Homemade games and toys

 

Ember has become fond of this adaptation of "find the treat".  Start with a muffin tin.  First time you play, just put a training treat in each cup and let her have it.  Next time, cover one of the treats and let her "find" it by removing the cover.  Gradually increase the covers.  Gradually reduce how many of the cups have treats in them.  

I evolved the game to use her various toys as the "covers", and then stood back to observe which toys she would pause to play with before going back for the treat.  The longer it might have been since Ember last saw or played with a toy, the more likely she would be happy to see it and take a few seconds to interact with it.

The heat is coming back to our neck of the wood, so finding indoor games that exercise the puppy's brain is an essential of surviving.

We still go out in the back yard for a few ball toss/fetch in the parts of the day that are not so terribly hot.  But I'm doing things like the home-made pinata described a couple of blogs ago (paper towel or TP tube filled with treats), or giving her an empty plastic water or soda bottle (washed out, of course) to carry around, chew on, or destroy.  I might start turning some of them into a "treat rattle" and see what she does with them.

Having a puppy is a challenge to one's creativity... because if you don't rise to the challenge, trust me, she'll make her own activities, and they won't always be ones you approve of.  The wingback chair chewing, for example!

I finally got a rope tug long enough to play a bit with Ember without getting my hands nipped.  I used it this morning to entice her away from the wingback chair.  

However, she still gets overexcited when playing and I have to get her reset, which isn't always easy.  This afternoon, I diagnosed that she was hungry, and I put out her supper early.  She falls into a pattern:  sleep, slow wakening with quiet activity, out to pee and poo, eat, then walkies!  Mental games can be slid in there, treat delivery can get slid in, too.

I don't have the cushion repaired yet.  It's going to be a multi-day project, but at least for now the cushion with the easily shred-able innards is out of her reach.  What would be useful is an upholstery curved needle, which I do not have.

Thursday morning went better than did Tuesday.  I didn't try the shorts on Thursday!  Also since the cushion with the stuffing was gone, even though Ember continued to worry at the wingback chair, there wasn't as big a mess associated.  Also I did a better job of distraction in the morning.

Friday morning, Ember discovered that she could reach the flat surface of the wet bar, and if she stretched just a bit, grab hold of the "Carl box" where I stored his toys.  In a flash, she appropriated the Purple People Eater (my name for this velcro'd together monster toy).

Consequently part of puppy nap time #1 on Friday was dedicated to shifting things out of reach... again!

Life is good.  Spark on!