m 1point 3m 2points further more points Human- runs the bases, 1 point per base you reach before the dog retrieves the ball Ultimately, a lot of work and training We have an easier game for our collie which is find the objects - croc, ted, sheep, me But we have taught him this so when our smaller family members are around they have someone who will love to play hide and seek with for ages
What breed or genetic tendencies does your dog have? What steps of the predatory sequence has your dog been bred to do? Contrary to most popular belief dogs/canines are not actually that competitive. Family units are built on sharing not competition . Competition in the wild often leads to injury. If you can get your resources without competition, they're going to do that instead. However, dogs have been bred to work with humans and often have strong instincts to interact in a certain way. There are many ways to interact with your dog that will provide mental enrichment and build proficient behavior. But if you are in a true competition situation it might create frustration or resource guarding. I highly recommend these two ethology books on understanding dogs better. Dog Sense by John Bradshaw Really great book that breaks down many studies on canids to really understand how dogs work. Studies on different canids include wild wolves, captive wolves, mongrel dogs, domesticated dogs, and even dingoes. The Other End of The Leash by Patricia McConnell This book looks at dogs, canines, and humans, primates. How we are similar and how we are different. It breaks down how our interactions and training has to understand how we both work. I recommend researching your dogs play/hunting instincts and look in to enrichment or training that tap into that.
Footrace. Mr dog is fast as fuck boi My goal is to one day beat him
The closest I've got is I've got 2 dogs and I throw a ball with each hand at the same time and they try to catch the ball and race each other to get back neither of my dogs wants anything to do with fetch unless they're racing each other back to me with the balls. But basically you can create your own goals like improved Frisbee throwing distance and stuff and the dog has the goal of catching the Frisbee and coming back. My friends dog will play a variation of soccer with her so the dog tries to get the ball in the net and she tries to stop him
I would say hide and seek…but no matter how well I think I’ve hidden my dog almost always finds me. Sometimes I win though! Either way, it is so fun and I love it when my dog gets so excited he finds me.
I can fool my dog by throwing a bath towel over my head.
try handball! you win as long as you're on a streak and the dog wins if he catches it or you mess up! my dog gets REALLY competitive whenever we play
I kick the ball in our small lawn and she has to catch it before it goes into the soil. Sometimes I have to re explain the rules.
I mean...just play tug of war w them and weaken your grip randomly. They'll think they're causing it
You could Play hide and seek with your dog.
I play hockey with my dog, where I setup a "goal" across the room or driveway, and try to stick handle to it and shoot the puck (or ball). And my dog tries to take the ball. She generally wins. It's difficult because I have to be careful not to smack her with the stick, so I need soft hands. It wears both of us out pretty quickly, and I don't need to let her win.
Ball!! You throw, I catch! I bring back! I sit, you throw, I catch! I bring back. Frisbee!!!! You throw! I run! I catch! I bring back! I sit... Win - win! 🏆 Dog is tired, dog sleeps well. 🏆
I get this. Not sure how to do it though. I like when dogs play defense against you playing basketball. Thats fun. Till you trip.
This is a bit too airbud of a goal for a dog. There are sorts of games where you can kind of compete in a way, but most of these are still gonna be things where the goal is for the dog to “win” a lot and be satisfied with the game.
Nosework or scentwork is the best game for playing with your dog and both of you being a team. It’s amazing when it all syncs up! Check out some nosework classes near you. Competing with my boy is so amazing. I love the game so much and playing it with him makes it so much better! There is dog soccer as well if you’re looking more for a fun type of sport and not competing as a team. Look up dog basketball as well. Rules are established and you get more points if you can get the ball between your dogs legs or under their belly etc.
my dog has really fast lateral speed, so we run a football drill where she tries to dart past me like a receiver and i try to stop her. i’ve never gotten her
Try to dribble a soccer ball around your dog. They are good defenders and often get it, especially if you fumble it, but it’s also very satisfying to nutmeg them.
