Toy Sorting — Dog Game #15

Back to home Home Top 20 Dog Games Toy Sorting Game # 15 · Brain & Foraging Toy Sorting Advanced vocabulary training and cognitive discrimination. What you need: Two distinctly different toys (e.g., "Ball" and "Bear"). How to play Hold "Ball," say its name clearly, throw it, and reward them for fetching it. Repeat this over a few days until they know the name perfectly. Place both toys on the ground side by side. Ask specifically for "Ball" and reward heavily only if they choose the correct one. Coach's notes Only train one new word at a time — the second word learns itself by contrast. Test with the toys in a novel room to confirm real learning. Chaser the Border Collie learned 1,000+ nouns this way — most dogs plateau at 20–40. Two 5-minute sessions per day beats one long drill. If your dog loses interest Quick fixes when engagement drops mid-session. Not touching toys? Start with just one toy and reward every touch before you introduce a second. Confusion after 3 sessions = your cue words sound too similar. Pick names with distinct vowels ('ball' vs 'rope'). End every session with a correct pick — never quit on a wrong answer or the mistake sticks. Why it works Pilley & Reid's Chaser studies, and Kaminski's earlier work with Rico, showed dogs can learn labels via fast-mapping — the same inference kids use. References [ 9 ] Kaminski, J., Call, J., & Fischer, J. (2004). Word learning in a domestic dog: Evidence for 'fast mapping'. Science 304, 1682–1683. [ 11 ] Pilley, J. W., & Reid, A. K. (2011). Border collie comprehends object names as verbal referents. Behavioural Processes 86, 184–195.

14 Snuffle Mat Hunt # 16 Stair Climbing

Which cognitive muscle is your dog's strongest? Run the same science-based tasks from Duke in your living room and get your dog's full cognitive profile. Discover your dog's profile See all 20 games