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5 Indoor Dog Training Games for A Hot Summer Day

June 19, 2018 By Tabatha H Leave a Comment

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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

Im not a male but a good sniff can't be forgotten!! #leonberger #dogsniffing #forrest

A post shared by Hé there! I'm Books!! (@madame.books) on May 10, 2017 at 1:17am PDT

 

 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

Wait, you mean you don’t crouch in your closet to play hide and seek with your dog? #Meeka #dogsofinstagram #doghideandseek

A post shared by Kristie Flynn (@kristiefly) on May 30, 2018 at 11:09am PDT

 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

Fun Faith Fact: she doesn't eat from a bowl. I believe that all dogs must work for their food, and it should never just be handed to them. Sometimes she gets her meals through a training session, but with school keeping me busy, we mostly use the "muffin tin game." What is the muffin tin game? There is 1/2 cup of kibble (total) sprinkled unevenly throughout the tin. In each cup, I place a tennis ball. She must pick up each ball in order to get the small bite of food underneath. This requires her to think, and has her work in order to get her meal. This greatly increases the time it takes to eat her meal as well, reducing the risk of bloat. #dogsofinstagram #dogtraining #pawsitive #workforfood #tennisball #ball #muffintin #muffins #positivedogtraining #bloat #safety #muffintingame #thinkpawsitive #servicedogsofinstagram #servicedoghandler #servicedog #servicedogintraining #miniaussiesofinstagram #miniatureamericanshepherd #respectthevest #aussiesofinstagram #miniamericanshepherd #miniatureamericanshepherd #aussiesofinstagram #miniaussie #keepthefaith #faiththeminiatureamericanshepherd #trainingfaith #faiththemas #faiththeaussie

A post shared by Lex and Faith (@training_faith) on Apr 26, 2016 at 3:49pm PDT

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

Incoming bed bomber…I love you Mum!!! 🤪💥 #throwbackthursday as Maggie is not allowed to be bed bombing while she recovers from her operation. For those who didn’t see our story, Maggie had surgery this week to remove a tiny piece of glass from her paw (they needed ultrasound to find it, it was so small)! She should make a full recovery now though and be back to bombing the bed very soon 🐾❤️ #bedbomb #incoming #kangaroodog #crazydog #greyhoundsofinstagram #greyhound #greyhoundsaspets #instadog #ilovemydog #adoptagreyhound

A post shared by Jorge ➕ Maggie G. Hound (@houndpix) on Jun 14, 2018 at 1:03pm PDT

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

Cleaning up #bellaboost #bellybean #rescuedog #puppylove #dogcleaning #dogtricks

A post shared by Bella (@bella_boost) on Jun 4, 2018 at 8:03pm PDT

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!

Author

  • Tabatha H
    Tabatha H

    Tabatha started her freelance content writing career well over a decade ago, years before joining the DogVills team. She loves writing about dogs (currently a beautiful Shepherd and a newly rescued pit bull) and sharing her experience with new owners. Tabatha also owns her own boudoir photography business and works as a school nurse. In her downtime, she loves hanging out with her children and husband in their Florida home.

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