I think there are few sweeter sights than watching children racing about with a dog, but then I did grow up on a diet of Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five, and a version of Timmy the dog always seemed to be what was missing from my childhood. A good way to combine kid fun with a recall-trained dog is to take treats, dog and at least one child with you (I have borrowed friend’s children before) to some open space. Our garden is the size of a postage stamp, so we head to Hampstead Heath.
Have your Child Assistant take a handful of treats and stand 20+ yards away. Ask your CA to call the dog with a “Look what I’ve got”. The idea is that the dog races over, gets asked to sit, has their collar touched and a treat administered. The call is then repeated by you, as is the follow through. And if your dog is anything like Teddy, he/she will ricochet between you for as long as you care to call and get thoroughly exercised, with some training reinforcement thrown in for good measure. My kids call this Teddy Running and because the game is so treat-focused and therefore doggy exciting, it can be successfully tweaked. My youngest likes to stretch it with a stay command before Teddy gets his reward.
