Rainy Day Game to Challenge Your Dog: The Tray Trick

This is an easy and fun activity to play with your dog on a rainy day when they can’t get outside to exercise. It also a good way to mentally challenge your dog – and their nose – anytime.

• Get a muffin tray and tennis balls or any size balls you can fit in tray.
• Put one treat in each hole in the muffin tray and then put a ball over each treat. Pea size treats are recommended.
  
• Put the tray on the floor and lift one ball to show her the treat.
• Cover the treat again with the ball and then put the tray close to her.
  
• She will soon learn that picking up the balls will earn her treats.
• At first, you can put treats in all the holes, but as she learns to pick up the balls to get the treats, just put treats in some of them to challenge her.

AKC GoodDog! Helpline Trainer Milena Barreto has taught her Standard Poodle, Phoebe, dozens of tricks that they perform on their therapy dog visits.

For more tips and training advice, enroll in the AKC GoodDog! Helpline – a seven-day-a-week telephone support service staffed by experienced dog trainers.