Workout: Mind and Body

So I often wonder if I am challenging Leia enough. I have been working on her commands in the evening and we normally run through a few with a treat. Teaching the down command (lie down) is a little challenging but  she seems to be getting it. I want to keep her active and learning (and me too!) so I am thinking up things to expand her repertoire.

Soccer: Get a soccer ball and work on shaping her ability to dribble a ball. It can be done, I've seen workshops on how to do this and Leia already loves batting her tennis ball around so I think we could learn how to play ball.

Scent Games:  These are similar to the "games" that bomb detection dogs do. The simple way to start is put some cups on the ground, one with a treat under it, and the dog knocks over the cup that has the food under it. I am thinking of making a "game board" where there are cups which can be attached to the board so the dog can't flip them, but have them be ventilated.  This way the dog can smell it, try to get it out, and then probably sit and look at you as if to say "Do something about this!" and then they get rewarded. A complicated way to get the dog to sit when they find the scent. (advanced scent game could be identifying one if a few scents)

Recall Games: Essentially, hide and seek. Start this game without really hiding, just from across the room and escalate to more complex hiding places and less hints (or calls). Another step up would be identifying specific people to find (ex: I tell Leia "Find Daddy" and she has to go find Tom. This obviously requires some pregame name training so she learns who is who).

"On the first time" games: Training to do a command on the first time given. This isn't so much a game at first. You give a command, like "sit" and if they do it on the first time you get super excited and bouncy or have a special treat for them. If not, continue on as usual. Example: At the front door Leia is expected to sit before entering. So we get to the door and I say "Sit." She either does it and it is happy freakout time with treats, or I simply give the command again and when she does it open the door, and call her in as normal. The aim of this game is to get her  to enjoy doing something the first time.

Additionally I could look at some of the treat games in which the dog has to search the board for the treat. or figure out how to get the treat out of a puzzle.

Currently I am excited about soccer.