# Intellectual Games



## liljaker

One of Jake's "famous" skills was playing Hide and Seek. I know, what's the big deal with H&S? Well, we had played this for at least 6 years and it went like this.

'Jake, ready for a game of hide and seek?" to which he responded eagerly no matter what he was doing or if he was sound asleep. He was up, standing in front of me, tail wagging.

'ok, go pick a toy' -- which was no easy feat since he had 3 toyboxes (I know, I know). Anyway, once he settled on what he wanted, and many times it took a while since he literraly sorted through the baskets til he found waht he wanted, he snatched it right up and ran over and dropped it at my feet.

Then, he'd have to go and sit and WAIT in the kitchen, for instance, until I hid it. At which time I'd announce, "ok, go find it!" and he'd come tearing around the corner, tail resembling a metronome as he slowly and diligently went from room to room checking under pillows, furniture, on windowsills, on shelves, until he finally found it. He would go from room to room and constantly kept looking at me like, 'this way?' or 'is it in here?' When he'd find it, he'd snatch it, tail high with a big smile and dropped it at my feet, but not before a bouncy "High Five" as fait accomplit!:angel2:

Honestly, it brings a smile to my face thinking about it.

The little kids in the building used to come over and ask if they could play H&S with Jake. He loved it. They patiently stood along the wall watching him and hoping that he could find it. Occasionally I would hear, "Jake, to the left!" or "Up Jake!" and then there would be a huge round of applause when he found it.

He was so smart and loved playing this game. Not sure what CM would think about it, but honestly, I created a monster the day I taught him the game. We would play sometimes for an hour or more in the evening.

Sorry.....the previous post took me back down memory lane a bit. Guess there's some H&S in the future for Sunny, eh? Oh, BTW, he smiled today on camera!!!


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## CT Girl

What a beautiful memory of Jake. I would have loved to see him in action.


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## liljaker

People that visited always asked to see him play. Yes, it was sweet and he was sooooooooooooo into it. I came up with it one day trying to find something to keep him "busy" .......


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## tokipoke

All of these games sound fun! I do most of these with my dog. He especially loves a cat toy tied to a string and stick. He goes nuts! I will have to try hiding the treats around the house one day. I did get him a puzzle treat dispenser. I fed him all his kibble through that once and he took nearly an hour with it. Kept him reeeeeallly busy. He was pooped afterwards. I got him a Kong puzzle treat toy when he was a puppy and he gave up in two minutes. When he gets frustrated he has a high pitched bark and starts mouthing a pillow or blanket that is next to him. My husband threw one of his toys thinking it went over the couch. Leroy was slamming his feet and mouthing the couch and doing his high pitched bark. I realized that my husband threw the toy and it landed right next to my cat. I'm glad that he respects the cat enough where he wouldn't DARE take it from her.


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## ekbaby734

I would love to teach Sooty how to play hide-n-seek! He's certainly good at hiding things- When I give him a raw hide bone, or a treat he will either hide it in our shag rug, or in his kennel. He will almost bury it like he would if it was outside in dirt! Gosh it cracks me up!
:rofl:


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## tokipoke

I tried the hide-and-seek game with my dog. I hid some treats around the living room. Let's just say he's no hound dog! He did not even pick up on the scent. I had to point out every spot! And even then, he didn't track the hiding places for new spots, he kept going back to the old ones expecting treats to magically appear. My cats were actually better at the hide-and-seek game. Guess we need more practice!


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## tf1

I recently started playing H&S with my 1 year old Spoo Charley. He loves it. The formula for tiring him out is 20 minutes of sprint fetch, 10 minutes of tug, games and 10 minutes of H&S. After that, he's down for the count.


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## ladybird

I play hide and seek with Nimbus! Here's how I taught him!

First I started with liver treats - I would put one on the floor, point and say "find it!", he would oblige and gobble it up. Then, I would hide it under something (easy at first like a piece of paper), point and say "find it!", and this is what engages the nose. He would sniff sniff sniff, then uncover it. After many different places and under different things, I didn't point any more and just said "find it!" and he would start sniffing everywhere until he found all the treats!

Also you can play hide and seek with people. When we walk him through the woodland, Andy will lag behind and then hide behind a tree. Nimbus looks back, noticing he's gone! I say "where's Andy?" and "go get it!" (his fetch command) and he would run off looking for him! Eventually he figured out that "where's Andy?" means to go find Andy, and I can do that in the house now (or anywhere) and he'll immediately run off to find him, it's so funny!


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## liljaker

On one of the other threads I mentioned H&S was Jake's favorite game. It would start with me asking him if he wanted to play hide and seek? He'd jump up, tail wagging, and look at me. I'd say, "go get a toy" and he'd run to his toybox and grab one of them. He'd bring it to me and drop it for me. "Ok" I'd say, now go and sit in the kitchen and he'd go in the kitchen and be in a Sit Stay......waiting until I hid the toy. Occasionally, he couldn't wait and he'd come around the corner and I'd say, "no cheating!!" and we would start over. I'd hide the toy of his choice under a pillow, in the bathroom, bedroom, etc., and then say, "ok, go find it" and he'd come bolting around the corner, sniffer going, tail looking like a metronome covering every inch. He'd look at me as if to get a signal, "if this getting warm?" and I'd say, nope, the other room. I'll be damned, he'd go to the other room until he found it....he'd grab it....jump up.... proudly prance past me with it in his mouth and give me a "high 5" and we'd start over. Honestly, by the time he was 10 years old people were in awe. Kids just wanted to come over and "play hide and seek with Jake". My dear Jake.


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## liljaker

Oops sorry everyone.......................this Is the thread I mentioned it. I didn't read all the earlier posts. Sorry!


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## cdinion

LilJaker, this sounds like so much fun - I am new to the poodle world (only 1 week in), but lovin' every minute. My Phoebe is 12 weeks and smart as a whip. At what age do you start playing games like these? She has mastered come, sit, stay, fetch, give, jump, kissy and lap (otherwise she doesn't crawl on my lap) in the past week....I guess what I am really looking for is an appropriate timeline for teaching her things (she LOVES the play ground, slides, stairs, etc) without overwhelming or causing confusion


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## poodlesrule

I am going to teach Duffy hide and seek- what a great idea for a game. I also like the idea of finding people - very cute - thanks to all of you for these anecdotes!


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## Huxtable

hmmm, hide&seek sounds like fun... i"ll definitely have to try that. Love the story of Jake btw, seems like he was an amazing dog


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