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Games to Play with your Leonberger
It's great fun to play games with your Leo and it will do nothing but strengthen your relationship. Here's a few to try:
Follow the Leader
All you need are three dogs and their handlers. Set up lots of puppy obstacles and traffic cones (in no particular order) and give each handler the opportunity the chance to be leader. In the summer, you can include a shallow wading pool, piles of balls or Frisbees. Well, you get the idea.
Treasure Hunt
Put your dog in a down-stay and place a treat (food or toy) within sight. Return to your dog, release him and encourage him to go to the treat—he can eat it or play with it. Repeat this, varying where you put the treat. Next time, "Hide" the treat where the dog can't see it. He can see you putting it there (behind a piece of furniture, for example). Release him and let him get the treat (show him if necessary). Next, hide the treat further away then in another room out of sight, and if he stays in his "Stay" let him find it. You can increase the distance, difficulty, and even number of treats (several small food bits) as your dog gets better at "Stay." This is especially good for dogs that have begun to learn "Stay" but are nervous about having their people go out of sight.
Hide and Go Seek
When you are out of sight of your dog, call him to you. You can either use your normal "recall" command or just his name. Be very excited when he arrives. Start making it more difficult by "hiding" behind doors, couches, etc. If he doesn't find you at first, call him again. If your dog is very good at "Stay" you can use this to keep him in place while you hide. Some dogs will use their noses for this task, others will just look. Most of them will learn a faster recall. This is a great game for kids to play with dogs, as long as the kids don't encourage the dog to chase them.
Clean Up Your Toys
Get a box or bucket and collect a number of toys and other dog-safe items (don't start with things your dog likes to hoard or that you don't want them ever touching). Scatter the toys in a small pile on the floor. Through shaping and teasing, get the dog to pick up the items one at a time and place them in your hand. Once the dog is lifting the items high enough to get your hand underneath to receive, you are well on your way. Be sure to reward each "gift" with a food treat. Make it harder and harder to put stuff in your hand while maintaining the fun of this "return for refund" game. Each item retrieved is dumped into the bucket. The dog will leave harder ones for later, so over time make substitutions that make the items increasingly difficult for the dog. Some dogs take the leap and start putting things directly into the bucket themselves.
Simon Says
If you have the right attitude, you can make obedience training a game. Let your dog prove how clever he is by sitting when you say "Sit," lying down when you say "Down," etc. Try it when your eyes are closed, your back is to the dog, or you are in a different position like lying down or even standing on your head! Mix up "Drop it," "Take it/Get it," "Hold it," and "Leave it."
Tug of War
The secret to playing this game successfully is for you, the human, to control it. For this game, choose one particular toy that will be used as your tug rope (don't use one of your socks, or food items, or the leash!). Never play tug with any other toy. You start the game by picking up the toy and encouraging your dog to also pick it up. Give a particular cue that the game has started, like "Let's tug!" Some dogs will refuse to do this with you, especially if they've been punished for tugging in the past. You can start small by clicking and treating them for holding one end while you hold the other. However, tugging is instinctive for dogs (it's a cooperative act in pack mate feeding) so your dog should catch on quickly. Tug a few times, then tell your dog, "Drop it." You can use the same cheerful tone of voice you use for "Sit" or "Come". You can reward him for dropping it with either a treat or another round of tug (preceded by "Let's tug!").
Make sure that you end the game if your dog gets too rough or agitated. Simply ask "Drop it," praise for it, and put the toy away. If the dog refuses to let go, you let go of your end and walk away (it takes two to tug). Don't try to take the toy back because that will be starting the game over.
Ignore the dog if he tries to start the game. Wait until he has stopped bugging you and is doing something you want to reward (even if that's lying quietly). Practice "Tug" - "Drop it" - "Tug" - "Drop it". If the dog starts anticipating and grabs the toy, drop your end and leave in disgust. You decide when the game is over, reward the last "Drop it" and then put the toy away where the dog can't get it.
Some trainers will warn against this because of the fear that the dog will try to establish dominance, or that the dog will refuse to drop other items. Dogs and wolves do not try to establish dominance through tug-of-war games. The fact that you start and stop the game at your will maintains your dominance. If your dog has a problem with guarding items or refuses to drop things, work on that first. One way to train "Drop it" is to give the dog a large item to hold, then offer a very desirable treat in exchange. Be patient—don't try to chase the dog around, offering the treat (why should the dog take food from you when getting chased by you is so much fun? See "Keep Away," below). When the dog goes for the treat, click as soon as the toy is dropped and give the treat. Don't grab for the toy yourself. If the dog picks it up again, try another exchange. When the dog is dropping the toy regularly, start giving the cue "Drop it" before each treat offer.
Keep Away
Like tug-of-war, this is a fun game your dog will enjoy while you continue to establish control. Again, choose one item. Give it to your dog and give some cue like "Keep away!" (or "I'm gonna GET ya!"). It helps to use consistent body language, too, for example, an exaggerated stalking or reaching pose. Chase your dog, repeating your cue. End with an "OK, good dog!" and then ignore any of his attempts to get the game started again. Remember, you start the game and you end it.
Hoops
Take a container such as a big cooking pot, laundry basket or large plastic pail and weight it down with a heavy object (so it won’t get knocked over).
Introduce your dog to the basket and the ball. As he watches, drop the ball into the bucket several times, while saying “Drop.”
Give him the ball, then bring him over to the bucket and say “Drop.” Do this until he drops the ball in the basket, then immediately praise and treat. You’ll have to repeat this several times before he makes the connection between the reward and the action.
When the connection is made, roll or throw the ball to him and watch him doggie-dunk it!
Go Wild and Freeze
This is a GREAT game for families with an energetic pup that jumps up when overexcited. It teaches dogs to sit politely when asked to, even when very wound-up. It's even more fun when children play the game and it teaches the kids a positive way to play with their puppy and manage his behavior.
First, teach your dog to sit for a treat by holding one just above his nose then raising it slightly. As the pup reaches upward for the treat, his rear will go to the floor in a sit. Click and give the treat. Next, teach the kids and other players how to get the dog to sit for treats. Now you're ready to start the game!
Call "Go Wild!" and have everyone jump around, wiggle, wave arms, and make happy sounds. After a few seconds, call "Freeze!" and have everyone stop and stand tall. When the action stops, the player closest to the dog asks him to "Sit" and rewards with a treat when he does.
Then start another round. Each time wait a little longer before calling "Freeze"... after a few rounds, your dog will automatically be sitting when the players stop and stand tall.