Free Dog Trick Games

Learn and play with these fun trick teaching games with your dog

See also dog tricks training guide and dog behavior training

Like doing dog tricks, playing games with your dog will help you to bond with your pet and it will be a fun way to reinforce some of the behaviors that you're training. 

Playing dog trick games can be a way to reward your dog for a job well done or give your dog the attention he needs.  You can also teach your dog tricks through games.  The games below are fun and engaging for you and your pet. 

Read on and find some free dog trick games that you can play with your dog. Enjoy!

Free Dog Game - Hide and Go Seek

Playing Hide and Go Seek with your dog is a fun way for him to give his natural senses some exercise. It’s also a neat trick and great way for you to practice the stay command. What you’ll need to do is put your dog in a sit or lie down and tell him to stay. Walk away from your dog and go to a hiding place.

You’ll want to hide somewhere easy at first. When you’re in place, call for your dog once and then whistle several times. When your dog discovers you, brightly say “You Found Me!” and praise your dog. The more you play this game, the better your dog will become at finding you and the more creative you can be with your hiding places.
 

 Scavenger Hunt Dog Game

This game is a special treat for your dog. To begin, you’ll place your dog in a holding room – so he won’t see what you’re doing. Then, collect your dog’s favorite toys and hide them in various places around your home or outside. When you place each toy in hiding, put a small treat on top of the toy.

When you’ve hidden all of your dog’s toys, go get your dog and let him find each toy and eat his treats. The first time you play this game, your dog may need a little guidance. After a few times, he probably won’t need any help finding all of his toys.

Red Light Green Light

You may remember this game from your childhood. It involves running and stopping when someone says “green light” or “red light.” When you play this dog trick game with your pooch, you’ll be using a variation of the stay command (or the wait command) and the let’s go command. You will need two people for this game to work.

One person lines up with their dog at a “starting line.” Another person will go about thirty feet away and that person will give the commands. First, the command person will say “Let’s Go.”

The dog and the person who are lined up together will run toward the command person. When the command person says “Wait”, both the dog and the person will stop. Whenever your dog stops for the wait command, you should treat him.

Also, whenever your dog reaches the command person, he should get another treat. The dog or person who reaches the command person first “wins.” Over time, your dog will learn to always stop whenever the wait command is given and he’ll run when the let’s go command is given.

Go Fetch Game

Fetch is a common game to play with your dog – but that doesn’t mean that every dog naturally knows how to play fetch. Many dogs are natural retrievers and others may need a little training to fetch.

First, you must pick out a toy or object that your dog likes to put in his mouth. If your dog already likes to mouth the object, it will make it much easier for you to encourage him to do so. 

Here’s how to teach your dog to play fetch:

1.       Put an object on the floor in front of your dog (about 2 feet away)

2.       When your dog moves toward the object, quickly treat him.

3.       If your dog moves closer to the object or touches it in any way, treat him again. 

4.       Repeat the first three steps several times with your dog.

5.       When your dog touches the object with his mouth or motions to pick it up, say “Get it” and treat your dog.

6.       Repeat several times until your dog responds to “Get it” by picking up the object. 

7.       Let your dog hold the object in his mouth for a longer time until you treat him.

8.       After your dog knows how to pick up the object, begin saying “Leave it” whenever your dog releases the object. Make sure that you take the object whenever your dog releases it. 

9.       Continue to use “Get it” and “Leave it” until your dog has mastered both commands.

10.   At this point, you can move the object around or toss it somewhere and your dog will go get it and bring it to you – when he can do it, he’ll be on his way to becoming a retriever dog.

Free Dog Game - Agility Dog

You may have seen dogs in pictures or on television doing agility courses. Ever wonder if your dog has the makings of an agility athlete? With using a couple of items from around your home, you can play a fun little game with your dog that will imitate an agility course.

First, you’ll want to assemble your course. You’ll need a broom, two boxes or other items of equal height, a chair or ottoman that your dog can jump on and a tall item that your dog cannot jump over (like a vacuum cleaner or some highly stacked boxes.) Place the broom horizontally spanning the space between the two boxes. Place the chair about 7 feet away from the broom. Place the vacuum cleaner about 7 feet away from the chair. Now you’re ready to play agility with your dog.

Using treats as a lure get your dog to jump over the broom and then jump onto the chair. After that, lead your dog in a semicircle around the vacuum cleaner. Then do the course in reverse. Treat your dog through every step of the course. Once your dog has mastered the course, do it without treats until he completes the entire course.