The game is not only entertainment for children, it consists of a fundamental playful element for their physical, cognitive, emotional and Social. Playing, a child learns fundamental values for her formation as a person and citizen, stimulates her creativity, and also exercises her body and strengthens her immune system
Unfortunately, many adults forget the importance of playing, having fun and allowing themselves, sometimes, to “let go” of the child that we all carry in our souls. But dogs seem to understand it innately, without anyone needing to teach them… For this reason, in this article on our site, we invite you to discover activities for children and dogs, which allow our beloved little ones to share unforgettable moments of fun and learning with their best friends.
Dogs and children: the ideal companions
You must have already noticed that dogs and children share many similarities in their way of being and in the energy they have to play, run, jump…, hours and hours without stopping. But the benefits of having a dog for children go beyond improving the predisposition for physical activity, which is undoubtedly one of the fundamental aspects for he althy growth of our little ones and our furry ones.
Having a pet can teach our children a lot about the fundamental values for their formation as people and citizens, such as fidelity, camaraderie, simplicity, respect for others, etc. It also contributes to fostering a sense of responsibility, since a dog, as well as any domestic animal independent of its species, requires our commitment and dedication to develop he althy and happy.
And since dogs transmit this unconditional love to us, they often have a determining positive psychological impact on children (and on adults too, TRUE?). A child who lives, plays and shares his life with a dog usually feels more loved, valued and protected, which strengthens his self-esteem and stimulates his cognitive and emotional development. In addition, the canine company usually improves the social skills of our little ones, also distancing the feeling of loneliness or social rejection.
The importance of positive reinforcement
The activities that we propose below are excellent proposals to reinforce the basic dog obedience exercises with our furry ones, and teach children the importance of educating their pet using thepositive reinforcement , and never violence.
We want to remind you that training, in these cases, appears as an essential preventive care to improve your child's games with the dog, and avoid any accident. And to help you train it, we leave you this excellent Canine Training Manual in pdf.
Now yes, we can discover together the range of fun and learning offered by the activities for children and dogs.
Shall we play ball?
We start with the simplest, cheapest and most incredibly fun activity on our list: playing catch!
But before starting to play, we must explain to our child that the ball should only be thrown after the dog obeys the command to sit next to it and wait. Then, our furry must pick it up and deliver it in the child's hand, to then earn his recognized recognition for the behavior fulfilled correctly. Quietly, we can diversify this activity by replacing the ball with a canine toy or accessory that is appropriate for our dog's age. And if you want to try a more sporty activity, you can teach your dog to play “ Disc Dog” (or "Dog Frisbee") with your child.
Consult our article "How to teach a dog to fetch the ball" so that, together with the child, you can enjoy training sessions and fun.
The classic and infallible hideout
Hide-and-seek is a very fun activity for children and dogs that reinforces our dog's cognitive ability, obedience, and senses, in addition to stimulating creativity, the agility and intelligence of our little ones.
Before we start playing, we will have to train our dog to find objects and bring them back. It is important to start with an easy level so as not to bore or frustrate the animal. We start by hiding a very dear toy of our furry in some environment of our home, and we give him some verbal tips so that he can get to it. We can progressively increase the difficulty of the hide and seek challenge and play it outside the home as well. We should always offer a reward to recognize the “work” of our best friend; you can give him a treat, pet him, praise him, or play a good time with him.
Once the dog has understood the meaning of the game, we can explain the concept of hide and seek to the child and observe how they have fun in their leisure time.
Swimming or water games
Does your dog love water? So, swimming will be an excellent activity for your child to improve his swimming, exercise and have fun with his best friend. But remember that we should never leave dogs or children alone, without the presence of an adult, in the pool or in the sea.
And if you don't have a pool in your home, you can invite them to play with the hose in the garden or on the patio during the hottest days of the year. The idea is that the dog faces the water jets like a toy, starts jumping and running to catch them. We must teach the child to never throw the water directly on the face(and less on the ears) of the dog, and never play very close to the dog's own body to avoid any accident
Bath time is so much fun
Bath time can be incredibly fun and playful. Together with children, we can reinforce the importance of hygiene for he alth, teach them that having a pet also implies care and responsibilities, and that we should enjoy sharing the simplest moments with whoever we love.
Once again, we reaffirm the need for the presence of an adult to guide this activity and avoid any accidents. We must guarantee that the water is at a suitable temperature so as not to cause burns or cold to our loved ones. It is also essential to use dog-safe products, and not human cosmetics.
Before starting the bath, we can also teach the child to brush the dog to untangle its fur and help remove dead hair.
Your own agility circuit
There are many sports that can be practiced together by humans and canines. An excellent proposal to exercise the dog and stimulate the child's creativity is to create our own home circuit and start agility together with our dog: a sport that basically consists in a circuit with different obstacles for dogs.
To create your circuit, you can do a real mission with your child, and take advantage of many items from your own home. A sturdy box can be an obstacle to jumping or climbing up and practicing some obedience commands, such as “shake hands” (or “say hello”). While a simple cardboard box open on both sides quickly becomes a crawling tunnel, that vintage chair is quite a challenge to get under and around. Include a ball or a toy at the end to teach him some tricks or just make him play.
Before you start playing, remember to teach the dog to progressively overcome each obstacle, and reward him for each good behavior to motivate him to continue learning and playing with your child.
Do you know of other activities for children and dogs that are not on our list? So, share it with us in the comments of this article! We would love to learn with you too…
