Games That Teach Kids How to Take Care of Dogs

This Is the Way We Feed the Dogs

• You can teach children how to feed the dogs by using a song. To the tune of "This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes," show the children how to feed and water the dogs as you sing the song. You can use the song for the different things children need to learn to care for the dogs properly. Make it a game by challenging the properly to complete the task before they finish the verse on that particular task.

  Though many dogs are fed food in a bowl, some inside dogs have their hard food thrown on the floor to make the dog hunt and find the food. Rather than throw the food, make a game of creating a design with the food before allowing the dog to find and consume it. The designs may be stars, trees or whatever the children wish to create. Limit the design creation to five minutes so the feeding isn't delayed.

This Is the Way We Brush the Dogs

• Dogs get all sorts of leaves, twigs and who-knows-what tangled in their fur when they play or exercise outside. Provide a proper brush to untangle the fur. If you have two children, challenge them to see who can do the best job of brushing out their dog's fur and doing so without upsetting their pet. Make this a quality, not a speed, contest. For one child, make brushing her dog a game by rating the job done with points earned for brushing the dog every day, quality of brushing, time spent giving the dog attention and brushing the dog without hurting or upsetting the animal. Provide rewards for earning a stated number of points. Because this is a learning process, encourage the child to play against her own score to better it.

This Is the Way We Play With the Dogs

• Getting the children to play with the dogs isn't usually as difficult as getting them into the habit of feeding, watering, brushing and walking the dogs. Dogs love to play and so do children. Encourage the children to teach the dogs games such as fetch and wrestling. To dogs, any trick is a game, so encourage the children to teach the dogs to shake, sit, roll over and lie down. Playing games with the dogs is good exercise for both dogs and children and is an important part of dog care.

This Is the Way We Walk the Dogs

• If the dogs don't have free run of a yard area, they need to be walked morning and evening. Make walking the dogs a game for the children by creating a map of the area where the dogs may be walked. Note roads, swings, poles and mailboxes. Lay out different routes to follow for the dog walks. The idea is for the children to follow the map as they walk the dog. Make sure the children keep control of the leash at all times. The map not only provides variety to the walks, but also gets the children to look at walking the dogs as fun rather than drudgery. Once children get into the habit of taking care of the dogs, you won't need to focus so much on creating new games to encourage dog care.