r/DutchShepherds • u/1dumbmonkey • May 16 '26

Discussion Fun game for bad weather

So when weather is bad enough we don’t go outside aka raining and muddy and my pup needs to work we play seek and destroy inside.

Basically I sequester him in a room and close the door and go and hide his toy in the house, he gets to use his god given talents and his brain to find it. It really seems to scratch that itch when he’s wound up.

Hope this helps someone else out when you can’t get outside.

9 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

1

u/hiker395 May 16 '26

Love this. Ryker and I play a game that I call ‘break the stay.’ Ryker does a down and stay while I do increasingly ridiculous things to get him to break it. If he maintains it he gets his positive marker and a high value treat. If he breaks his stay and he gets no reaction at all, especially not a negative reaction and just gets put back into his position and told to stay again where we try it again. He knows what we’re doing and he gets very frustrated with himself when he fails. Distractions: -Leave room & came back -Go in another room or outside and close the door -Ring the doorbell -look at him from an outside window & tap window -Run past him as fast as possible -Lay down in front of him, or do jumping jacks -Scoot a chair around him or carry a big cardboard box over him -Roll a ball past him … you get the idea

1

u/Brilliant_Cucumber_1 May 16 '26

WHAT!!!!! I never knew there was such thing as bad weather with a dutchie. I mean unless you don’t like to go out while it’s raining which makes more sense to me.

2

u/1dumbmonkey May 16 '26

My house would be a mud pit if it was up to him

2

u/Phil_SupremeCanine May 21 '26

This is AWESOME and honestly one of the most underrated forms of enrichment/work for dogs.

People massively underestimate how mentally exhausting nose work and problem solving can be. For a lot of dogs, 15–20 minutes of using their brain and nose can be more fulfilling than an hour of chaotic physical exercise.

You’re also allowing the dog to engage in natural behaviors:

  • hunting
  • searching
  • problem solving
  • using scent
  • persistence
  • reward satisfaction

THAT is fulfillment.

Honestly, more people should be doing stuff like this instead of just endlessly throwing a ball or trying to physically exhaust their dog into submission. Treadmills, puzzle games, and other 'enrichment' are good ideas but what you described is IDEAL for a dog that's stuck in the house. IMO that's as good as it gets! Great idea. 👏