Fun Ways for Kids and Dogs to Play Together

The bond between a child and the family dog is unique, deep, and special, but it’s not something that happens overnight. You have to encourage, facilitate, and model healthy habits to ensure safe playtime. In this article, we want to share some fun ways that kids and dogs can play together. These activities include games for the whole family and an opportunity to teach your child about proper dog care and early training.

Learn Together

Dog training is an amazing activity if you have a child that is at least 3 years old. Kids can start with basic commands like sit, stay, off, and leave it. Having your child train the family pet benefits both. Your child learns responsibility and patience, and your dog improves its behavior. Keep dog training sessions short and fun. Focus on a single command per day. Take your dog’s age into consideration. You do not want to over-exhaust older dogs, and young dogs do not have patience for long training sessions. A child’s attention span also, will usually only last for a short amount of time. 

Family Treasure Hunt

The same old walks can become boring after a while, but going on treasure trails or treasure hunt adventures can make the whole activity much better. Many websites and companies offer dog-friendly trails. Dog-friendly treasure hunts ensure that your furry friend has plenty of space to stretch their legs and sniff out smells in a controlled and comfortable environment. Get your child to hide treats for the dog to find. This game gets the whole family outside and involved! So, the next time you head out on a walk, take a pause and look for some hidden treasure.

Go Hiking

Hiking is another amazing outdoor activity that benefits your kids and dogs. Benefits include improving the sense of balance, building stronger muscles and bones, improving heart health, and reducing the risk of respiratory problems. Sounds good enough to try? Your kid and dog can run and roam freely.

Play “Find It”

This simple yet effective game can be fun and mentally stimulating for your pet. This is a great game to play in a backyard or even indoors on a rainy day. Get the dog to “sit” and “stay,” then give a treat to your child, have them toss the treat at a short distance, and command the dog to “Find it.” The dog will sniff out the treat. As your kid masters the activity, start throwing the treat in different directions (just be mindful of the surroundings for the safety of the child and dog. You never know where the treat might end up!). For toy-motivated dogs, you can play this game using squeaky toys. For safety, you can place a baby gate between your dog and your kid. Some dogs get too excited and might jump and snatch at treats or toys when first starting out.

Doggy Painting

This mess-free crafting activity encourages creativity. You need a small blank canvas, acrylic paint colors, and a Ziploc bag you can seal with the canvas inside. Start by covering the canvas in dots or lines of paint. You can do one color, or mix several colors. Slide the canvas into the Ziploc bag and seal it. Place it on the floor, and allow your child and dog to play. Each time your dog's paw or nose touches the bag or your kid touches it, the paint will move around inside and create a beautiful design. Once it is all said and done, remove the canvas from the bag, throw away the mess, and let it dry, and you have beautiful artwork.

Play Fetch

Fetch is another fun, contact-free game that both kids and dogs can enjoy. To play this game, dogs should know the command “drop it.” If you want to add a safety layer, use a ball thrower or have two balls. Have your kid throw one ball, and before the dog returns and drops the ball, throw another one. You eliminate the need to remove the ball from the dog’s mouth. Adults can act as the intermediary between the two and hand the ball to the child. A child should never try to remove the ball from a dog’s mouth. Be mindful of your surroundings and safety during play!

Play Hide and Seek

Kids love playing hide and seek. And when you add a dog to the equation, you also practice recall. To play this game, start by having one parent or a friend hang out with the dog while your child goes and hides. You can also practice putting your dog in a stay position while your little one goes out and hides. Once your kid hides, have them call the dog by name and tell your pup, “Go find (child’s name).” Praise and give treats to the dog when he finds the child.

Create an Obstacle Course

While advanced agility training is a bit too complicated for young kids, a fun obstacle course is a possibility. You already have all the objects around the house that you can transform into obstacles. Think hula hoops for your dog to jump through or tunnels made from long cardboard boxes. Get creative, but don’t make it too complicated. Assemble the course, and have your child lead the dog through each obstacle. If your dog needs extra motivation, give your kid mini treats to lure the puppy.

Conclusion 

There are many websites online that list certain dogs as the best dog breeds for children, but really if a family is willing to put in the time and patience, any dog can become the perfect family companion. Now, if a dog is older by the time they find a new family and if they have never been around children before, more supervision and adjustment, especially for the dog, may be needed. And, no matter what age a child is, they should learn to respect a dog’s space and even gain some understanding of cues or body language from the dog that could mean they are not comfortable with a child. When interacting with dogs in general, parents would be wise to instill in their children that not all dogs have been around kids and may not know how to be gentle. And if a child is not old enough to understand that not all dogs want to be their friend, the parents need to be aware when dogs are nearby and make sure that their child doesn’t just run up and try to play with it or pet it. 

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Author Bio

Aleksandar Mishkov is a 38-year old dog enthusiast. He has been living with dogs his entire life, and nowadays, he shares his life with a 6-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Milo. Visit Aleksander at his website at The Daily Tail where he shares helpful tips on how to train and make sure your dog behaves properly.