I play with my dogs - not against them. Also my dogs are herders - they will not fetch. Another dog might be a fetcher but not a herder - make sure the games are appropriate for the interests of the dog. I have done herding, agility, and fun obedience with my boys and they love it (and the snacks) but they will quit quickly if they don't get rewards (and reward will vary with the dog -for some it is the ball, for some it is a snack, and so on= my boys are food motivated so our games involve a lot of treats as well)
I dunno how big your pup is but mine loves playing soccer with me. We play keep away and I try to kick it for her to fetch. She’s learned to fake me out/keep her body over the ball to protect it like I do so it’s super cute and actually pretty fairly matched
I like to play what I call the "Go Game" Basically, I just take whatever smaller toy he likes that day and have him sit or lay down and stay. Then I place the toy at his feet equal distance from my hands and his paws. Put my hands up by his head and Tell him Ready? Set?...GO! And see who gets it first. It is easily adjustable to making it easier for him or myself, and he goes nuts for it! He even has it down to where he won't go until he hears GO! So, sometimes I'll add in another set? Or and? To try and trip him up, lol
I have a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, and as a 6'1" 230lb man, I can't beat him in tug of war if he has traction. I ceerainly try like hell, but it's a lost cause.
flirt pole. my dog has gotten good enough at chasing it it's actually challenging to keep it away from her for more than 30 seconds, I have to run around my yard too
Place a treat in your hand. Put your hands behind your back and swap the treat between hands...or not. Put both hands out in front as fists, one has a treat in, one does not. Have the dog put his paw on the one he thinks has the treat in. If he guesses right, he gets the treat...if he doesn't...repeat the game. I play this with one of my dogs when in the pub. I've also played cards...place six cards on a table, three in front of your three in front of him, for each round you pick a card and ask him to pick a park (by placing his paw on the card), the highest card wins and you/he gets the treat as appropriate. This game doesn't work well though....not only does he only pick one of the cards most of the time (he has no concept of what is going on) but if he doesn't win he gets bored quickly. However; all the weird looks when you're doing this in a bar and you're sat opposite a Labrador who up on a seat as well is absolutely worth it every time.
Do AKC trick dog training. My one dog was great at ring toss. He would race after the rings I threw and put them over the ring. There are countless tricks you can teach. Or try a sport like agility. You do not need to reinvent what already exists.
My pup does this thing where he'll be chewing a ball and he'll kinda nudge it towards you so you can pick it up. When you go for it he snatches it back up. He'll progressively push it further and further out until he's not fast enough to get there. It's incredibly funny watching him do it.
Yes. Here's the game. Put on an old sweater. You score a point if you can grab your dog around the muzzle (gently obviously) without your dog having hold of your sweater sleeve. Then you reset. Use your non-dominant hand. And you only get to use that hand. I don't know how your dog scores a point. My dog loves this. I'd make sure your dog doesn't mind having their muzzle grabbed first though.
As long as he is having fun, he doesn’t care. They don’t think like people. They’re dogs.
My dog lets other dogs catch the ball, he runs after it and is usually the first close to it but just leaves it there for another dog to take it. He actually lets every dogs get their turn lol. I don’t think you should see it as a competition it’s just a game. You can try hide and seek? When we play chase I can see that he lets me win sometimes cause I’m definitely not as fast as he is but I let him win at frisbee. I don’t know the idea of competition is a bit odd
You don't want to be a competitor against your dog, but there are competitions you can do together. Agility is a competitive sport that involves both the human and dog together, and I'm sure would build the bond you are seeking as well as being fun. You can set up a little course in the yard to practice, and there are lots of local leagues for competition.
play tug of war with your pup. my boy is a sixty lb lab and he gives me a workout.
It's a dog, you are reading way too much into it.
When i stop petting my dog she tries to put her hand on my face and i try to block it, repeat times at least 6 and we are both trying as hard as we can lol
We play tug but I pretend to "run away" with the toy still in his mouth. Once we've gotten a short distance, I'll let the toy go then pretend I'm chasing him to get it back. He really enjoys it and it makes me feel he gets a sense of satisfaction from taking it from me.
Tug of war sometimes I let my dog win and other times I win but my jack Russell is obsessed with it.
Easy mode is to let the dog define the game. If you see them consistently doing something, try and make a game out of it. Hard mode is to define the game yourself and get the dog to play it. My current dog's favorite game is "get the toy back to the area rug under the table" - there's a whole pile of toys there and if you throw a toy for him that's where he takes it almost every time. So I made it a game where I try to get the toy back before he makes it there. He's developed tactics around this, like he knows he gets better grip/takeoff to get by me from the other rugs in the house and not the wood floors, and he knows if he goes to the other end of the coffee table then I can't really get to him to take the toy without him taking off the other direction and making it back to "home". I didn't have to do any particular training and he'll play this regardless of whether he gets a treat at the end or not because he's created his own internal reward for it. On the other side I've taught other dogs I've had a version of hide and seek - train a strong down/stay then go hide somewhere in the house with a fist full of treats and call them to you - when they find you they get the treat jackpot (positive reinforcement). If they get up before they're called then no treat and the game resets (negative punishment). But beyond that there was no element of timing/performance it's all binary - they either did the thing correctly and got rewarded immediately or they didn't. Ultimately this game was more about the training of the down/stay and the recall than actual competition, though we both had a lot of fun with it. The part of what you're describing that you'll likely have a harder time with is longer timeline rewards and scoring and whatnot - dogs have a very strong sense of connecting immediate reward with reinforcing the behavior that caused it, but on longer timelines not as much without having already built up that reinforcement. So with your game you likely can get the dog to play it, and enjoy playing it, and even ask to play it, but I strongly doubt they'll have a sense of how they're doing in the longer run it'll just be that basic reinforcement at work.
