Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your dog is bored, but you have no idea what to do? Have you tried all of the things that are available on the internet or pet stores for dogs and nothing seems to work?
The poodle breed can be very high energy. They’re full of life and love! But sometimes they need more than just food, water, walks, toys, etc. Sometimes they need something special that only YOU can provide! Here are some ideas for fun games with these furry friends:
Fun Games to Offer your Poodles:
1, Hide and Seek: Find a special hiding place for your poodle, then turn around while they go hide in it. See how many times you can count to before they come out! Then switch roles.
If your dog isn’t great at finding where they are hidden, try putting them on their leash or on top of the couch, if that’s where you have chosen they are “hiding” from you.
2, Catch Me If You Can: One of my poodles LOVES when I play this game with her! It’s a lot like hiding and seeks,
but instead of hiding in a designated spot, she has to run away from me until I catch her! She loves this game so much, she will actually run from me if I ask her to come back to me.
3, Tag: This is a great game for dogs who love other dogs! Just find a friend that also has a poodle and have a play date.
Then one person can try to catch the other’s dog, but don’t let the other dog catch YOUR dog.
3, Follow Me: Sometimes poodles are stubborn, so this game might prove difficult at first for them! If you have a younger poodle, try to lure them with some food or treats until they follow you everywhere.
Then eventually, your little one will start following you even without the food or treats.
4, Roll Around: This is another one that might be difficult, especially if you have a poodle who doesn’t like to get dirty!
Take your dog outside and find an area where there’s no snow or mud (if it’s wintertime), but there IS some grass so your dog can roll in it!
5, Hide and Go Seek: This is a combination of hiding and seeks and tag! You will need to find two hiding places, one for each team member. Then each person must choose a place to hide.
One person counts while the other hides, then switch roles after they have hidden their dog from sight once you’ve counted to 30. Then each person has to find their poodle and tag them. The last one to tag their dog is the winner!
6, Go Find: This game is also great for younger dogs who tend to wander off and wonder where you’ve put yourself! Put your poodle on a leash or somewhere close by, then walk out of sight and wait for your dog to find you.
If they are too young to find you on their own, try walking them in circles until they start sniffing around and following your scent!
7, Tug of War: This is a great game that also works as a training exercise! It’s simple, just play tug-of-war with your poodle. This game can be very tiring so make sure you switch up who is “winning” every few minutes!
8, Hide and Seek but with Treats or Other Dogs: Up above I mentioned Hide and Seek, but this time instead of not letting the dog find you, toss a treat off to the side where your dog won’t find it.
If your dog is particularly good at finding where the treats are, try hiding behind a tree or in another dog’s yard!
9, Clean up!: This one is simple too, just have some tissue on hand, and when you are ready to go inside for the day, give your poodle an old tissue and let them know it’s time to start cleaning up.
If your dog is too young and doesn’t know what you want them to do with the tissue, try using a toy instead! Then once they’re finished, go inside!
Why your standard poodle gets bored?
Boredom in dogs results when they don’t get enough mental and physical stimulation.
All the poodle breeds need regular opportunities to vent their energy and to use their intelligence, but for many pet poodles this is often provided only by walks in the neighborhood or dog park visits.
For most poodles that does not provide enough exercise or mental challenges. So they find their own activities, which sometimes can be not so desirable by us humans.
“Boredom barking,” in particular, is a common complaint from owners of poodles and other intelligent breeds with lots of energy and drive.
With this high intelligence comes the tendency to explore anything new or different if given the opportunity.
Thus, it is not surprising to find poodles unraveling toilet paper rolls or investigating the contents of kitchen trash cans.
Poodles are also nimble and athletic. They can get into all sorts of mischief if left to their own devices for too long.
To prevent these, provide them with safe toys that promote interactive playtime with you. When left to their own devices, poodles may resort to other activities such as digging or chewing inappropriate items.
Boredom does not cause all behavior problems but it can exacerbate them. Getting your poodle involved in obedience classes at the earliest age possible is very beneficial, providing both an outlet for his energy and engaging his mind.
For more serious cases, hiring a dog trainer to provide enrichment activities for your poodle is an excellent idea.
Conclusion:
You may be wondering what to do with your standard poodle when you’re not home. Here are some fun games that can help keep them occupied and happy! Comment below if you have any questions about the best way to entertain a dog like this, or anything else related to this blog post.
