Indoor Games and Activities for a Shih Tzu

Overview

There may be times when you're looking for something fun to do indoors with your little guy or gal. Below are 4 fun things to do with your Shih Tzu when inside. Some of these indoor games you may have heard of before, but we've added our own spin to build up challenging levels and make the activities more interesting.

So, get your Shih Tzu and let's have some indoor fun!

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Indoor Activity #1: Increasingly Challenging Hide and Seek

This is always on the list of games to play with a dog inside because at its core it's very basic; yet when played a certain way and with lots of enthusiasm, it can be super-amusing for pet parents and an interesting challenge for their canine companions.

Shih Tzu playing Hide and Seek indoor game

Basic Rules: With this indoor game, you will be hiding and your Shih Tzu will be the seeker. The basic rule play is that you will have your Shih Tzu stay in a 'Sit' in a 'starting area' or have a helper hold them while you hide. Your Shih Tzu's job will be to seek and find you.

Note: If your puppy or dog has not yet mastered the 'Sit' command and/or you don't have a helper, don't worry you can still play! Set up a gate (or other similar object) across a doorway, leaving a small opening. Plan your hiding spot. Place your Shih Tzu on the other side of the gate and distract them by throwing an item of interest toward the back end of the room and make a dash for your hiding spot. Even if your Shih Tzu catches on to this method of distraction, they will also be learning this is a signal the game is about to begin and may volunteer to be 'distracted' so you can hide.

Items Needed: All you need is yourself, your Shih Tzu, an optional helper and a good training treat like Wellness Soft WellBites to reward your little guy or gal in learning how to seek and find. Later once they catch on, they may not need a treat at all, they'll just want to play another round!

How to play to increasing difficulty level:

1) Plan your hiding spot so that your Shih Tzu doesn't catch you standing in a room, wondering where to stash yourself.

2) Have treats in your hand or pocket, so that you can reward your Shih Tzu as soon as they find you. Later, once they learn how to play, treats can be phased out.

3) The first time you hide, choose an easy spot in the next room over, like on a sofa under a blanket or behind a door.

4) Place your Shih Tzu in the 'starting area' as explained above. When you're ready for them to begin searching, call out their name one time, in an eager 'come and find me!' tone.

5) As soon they find you, offer the treat and lots of enthusiasm as if they did something truly marvelous.

6) As you keep 'resetting' the session- by placing your Shih Tzu in the 'starting area'- choose a slightly more difficult spot to hide. By the 5th or 6th time, you should be a couple of rooms away, completely out of view. Some good places? The bathtub with the curtain drawn, in various closets with the doors open only enough for your dog to fit through and underneath thick blankets.

Tip: A session of about 10 'finds' is usually perfect for indoor exercise, because you want to end this game when your Shih Tzu is feeling good and hasn't become tired of it. This leads to wanting to play again later.

Indoor Activity #2: Which Box?

This is a fun indoor activity in which you will help your Shih Tzu build on ‘search and seek’ skills. This not only gets a dog moving around but also builds up their confidence levels.

Basic Rules: You place out 5 to 10 cardboard boxes and only one of them will hold a treat for your Shih Tzu.

Items Needed: 5 to 10 cardboard boxes (they can vary in size or be the same) and a strongly scented dog treat. We recommend Zuke’s Salmon Recipe Mini Naturals Treats, since salmon is one of the easier scents for dogs to seek out.

How to play with increasing difficulty level:

1) Choose the biggest room in your house and set things up while your Shih Tzu is in their playpen, gated off area, being distracted by a helper or otherwise unable to watch what you are doing.

2) When first playing this game, use 5 boxes. Spread them across the room in clear view, with the open tops facing up. Place 1 - 3 training treats under just one box (but not the first one that they'll see when entering the room).

4) Allow your Shih Tzu into the room. Teach them how to play by leading them from one box to the other, asking in an excited tone “Where’s the treat? Can you find the treat?”

5) Your Shih Tzu's scenting ability should tell when when they found the correct box and you can help him by acting happy and helping them reach the reward.

6) As you continue to play, add more boxes. Once your Shih Tzu has mastered how to play this game with all 10 boxes, make it more challenging by placing the treats on the floor and covering them with an upside-down box; make sure that all boxes are turned over as well. Now your little guy or gal is really going to have fun engaging their sense of smell!

Tip: End on a good note, with your Shih Tzu wanting more play; this makes a dog more likely to really look forward to playing the game on another day.

Indoor Activity #3: Treasure Box

This is a fun indoor activity that will let your Shih Tzu engage their scenting abilities and it's great mind exercise.

Basic Rules: You'll put together a box with "filler" items your Shih Tzu has to search through to find the one treasure that is hidden in it somewhere.

Items Needed:

A shallow box or wash basin that is low enough for your Shih Tzu to easily reach inside.
A selection of filler items; this can include paper towel tubes, single-serving cereal boxes, crumbled up newspaper, small plastic water bottles, measuring cups, kitchen funnels, washcloths, hand towels, etc.
A strongly scented dog treat. You can use salmon treats, mentioned in the previous game. We also recommend Pupford's Freeze Dried Beef Liver Treats, these have only 3 all-natural ingredients and are low-calorie so they are great for repeated rewards.

How to play with increasing difficulty level:

1) Set things up while your Shih Tzu is in their playpen, gated off area, being distracted by a helper or otherwise unable to watch what you are doing.

2) Place a treat inside one of the washcloths or a small section of newspaper.

3) Loosely layer all other items on top of that. Do not pack this tight.

4) Once you have this set up, call your Shih Tzu over. Encourage them to find the treat. At first, you may need to start removing a few items for them. Speak in an excited tone, as if you’re in search of a treasure.

5) As your Shih Tzu becomes wise to how this works, you can become creative in how you hide thing, what other objects you use, and how many filler objects in the box.

Indoor Activity #4: Puzzle Mind Challenge

There are a lot of fun puzzle-type toys and games for dogs. And the great thing about these is that they can be found with varying difficultly levels which makes them great for novices and experts alike and for all ages.

Basis Rules: Most puzzle games for dogs create one or more challenges or obstacles for the dog to complete before a treat (that you've placed inside) is released.

Items Needed: All you need is a chosen puzzle game and training treats to hide inside as the 'prize'.

Here's a few of our favorites:

1) The Potaroma Dog Puzzle Toy. The object of this puzzle is to both slide and flip various lids to get to treats hidden under them. We like this because it has a non-slip rubber bottom that helps keep it in place and has two levels. For beginners, with treats are placed just in the bottom level and once a Shih Tzu has mastered that, they'll be an advanced player with treats placed in both levels.

2) The Outward Hound Dog Brick Interactive Puzzle Toy. All the puzzle games in this line are awesome. And most are great for pet parents on a budget. This one has 'bones' that have to be removed, flip lids and sliders. Others in the line include activity mats and treat tumble balls.

3) The Flowery Meilzer Snuffle Mat - We just love snuffle mats and your Shih Tzu may too. Snuffle mats, in general, are fabric mats with lots of places to hide treats. This one has an array of gorgeous flowers, "grassy" areas and rows of colorful curled tubes. It's so much fun and a great way to brighten any day.

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