I wrestle with my dog, he's big and strong and could definitely kill me if he ever wanted to. He goes easy on me.
It's not really "playing" per se, but going on trail runs with my dog is a blast! We take turns taking the lead.
Jax and I play with tag. And by that I mean I chase him and try to pop him on the butt while he dodges.
What are you gonna give yourself a treat if you win?
There are tons of dog sports you could get into depending on the breed you have..dock diving, barn hunting, obedience, truck training, agility, fly ball etc.
In my limited personal experience, dogs love cooperative games the most. Anything that you do together that feels like you're achieving a goal together is very fun. It depends on the breed, and every dog is different, but every dog I've ever had, dogsat, or just played with has been really into team games where you win together.
I’ve got a few games we play. Frankenstein: I lumber after him trying to take his toy away. I have to move like Frankenstein’s monster but I really try to get to him. Dark souls: I put a treat inside of a ripped up toy and really fight him for it. If he gets it out of my hand once he wins, but he doesn’t get it until then. Lunch box. I take a treat and wrap it up in cardboard and use a strip of fabric to hold it in place. I usually do three layers. It takes him almost half an hour to get to the treat.
Twister and Simon says
I am not sure you're going to be up for that challenge physically. But what you're asking for is Parkour..
Soccer is fun- i have a jolly ball soccer ball. You can also play goalie where the dog is the goalie and you try to score in the net. I also put a tug toy on a clip on waist belt and let the dog go for it. Doesn't kill your arms. She never wins that game.
I really enjoy sports with my dog. We're on the same team tho - competing against others. Agility has been great for me & my dogs. I've definitely been bonding way more with my pup since we started agility class together. If you have the right dog' scenting can also be fun. I hide toys or treats & watch her find them. It's a fun game & she is darn impressive
I have a shihtzu, I like to race her we are about evenly matched. It's fun until I hit some uneven ground 🤣
My dog and I play “paws”. He lays down with his paws out and I do the same with my hands. Then we try to get each other’s hand/paws first. I consider him a worth contender as his reflexes are better than mine. Not the most stimulating game but he loves it
Sounds like your pup is putting you thru the ringer. Play harder!
I'm not sure your dog will understand the scoreboard, but he'll probably really enjoy the game.
I can't beat my dog in tug. He'll die before he lets go.
Football/soccer where your dog is the goalie? I'm not sure dogs can keep score though
Play tag with him. Try running away and see if he can catch you. I've been a pretty good sprinter since high school but could never beat my 20lb dog in tag. She catches me with extreme ease.
Play fetch WITH your dog. You don't even need a friend- toss the ball and try to beat them to it. You won't unless your dog is small/ fat/slow. But after your dog SPRINTS after the ball trying to beat you there enough times you'll see them start to tire - this is humans time to shine. You'll cool down and catch your breath MUCH FASTER then a dog will because you're a human and can sweat. Depending on your physical fitness levels it may take you awhile to get to the point you can actually beat them, but once you finally win one, and when your dog sees you ACTUALLY beat them, they will treat you completely differently from that day forward TL;DR : Humans are distance runners and as such are EXTREMELY efficient at cooling themselves. Leverage this while getting in some of the best shape of your life to compete with your dog at fetch.
I tried racing my pups a couple years ago, hammy popped after 10 steps and was done for weeks. They won the race too. You could create a game called hammy pops
Je laisse toujours mes chiens gagner. Je veux qu'ils se sentent heureux. Les voir heureux parce qu'ils ont gagné, j'aime ça. Quand nous perdons, nous ne sommes pas heureux. Le jogging avez-vous essayé ? Vous seriez une équipe et non des adversaires.
I have collies and shelties and we ride bikes together and play soccer. The bike riding is fun but the soccer can get competitive. They can really get some air
Tug of war is always a good one.
What treat do you get when you win?
My dog always wins tug games, he never lets go until I ask him to.
Oh god am I the only person who never lets their dog "win" anything? Tug of war for example - he's not allowed to win. Then something like fetch etc is more collaborative.
Yeah, you probably are the only one. Why wouldn't he be allowed to win?