How Do I "Play" With Buddy?

My little 7.5 month old buddy is a very active and fun dog, I take him to parks and he runs around alot and it definately tires him out but today I was out most of the day and he slept in his crate when he is normally playing, I wondering how you "play" with a dog? I pet him alot and scratch behind his ears and his tummy and everywhere really but I am not sure what else to do. I was just writing a term paper and Buddy kept poking me with his nose while I was sitting in the chair so I petted him and scratched him and he was happy until I stopped and then he moved to the other side of me and put his head on my leg so I sat down on the floor and rubbed his belly and held his paws over his head ( I "pinned" him) and he seems to like that but now I am stumped, what else can I do with my dog to make him love me more and to make him happy???
thank you

 

you could play tug of war games with him. treat balls are good too. dogs love them. you dont have to play with them non stop though. they are quite happy to rest when nothing is going on. go blow some raspberries on his tummy lol! i use to do that to kuma when she was a pup, in fact i still do haha.

 

I will try that, thank you!

 

Buddy:
Mental games are just as stimulating and fun for dogs. It also tires them out just as fast.

Here's a site to check out. www.dog-play.com/

It has some good ideas. For one, I would put Buddy on a Nothing in Life is Free program. This will hlep build his confidence. I know it doesn't seem like a problem now but when Buddy is doing all those things to get you to pet him, he is showing dominant behaviour.

Make him perform a command before you pet him each time. When he puts his head in your lap or nudges you for a pet, tell him to sit or lay etc. THEN pet him.

Teaching commands, if he doesn't already know them is a great way tostimualte him and tire him out. Just remember, the minute he starts to lose interest stop.

Also, I paly hide and seek with Harley with treats, put treats in a toy so she has to work to get them out, and basic training everyday. She loves it, and by the end, she's ready for a nap.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

We came up with a great game with Hunnyjade.

She decided to dig the treats out of the show bucket (they were in the bottom) and she neatly took out peice by peice of equipment till she found the treats... We made it a game and got more difficult things for her to remove and get around in order for her to get the treats. She LOVED it!

Flirt poles are great for running off steam too. It's like a fishing pole with a toy at the end. HJ will chase it for hours if I let her. But after a good play day with that thing she's out for the night. GREAT way to get THEM out of gas while you just stand and "flirt" with them. It's great too.