Too hot to go outside and train?
We have the indoor games for dogs right here to help you stay cool and still have training inside.
Sometimes it is just not healthy to run around and play outside.
So keep your fun and training games inside with these 5 fun training games!
Related: Indoor Training Games Both You and Your Dog Will Love!
Five Fun Summer Indoor Games for Dogs
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1. Test his sniffer
When food is involved you can’t go wrong! Let him sniff the piece of food or treat and then toss it.
Toss it further each time. Better yet, let him sniff it, then tell him to ‘stay’ while you hide it!
He could do this for hours as long as you give him treats and food! I wouldn’t recommend that, though; you can switch to using toys
if he still wants to play.
2. Hide and seek
You will need one more person for this, kids are usually good for this training game!
How to play:
- First, let your dog sniff the person, and have that person hide. Make it ‘easy’ so he understands the game.
- I would have the person hide in the same room at first;
- then you can move your hider to another room behind a curtain, some way to make it a little more difficult for your dog to find.
- Praise after every success!
Once he finds that person, give him lots of praise (and again, more treats!).
3. The muffin tin game
I found this game online, and I don’t know who created it, but it is genius!
Only a few simple steps:
- Start with a 6 muffin tin.
- Hide treats and other goodies in all 6 of the spots,
- then place tennis balls on top.
The idea is that he knocks off the tennis balls for the treats. Once he gets good at this with the 6 spots, you can upgrade him to the muffin tins with more slots.
If you have space, you can play fetch with the tennis balls after!
4. Dance and Freeze
This is a great game to play to get your dog to stop and sit when you tell him to, regardless of what he was doing beforehand.
All you need to do:
- Start by dancing around all crazy and get your dog going too!
- Stop and use your command for sit and down
- Praise with treats when she does what you want!
Dogs love treats (who doesn’t?). But maybe your dog might love to dance too!
5. Clean up
You can teach your dog to clean up his toys! At least someone in the house will be cleaning up after themselves right?
Using the command ‘put it away’ and showing him where his toys go will teach him how to clean up after himself. It is also a fun party trick to show your friends!
Summer is great for getting outdoors, but some days are just too dang hot for anyone! These games will keep training fun and cool.
Unless you have a big enough space, I would keep the ball throwing to a minimum. Teaching my dog to clean up sounds like a fun and productive training game!
What kind of indoor games for dogs have kept you cool while still letting you train on hot summer days?
Share with us in the comment section below!